Choosing the Right Career

It is not uncommon to see people who have already spent a decade in a particular job profile, looking for a change in profession. This usually happens with those who did know where their interests lay while choosing a career, or because they couldn't take up the job of their dreams due to some emergency. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Do I want to lead or am I comfortable carrying out the responsibilities given to me?
• How many hours of work do I want to put in?
• Where do I want to live - suburbs, city or the country?
• What is more important for me - salary or job satisfaction?

If you don't have the answers, then take some time off and get to know yourself better. Follow this step by step process of self-discovery that will help you in career planning and make the most of your talents and opportunities that you get.

Steps for Choosing the Right Career

Know Your Interests: Every person is unique. So are his/her interests and aptitude. Learn to identify things you enjoy doing. Are you good with numbers? Are you comfortable to abide by rules or do you want to color outside the line? Throughout our lives there are incidents that help us understand the type of career choice that would be best for us. Learn to recognize them. Take note of projects and topics that excite you. Try to think of the activities that you enjoy and jot them down. Being able to diagnose one's interests and inclination is the stepping stone towards choosing the right career.

Identify Openings that Match Your Interests: Research, research and research! This is the best way to get information about the job openings that suit your interests. Read books and scour the internet to know what are the educational requirements needed, and the salary and responsibilities of the job profile you are interested in. To get first hand information, talk to people you know. There is no better source of information about a job profile than one who is actually in that field. Besides information, such a person will help you in developing contacts in the relevant field. This would further help you in career networking and picking useful job interview tips.

Evaluate Your Strengths and Skills: Once you have a fair idea of your career choice, try to make a list of your skills and strengths. Talk with friends and family to ensure that you do not skip any skill. See if they match with the ones required for the career that you want to pursue or change into. Knowing one's strengths and weaknesses is important in choosing a career path.

Hone Your Skills: Developing skills to suit the job profile is an important aspect of career development. In case there are additional skills required, work to acquire them. Consider if there are enough resources for you to acquire the required skills. See if you can gain on-the-job training or experience. Volunteer or work as an intern. Find out programs in the community or take classes that would provide you opportunities to learn important skills and acquire more experience.

Take Career Tests: There are a number of career aptitude tests that is a big help in choosing a career. These aids of self-discovery involve quizzes, questions, and temperament sorters that enables one to one to recognize strengths and weaknesses. Although these tools won't choose a career for you, they certainly indicate the areas of your interest, that is, whether you have an analytical, logical or an artistic mind.

Those Going for a Career Change

Besides the points already discussed, people who want to make a career change need to address the following questions:

• Am I too old to to change my career? This often happens with those who have spent quite a few years in a particular field. To them it seems as if they have spent a lot of time acquiring skills in a specified field. However, do not let this thought make you lose on a better opportunity. In fact, many of the skills acquired in one job may be applicable to other job profiles, and the wisdom that comes with years of work experience is sometimes seen as an added value.
• Career change takes too much time. When will I begin with the new career? Researching about the job openings and various avenues by which one can gain relevant skills does take time. However, it is when one spends a lot of time brooding if he/she should enter into a new job profile, is when the process seems to take too long.
• Do I have enough skills for a new job? Don't just sit back if your resume doesn't seem too good for the new job. Do a little bit of research. You would be amazed to find that there are a lot of programs which would enable you to get the skills relevant for the new job.
• Would it be wise to take the risk of changing job in this economy? State of economy goes a long way in deciding job prospects. If you think that it is not the correct time to change job due to the state of economy, then wait for things to improve. However, use this time for all the research required. Acquire the experience and skills required so that when the economy starts to look up, you are one of the early birds.

Choosing the right career is very important as one mistake could get one stuck in an unsatisfactory job profile for years. If such is the case, don't despair. Keep working on the skills required for the new job. Be sure that you are ready to make the most of the opportunity when it comes your way next time.