Some Hints for Finding a New Career

A career can be many things to many people. Some people look upon their career as one of the essential parts of their identity. Others might see it as the sole means of earning money and cultivating other interests. Changing careers is a common decision. There are lots of career options out there. One of the most commonly asked questions are: “How do you make a career choice when you don’t really know what you want to do?” Some of you might see changing careers as a huge task or risk. The truth is, it’s not. Some time and energy will be required for making your decision, but in the end your efforts will be all worth it.

Also bear in mind when choosing a new career that there is no career or profession that you can’t consider. I know that probably sounds a little far-fetched, but there really is no need for you to filter out particular choices because they seem too incredible or ridiculous for you to want. The only thing stopping you from having any type of career is how much effort you want to put into achieving it. If you have sufficient passion and energy around your choice, you can accomplish anything.

Follow these steps and you might find yourself on a new career path:

1. List your strengths: What are your strong points? Are you always on time? Do you concentrate on details? Can you write well or draw or build things with your hands? Are you skilled with computers? Do you like the outdoors? Take stock of yourself. Your strengths might well be the key to your new career.
2. List your weaknesses: A weakness can be something you are not good at, like working with numbers or figures or singing. A weakness might also be something that you choose to stay away from like cold weather or cats. Acknowledging your weaknesses can help you decide which careers you’d like to avoid.
3. Take career and personality tests: Tests like this can help you uncover previously unknown information about yourself. You may find out that you are either shy or outgoing compared to other people. If you understand yourself better you may be able to apply it to finding a new career. An outgoing person might wish to explore a career in sales. Someone less outgoing may prefer a career where he can work by himself as much as possible.
4. Talk to others about their career choices: First-hand accounts can be a useful source of information. Ask people how and why they choose the career paths they did. And what they did to get the career they now find themselves in. One of the easiest ways to do this is to see if the career you may be interested in has a professional organization. Very often you can contact members and ask questions about the profession. Professional organization members may even be able to help you find resources or help you make the transition to another career less difficult. It may not always be this easy but through your connections you may just be given the introduction you need to get a foot in the door of the career you would like to work in.
5. Save enough money to allow you to explore other career options: Changing careers can be an expensive venture. You may face a pay cut or loss of seniority. You may want to work for free for a few months to convince an employer you are serious about a new career. This is where an internship is a good idea. I am sure you all remember the movie, ‘The Pursuit of Happiness.’ Will Smith played a man who lost everything in his pursuit to do the job he always wanted. This is why a 6 month monetary cushion can help you meet any unexpected new expenses in cases where you may have to take a pay cut. Going a few steps back to go three leaps forward is definitely worth the sacrifice.

We hope that you find this post inspiring and helpful if you are thinking of changing career paths. Feel free to comment on this post if you have an opinion or question about this article.