Pam writes:
My son turned 21 in October. He is in turmoil regarding a career. How do you guide a young man in a career path when he is not sure where he would like to go?
The Career Doctor responds:
Yours is a universal question, whether asked by a teenager, job-seekers in mid-career crisis, or a concerned parent.
The first thing to remember going into any kind of exercise of career exploration is that it may take years and years before you discover your true passion. I don’t mean that statement to depress you, but rather to free you from the pressures of wracking your brain and feeling a failure if you cannot discover your ideal career after one of these exercises. Some people are lucky enough to find their career passions early, but for others, they are now just discovering them in midlife.
That said, the more of these types of exercises you do, and the more job experiences you have, the more likely you will find your way to your ideal career (or careers). For example, while I have always had a love of marketing and knew I was going to have a career in marketing, I never would have guessed at age 21 that I would be a marketing professor or own my own business.
So, for everyone struggling with finding a new career in the new year, here are my tips:
- Set aside a day for this exercise. Turn off the cell phone, find a quiet place somewhere, and really be committed to learning more about yourself.
- Do some self-assessment. Examine all the “stuff” you have done in your life thus far (work, volunteering, hobbies, education, etc.) and make a list of the activities that you absolutely love. (You should also make a list of stuff you never want to do again.)
- Take some tests. I kind of consider this step optional, but I have a lot of clients and students who absolutely love taking a few assessment tests because they really feel they learn more about themselves, so do so if you think it will help you too.
- Research careers that involve the activities you love. For this step, you may need access to the Internet, career books, and people. You may even want to plan several informational interviews with people in a number of different careers to get more information about the details of their jobs. This step, obviously, may take you weeks to complete, so don’t rush the process.
- Develop a plan for moving into the new career choice. Once you have found a career for you, your final, step is developing a plan for transitioning into the field. This plan may involve internships, volunteering, temping, and more education.
For more assistance, please use the Career Exploration Tools and Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
