As far as a career decision making is concerned, many of us often find ourselves stuck between the dreams that our elders have for us and the aspirations that we have for ourselves. In such a context, we are more likely to wonder, ‘how to make the right career decision?’ No matter how tough it might be, the first step to make the right career choice is to fill the gap between where you stand and where you dream to be.
You also need to explore your interests, skills, values, and associate your educational levels that match with your aspirations. For right career decision making, you need to develop your professional skill set and expertise. Still not convinced? Scroll down to read this blog on “how to make a career choice?’
1. Self Analysis or Self-introspection
Self-assess is the key measure of choosing the right career. Focus on your interests, aptitudes, values, skills in aggregate with your personality. Learning about yourself is important because the qualities and traits that you own will be an excellent fit for some profession and can be entirely unsuitable for others. You can use self-evaluation tools and you can make the list of careers that are suitable based on your traits.
2. Create a list of career to review
Creating the list will bestow you with solutions to ‘how to make the right career decision’. Once you’re done with the self-evaluation process, you will be able to gather a long list of career options. To keep yourself organized, make a list by writing down the career that appears on the test result and the ones that are likely to match your choices and skills. Add the careers that fascinate you. Don’t hesitate to add the ones that you know a bit about and want to learn further as you might learn something valuable and unexpected.
3. Learn about the career on your list
It’s good to get some basic information regarding the careers that you have found as significant. Now, to land into the right arena, find out about the educational requirements, job descriptions or the nature of the job, practice, and other requirements. Do research on the perks and growth opportunities. Researching will be an interesting phase while making a career choice, as you will gain knowledge about the various arena that you’ve never ventured and are likely to embrace in the future.
4. Make a “Short List”
Once you’ve finished researching about the careers you’ve chosen, begin to shorten your list even more. Start ticking-off the careers that are less relevant to your skills and education and the ones you don’t wish to pursue any further. The shorter list will make it easier for you to deal with your dilemma and help you with how to make a career choice efficiently. While making your list shorter, prioritize the ones that are relevant to your qualification, choices, and passions. Get rid of the ones that are non-negotiable, the ones with weak job outlooks, unsatisfactory-benefits, etc.
5. Recognize your aims
Amongst the few choices that you’ve got in your list, identify your long-term and short-term aims and purposes. Accordingly, set your goals. Doing so will ultimately help you work in your desired field. The research that you have done will also help you to choose the right career. If you lack any information, do more research. Once you learn about each thing that you want to, set your goal. Insufficient information will cause you to make wrong choices.
6. Sketch a career action plan
Strategize your career action plan by writing them down. Prepare a written document that lays out all the steps that will aid you in attaining your goal. Consider it as a roadmap that will direct you from one point to the other. Write down your long-term and short-term plans and the measures required to reach each of them. Don’t forget to sketch down the predictable obstacles and the methods to win them. Sketching your career action plan will be one of the best methods of career decision making.
7. Attend Informational Interviews
Start doing more intense research once you’ve only a few careers left in your list. With the course of action sketched, you can now proceed further. Anticipate the exposure by meeting people who work in the professional domain, in which you’re interested. They can render the first-hand knowledge regarding the careers on your short list. Reach your network, including LinkedIn to discover the congregation with whom you can have informational interviews. This contributes to how to make the right career decision to every aspirant.
8. Exert action and embrace opportunities
Once the research part is done, its time to embrace the challenges and gain some experience. Reading about a career and discussing them with the professionals can provide valuable career insight. However, your involvement in the position through an internship will bring you first-hand prospect regarding the profession. Additionally, gaining experience will permit you to build skills that will help you with future opportunities. Many successful professionals once were a student who participated in the internship while they were still learning at the campus.
9. Reflect and Re-evaluate
While you’re still in your internship or one you’ve completed it, take time to reflect and re-evaluate. While evaluating whether is right for you, you need to reconsider the things you enjoyed and you disliked, the challenge you’ve taken and the fields in which you excelled. The things that you disliked and the reasons for doing so. The work itself, the people that made it enjoyable. At times, you might feel frustrated like you’re far from reaching your dream. But, as long as you’re going through the progress, you’re actually making a progress.
10. Make Your Profession Choice
Finally, once you’ve done all your research, get your first-hand experience in your dreams with the internships, and you’ve re-evaluated your journey and its process, then you’re ready to make a career choice. Go for a career that will bring you satisfaction and joy. Pick a suitable career based on your passions and the research that you’ve done. Remember that you can change your mind about the choices at any time in your life. Many successful people sustained a tremendous career transition long after toiling in the wrong career domain.
Dear aspirants, don’t choose a career simply because you’re being forced upon. Don’t acknowledge the jobs that you’re offered, rather focus on the career that is worth your time, strength, and passions.
Also Read: Career Guidance & Career Options after 12th
