Choosing a career

Career choices may well be more difficult today than at any time in history, for three reasons: there is infinitely more to choose from; career definitions are more fluid and changing; and the levels of expectation are rising.

Here are some steps that will help ensure that your choices are good ones.

• Begin with your values. What is really important to you? What do you like to do so much that you would almost feel guilty getting paid to do it? Satisfying careers are built upon the notion of a high correspondence between one’s personal values and the work they will be doing. Begin your career search by sorting out your values and writing them down as clearly and succinctly as you can.

• Identify your skills and talents. A skill is something you have learned to do. A talent is something you’ve been born with, or at least that you seem naturally qualified to do. It is important to recognise the difference between the two. You may be skilled at something and still not find it interesting. Chances are, however, if you are naturally talented at something, there will be a correspondence between that particular talent and your values.

• Identify your preferences. Some questions may help: Do you regard yourself as highly intuitive? Are you outgoing or reserved? When faced with a decision, do you rely primarily on facts or feelings? Your answers to these questions can tell you much about the kinds of work you will find interesting and challenging.

• Experiment. There is no substitute for experience, the more the better. It is probably safe to say that nearly every career looks vastly different from the outside than from within. If you are new to the job market or if you are considering a career change, get out and talk to people who are actually doing it. Take a job in the field or industry and see for yourself if it’s really all you thought it would be. And do not rely on a single authority or work experience.

• Become broadly literate. In this high-tech information world, there is an incredible pressure to specialise and to know more and more about less and less. This is dangerous, because it increases your chances of being obsolescent immensely. Learn as much as you can about what interests you and about the jobs and careers you’re considering, not just what those involved are currently doing, but about where the industry or profession is heading.

• In your first job, opt for experience first, money second. If you are at the top of your class graduating summa cum laude, you may be able to combine both in a single package, but for most new entrants into the workforce, it’s a matter of priorities.

• Aim for a job in which you can become 110 per cent committed. Modest dedication and average performance are unacceptable today. The problem is, with downsizing becoming fully acceptable you are not likely to discover the truth of that statement until you’re out of a job.

• Build your lifestyle around your income, not your expectations. Recruiters are famous for courting desirable applicants with promises. The problem is that many new entrants into the job force buy into this line and begin living as though they were making the kind of money promised in two years. A better way is to begin, right with your first job, to structure your lifestyle in such a manner that you can put away 10 per cent of every pay cheque. Starting early and investing regularly and wisely are probably two of the greatest secrets of wealth accumulation.

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