Garima
How do you know which job/career is right for you?
Hi,
I'm interested in knowing how do you know when you know you are in the right role/career/ job. I have so many interests and want to do so many things that I feel that I can get lost in everything I want to do and lose sight.
#job #career #career-development #career-choice #career-path
4 answers
Gerard Baltrusaitis
Gerard’s Answer
Some people go their entire life without answering this question.
The short and simple answer is not to worry. Keep applying yourself in areas that align with your skills and passions, and always be of service.
By applying these tips and continually moving forward you may never find the perfect profession, but you will be much farther ahead then most.
Thank you for the honest answer
Garima
Dhairya Dalal
Dhairya’s Answer
Great question and surprisingly a difficult question. I'm like you and have a lot of different interests and passions. As a result I've also had a lot of different jobs (mobile engineer, business analyst, project manager and now a data scientist in AI) in different spaces spanning insurance, academia, brain science, and AI.
Here's a useful thought experiment I do everyone once in a while. I use it to take stock of where I am and where am going. Close your and imagine you have all the money in the world and all knowledge. So you don't have to worry about making a living and you don't have to worry about learning and getting experience. Where are you and what are you doing? Open your eyes and write that down what you imagined in as vivid detail as possible. Then take some to explore and reflect on what you wrote. Who were you around in you this scenario? Where were you (were near home, somewhere exotic, ...)? And what were do doing? Do this though experiment every couple of weeks or months and compare your notes. See if there any similarities or differences and try explore those.
For me, I didn't know what I wanted until experienced what I did not enjoy. I found it very useful to follow diverse opportunities and see where they landed. Boredom is a useful signal to discern if job a good fit. The roles where I found myself really excited and passionate about were the ones where I excelled and found opportunities to grow.
The challenge with this approach is that it may be difficult to sustain upward career mobility. To mitigate against that, at each job transition look for vertical jumps (i.e.g if you are a junior, shoot for a more senior position). Also take your time between transitions for the right opportunity. Define what right is for you. Assuming you want a career with high growth, then the right opportunities will offer the following:
1. a space to learn and be challenged, 2. mentoring from experienced professionals around you, and 3. the ability to move up by being around senior professionals that you can network with. However, right could also mean having flexibility, ability to have work-life balance, and value alignment. Take some time and come up with a list of what you value and what is important to you in a career.
Finally, be bold and take smart risks. You won't know if its right until you've experienced it. If it doesn't work out, you are better for it as you have knowledge of what not a right fit.
Good luck!
Wow! Such a in-dept and wonderful response! Thank you very much. I appreciate your guidance. I especially like the use of the magic question, i think we are so drawn to what makes the most money or prestige , we often forget that it's about what is going to keep me interested, excited and push me forward. Great tips on using work environments for self/career development! Thank you
Garima
Mikio Bohler
Mikio’s Answer
Decide where you want to work (State).Then view job outlook forecasts for that area. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
Decide what major fits that profession. See https://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report/common-jobs-for-majors. Also do a job search, find job title that you desire and view job description, skill requirements, necessary experience and degrees.
Lastly, smile and realize that the internet is your best friend. Learn how to master finding anything you want (info, facts, examples, ideas) from the internet online library. (smile).interpersonal-skills
Thanks so much for linking these resources. Start a great starting point! :)
Garima
Lashay Taylor
Lashay’s Answer
Hi Garima: Asking this question is the start of getting to know the correct career for you. I tend to encourage self reflection and personal assessment paired with research. List all jobs, experiences (volunteer, classes, etc.) that you have had. You can even separate the duties and responsibilities of each based on like, disliked only. Also, consider what you have been naturally good at doing with little effort. Then, go to: onetonline.org and type in some skills either in the skill box or search box to see career titles along with their details (pay, skills required, education required, and more). Another website to review is occupational outlook handbook by typing in job titles that you may have considered to see if your experiences or interest match and to just learn what titles exist
There really are too many titles for any one person to know so by familiarizing yourself with some, some thought can form. A word of caution is to make sure any titles that you are considering are in demand and not being phased out. These sites will inform you of this as well. Best of luck!
Lashay recommends the following next steps: