The decision on which professional career to start is perhaps a difficult one to make, taking into account the current situation in the world.
So, choosing the right career path for your life is not something that is taken lightly today. With that in mind, there are certain things we need to consider when making the final decision.
For this reason and to help you, we have prepared an interesting article with the best advice to take into account when choosing a professional career.
Are you ready? Let us get started.
Why is it important to study a career?
Studying a professional career not only opens doors on a professional level, but will also help you develop personal skills such as responsibility, have greater discipline, and face challenges with great confidence. In addition, you will be able to develop your emotional intelligence as well as communication skills and thus fit more into today’s society.
Apply for Jobs
You can start exploring for specific employment openings now that you have the required training and qualifications. Begin by visiting the websites of the industries you’ve chosen, as well as the websites of corporations and other industry-related organizations in your area. Job board websites such as Lensa can also assist you to locate work.
Tips to help you choose the right career path for you:
- Your skills: the skills that make you stand out
Your skills are found in all those characteristics that make you different from others. They are talents that you already master, that you can use in the professional world and that will allow you to develop in your career. It’s about every element that makes you attractive as a collaborator or employee.
How to discover your skills? The first thing you can do is analyze your tastes and hobbies. It is possible that there you will find some answers, regarding what you do, enjoy, and also execute with confidence.
Think of all the talents you have and manifest naturally. Drawing, planning, or ease with languages are some examples. During this part of the process, it is important to recognize everything you have done, even when you do not consider it good.
- Put aside your passion
It may sound a bit strange but you will see the logic behind this. Society has taught us that we must choose a professional career under the premise of what we are passionate about. This point has become more of a paradigm when we want advice when choosing our career.
But making decisions based on emotion can be counterproductive in the future. It usually becomes a trap where many fall easily.
So, it is best to put aside those emotions that usually cause a feeling of butterflies in the stomach and think carefully about the decisions you are going to make. Focus on where you can become the best and follow it with passion. Conviction is good and it is what will make you think more rationally.
Resorting to a career out of sheer passion would be a mistake, or at least that’s what Cal Newport, a professor at Georgetown University, points out. He says that passion is mistakenly assumed, turning the profession into a “dream” career and it is not. You have to be more realistic.
- No influences
Some people allow themselves to be influenced when choosing a professional career. There are many factors involved, such as the fact that a certain career has unusual tasks or at the suggestion of a specific friend.
But, the most common scenario is when the family wants to impose the future on young people by saying something like “you have to study medicine or engineering”. This is a social paradigm that you should try to avoid.
- Your personality: Who you are
Some personalities are more social or outgoing, while others tend to be more reserved. These types of personality traits can guide your vocational decision. Understanding who you are and what your personal preferences are is vital, and you can use it to your advantage when choosing a career.
When you’re at the crossroads of choosing your path, it’s important to explore options that fit your personality. This important decision will shape your future education, as well as your professional career in adult life.
For this reason, it is vital that you make this decision according to your personality. This part of the exploration process will give you many more answers to choose wisely. Your identity is what will help you navigate in the social environments where you operate.
- Create your career list
This action is as simple as grabbing a pencil and paper. It implies that you must write a complete list of those potential careers that you are thinking about right now (and that, in addition, are related to what you like).
The next thing is to sort them by relevance. That is, imagine a pyramid and at the top place the most important career for you and below it those that are less important. With this, you will get a clearer idea about the priorities you have when choosing a professional path.
Suppose you have listed 6 points; the priority will be to choose the first 3 of the pyramids. But this is a simple filter, you don’t have to make such an early decision. What follows is looking for information about those specific careers and checking how much it would suit you on both professional and personal levels.
- The support from family
Although there are cases where the family can cause us more confusion than clarification, in most situations they provide us with unconditional support. However, before you talk to them, keep a few points in mind by focusing on your own personality. Ask them what profession they see you in according to your hobbies and personal traits.
Of course, do not forget to write each of these ideas in a notebook and do the same pyramid exercise that we mentioned above.
Undoubtedly, the opinion of the family is one of vitality since they will be transparent at all times and they are the ones who best know how you behave day by day. Regardless of whether you like what they tell you or not, take it as one more idea when choosing a professional career.
Then, another great idea is to actually contact some people who work in that sphere and ask them about their experience. In case you don’t have such people in your closest circle, you can find some on Leadar.
Considering each of these points, you will already have a clearer idea when choosing the right career path for you.
