Career Progression: How To Work Out The Right Path For You
When it comes to careers, things can get complicated. Not only do you feel like you have to figure out what you want to do in life at a very young age, but you also have to keep on working at it as you grow. Sometimes, you know exactly what you want to do when you’re a child. Whether you’ve got big dreams or you’re following the family business, things can seem easy. But, if you’ve never really known what you want to do in life, you can feel a little lost.
As hard as it can seem, you can pick yourself up and figure out the right career path for you. Even if you’re part way through a career and already in the working world, you can still change your mind and find a career path that feels right for you. So, to help you figure out your options and the path that you’d like to follow, take a look at these points, and you should find it all that little bit clearer.
Go To Your Passions
First things first, you’re going to want to start with something easy. When you start trying to work out what career is right for you, it can seem a little overwhelming, so it’s best to ease in gently. Think about your passions. What do you love? What drives you? If you write everything down that you’re passionate about, you can start to see yourself a lot better. Then, you stand a much better chance of working out what it is you want to do in your career.
Play To Your Strengths
Then, you’re going to want to take a look at your strengths. It might not be as easy to work out as the things that you’re passionate about, so you might want to try researching online or reading up on how to discover what your strengths are. By considering your strengths, you’re able to work out what you’re good at, and that could be a big indicator for a career option.
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Consider Your Options
Now it’s time to combine both of those. When you work out what you love and what you’re good at, you can cut out a lot of bad career choices and start to home in on the ones that just might work for you. If you’re in college, you can often use your major to determine the career options you have. And if you’re still trying to work out what your major will be, you can let your interests and strengths guide you. Overall, you want this stage to point you in a starting direction.
Research, Research, Research
At this point, it’s likely that you’ll know exactly what career you’re interested in, or at the very least have a few solid options. When you feel almost certain, you need to research – whether that’s one career path or multiple. It’s a good way to test your choice and weed out unsuitable alternatives that you might be considering. Doing research with not only allow you to discover the career’s full potential but also determine whether it is right for you.
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Plan & Prepare
Then, you’re going to want to get your study on. Some career paths can be highly competitive, so it’s always a good idea to work on bettering your chances as soon as you can. You might want to read the news in your chosen field to stay up to date with the sector, intern or even start a blog in the area to give yourself an edge. Regardless of what you decide to do, make sure you start early and add your efforts to your resume.
Ask Questions
Then, you’re going to want to ask questions. You’ll never know what your chosen career path is really like until you get there, but you can try to find out more in a range of different ways. Meeting people in the industry is one of them. Try to have a coffee with someone you admire and pick their brains. Most people will be happy to help you. You might even want to find a mentor so that you can stay on track while on your career path.
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Be Prepared
As you start to research and ask questions, you’ll find a lot of information floods into your brain. It can seem overwhelming, but you’ve come a long way, and you’re probably itching to get on the ladder now. But first, you’re going to want to work out the logistics and be prepared. Does the job require a lot of travel? Is it likely that you’re going to need to relocate? If that’s the case, do some research using sites like Roomhere to find the cost of living in different areas, just to make sure you know what to expect.
Get To Know Yourself
At this stage, you’re probably sure on your decision. But, now that you know a lot more about the job and what it involves, you’re going to want to get to know yourself a whole lot better. You might think that discovering your strengths and identifying your passions is enough, but it’s not. Make more time for yourself and really delve deep. What are your weaknesses? What makes you sad? How do you cope with stress? What are your priorities in life? When you ask these questions, you’ll know in your heart whether your choice is right.
Think Ahead
Then, when you’re sure, you need to plan ahead. Take a look at the entire career path available to you. Use the information you got from people in the industry, research and internships to help you plan. You might start out at one point, but what you want to know is where you’ll end up and what you need to do to get there. You could do this as you go, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to get caught up in day-to-day life and forget about that end point.
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Make Goals
After you’ve figured out your end goal and have a loose idea of the checkpoints along the way, you’re going to want to make some career goals. They don’t have to be set in stone, but when you have some idea of where you want to be, and how you’re going to get there, you’ll have a better chance of making it happen.
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