A career roadblock is one of the most common issues faced by aspiring college students and graduates. While the career they have pursued leads them towards a different objective, if they choose to follow their passion and do things that they love to do, they will find alternate career opportunities.
So how do you make the right choice and pick a career that suits you the best? Well, that’s not easy either. Here is a short and easy guide that will help you choose the right career path. This is to help you fulfill your life goals and also gain happiness, satisfaction, and financial security. Here are the steps involved in the path of choosing the right career for yourself.
- Assess yourself
Before plunging into finding jobs directly, it’s better to take some time and assess yourself in terms of soft skills, technical skills, the aptitudes that you possess, your values, the kind of work environment you are looking for, your strengths and weaknesses. This will help you narrow down the wide range of career options that lay ahead of you. Once you assess yourself, make quick notes of these pointers and keep them handy while searching for jobs.
- List the things you want in the job
There are always a few things that people are rigid about while finding a job. For example, some look for a fixed value of salary package, additional benefits, whereas some look for the kind of work culture offered by the company, the breadth of the job role, and so on. So it’s extremely important for you to clearly know your expectations from a job. Here are a few questions that you may ask yourself and choose your must-haves while picking the right career.
Are you comfortable taking up a job that involves a lot of traveling?
- Do you need medical benefits and other compensations?
- Are you flexible working from home and office?
- Do you feel resistive towards performing certain tasks in the job profile?
- Identify the jobs you would like to explore
Once you are done setting your priorities for the job role and assessing yourself well, it’s time for you to start looking for jobs. Begin finding jobs by using your network of friends, family, and other people you know, research new industries that sound interesting to you, make a list of things that you enjoy, identify your values and goals. While finding jobs, do not restrict yourself to reading the job title and scrolling down. Make sure you perform thorough reading of the job profile, your duties, and responsibilities, the perks and benefits of the job. Sometimes the job title may not align with your career goals but the duties may be perfect for you.
- Get trained and craft your resume
After finding a job, assess yourself again if you are a right fit for it. If you are, then don’t waste another second to apply for it. Prepare a well-crafted resume and a nicely written cover letter and apply for the job. If you lack any skills listed in the job requirements, it’s okay to take your time and get trained. The ability to upskill yourself is one of the most important life skills that you must possess while picking the right career for yourself. Do not hesitate to learn and apply for your dream job.
- Keep learning and growing
Once you have landed the job you desired, you can sit back and relax for a while. But you should not stop learning. It’s okay to take a break but growth comes only from pushing forward constantly. So keep learning new things, exploring new roles, and growing in the job.
It’s important to note here that choosing a career path that suits you best could be a daunting task. You will need a lot of patience and an open mind to weigh the pros and cons of each option and make up your mind to pursue one of them. There will be many times in life where you may need to change the direction of your career and choose a different role. Be open to that because being adaptive is a life skill in itself.