It is always important to explore oneself before one sets about setting a goal and choose a right profession.
Your values, interests, soft skills, and aptitudes, in combination with your personality type, often make some occupations a good fit for you and others completely inappropriate.
It is a good idea to use self-assessment tools, often called career tests, to gather information about your traits and, subsequently generate a list of occupations that are a good fit, based on them. Some people choose to work with a career counsellor or other career development professionals who can help them navigate this process. It makes things easier.
Make a List of Occupations to Explore
To find out Right profession, first, look for the careers that appear on multiple lists, and copy them onto a blank page. Title it “Occupations to Explore.” Your self-assessment indicate they are a good fit for you, based on several of your traits, so definitely consider them.
The next step is to find any occupations on your lists that appeal to you. They may be careers you know a bit about and would like to explore further. Also, include professions about which you don’t know much. You might learn something unexpected. Add those to your master list.
Explore the Occupations on Your List
Try to find job descriptions and educational, training and licensing requirements from published sources. Learn about advancement opportunities. Use government-produced labour market information to get data about earnings and job outlooks.
Create a “Short List”
If your reasons for finding a career is unacceptable are non-negotiable, cross it off your list. Remove everything with the duties that don’t appeal to you. Eliminate careers that have weak job outlooks. Get rid of any occupation if you are unable or unwilling to fulfill educational or other requirements, or if you lack some of the soft skills necessary to succeed in it.
Conduct Informational Interviews
When you have only a coupleof occupations left on your list, start doing more in-depth research. Arrange to meet with people who work in the occupations in which you are interested. They can provide first-hand knowledge about the careers on your prepared list. Access your network, especially social media including LinkedIn, to find people with whom to have these informational interviews.
Make Your Career Choice – the right profession
Finally, after doing all your research, you are probably ready to make that “perfect” choice. Pick the occupation that you think will bring you the most satisfaction based on all the information you have gathered. Realize that you are allowed to change your mind about your choice at any point in your life. Many people change their careers at least a few times. And it’s very important to not regret or feel pressurised by it.
Identify Your Goals
Once you make the decision, identify your long and short term goals. By doing this,it will allow you to eventually work in your chosen field. Long-term goals typically take about three-to-five years to reach while you can usually fulfill a short-term goal in six-months-to-three years.
The research you did required education and training that can be your guide. Once you have all the information you need, set your goals. An example of a long-term goal would be completing your education and training. Short-term goals include applying to college, apprenticeships or other training programs, and doing internships.
Write a Career Action Plan
Now, put together a career action plan, a written document that lays out all the steps you will have to take to reach your goals. Write down all your short- and long-term goals and the steps you will have to take to reach each one. Include any anticipated barriers that could get in the way of achieving your goals and the ways you can overcome them.
Now, it’s time for action, to choose Right profession and going about it. It may not turn out to be like you expected, but still, it’s your choice, and you can take pride in it. After all, we learn from our mistakes, so that our next step will be right.
