Making Career Choices: Help choosing careers and some useful careers advice.

Making effective and considered career choices relies on evaluating all career options.  Afterall, work becomes far easier if it is interesting and enjoyable!  A well-defined career path often results in a more successful career and even greater rewards (tangible and intangible).

Researching and understanding the rationale behind career choices helps people become more focused, assured and convincing when job seeking.   Career decision making can involve the following thought processes:

Stage 1:  Understanding what is important to individuals
Considering what ultimate goals / motivations / achievements in life / career.

Stage 2:  Discover what people find interesting and enjoy.
It is far easier to succeed if you are enthusiastic about your career or things you do.

Stage 3:  Assessing what people are good at.
Considering how best any skills and qualities can be deployed effectively. 

Stage 4:  Narrowing down career choices
Using effective career research to focus on a small number of options.

Stage 5:  Working towards making a career decision 
Using work experience & talking to the right people to reinforce choice & career research findings.

Stage 6:  Career gap analysis
Evaluating any career decisions against areas of weakness in your skills & experience.

Stage 7:  Decision-making frameworks / processes
Decision-making frameworks to reinforce possible career alternatives (also gap analysis).

Stage 8:  Making a positive career choice. 
Motivations, career options and research should facilitate a positive career choice. 
Careful career choices can make a bigger difference overall in the long term.

                      

Weighing up career choices! - It is important to consider career options & plan for the future! 

Affordable CV writing services. Great CV packages - FREE EXTRAS!!  More Info FREE Covering Letters - targeted and speculative letters (other companies charge!). FREE CV-2-Interview Report - help with job interview preparation (focus & save time!) FREE Career Mentoring Tips - help with future career planning (some useful advice).

CAREER CHOICES  |  Understanding Career Motivations and Objectives

Understanding inner motivations and overall career goals can ultimately influence career choices. Making the wrong career choice will show at job interview.  Realistic career choices will serve to inspire people further and maintain focused.

Understanding what is important requires deep consideration. Any tendancy towards choosing a career must be avoided to allow for effective career research. Career options can be considered in later stages.

CAREER CHOICES  |  Some Examples Of Motivations and Values

Pick 3 or 4 main motivations and values.  Think about why they are important.
Please keep these in mind, especially when considering career options later on.

Autonomy / entrepreneurship - Importance of making own decisions (self-employment?).

Working for a prestigious employer - Working for a well-respected employer, leading brand, etc.

Ethical considerations - Environment, a responsible company, corporate & social responsibility, etc. 

Motivated by financial reward - motivated by high earning potential, company benefits, etc.

Providing a service - helping others, dealing with people, exceeding customer expectations, etc.

Working for a people orientated organisation - - investors in people, working with talented people, etc.

Creativity, ideas & innovation - using talents and developing ideas to their full potential, originality, etc.

Company culture - Challenging, high risk (high rewards), creative, ever-changing environment, etc.

Leadership, management & authority - managing, influencing and developing others, etc.

Company size - consider working in a small company versus a large corporate organisation.

Nature of job role - variety, choice, changing tasks, involvement in projects, responsibilities, etc.

Global / international focus - dealing with different companies, foreign languages, travel, etc.

Career advancement - opportunities for career progression & long term career development, etc.

Qualifications - the importance of getting qualifications & working in an intellectual environment, etc.

MAKING CAREER CHOICES  |  Finding Interests  |  Finding Motivations

Career paths overlapping with personal activities or interests outside of work will give a greater insight and help to define career options.  Consider which interesting or enjoyable activities can be translated into a work role.  Here are some useful examples.

Dealing with people (customer service, hospitality industry, sales, etc).

Helping others (teaching, social work, medical, training, charity work, child care, police, fire, etc).

Creative writing (writer, marketing, press relations, journalist, magazine editor, etc).

DIY & home improvements (consider a trade - building, plumbing, electrician, etc).

Internet & technology (computing, IT, programming, web design, gaming, etc).

Travel (hospitality, tourism, airline industry, air steward, tour guide, etc).

Numbers (finance, accountancy, teaching, banking, investments, stock exchange, etc).

Shopping (retail, fashion, merchandising, buying, selling, etc).

Cars (motor mechanic, car sales, driving jobs, car design, maintenance, etc)

Local environment (local planning, land management, parks, recycling schemes, etc).

Law & order (criminology, legal practice, police, crime investigations, forensics, etc).

The outdoors (forestry, landscaping, conservation, park ranger, gardening, etc).

Creative (painter, fashion designer, art & design, photography, architect, etc).

Problem-solving (project managment, quality assurance, analyst, etc).

Giving advice (citizens advice, debt counscelling, trading standards, careers services, etc).

Other - Reading (librarian), Public service (government), Animals (farms, charities, RSPCA), etc.

Building a skills and qualities profile helps to identify key elements employers require for being successful in any given job role. Simply devise a table listing, outlining and rating each individual skill out of 10.

Rating each skill will also help to identify your overall strengths and weaknesses. 
People have many individual skills.  Some typical skills and qualities include:

Being a confident communicator.
Working effectively as part of a team.
Problem-solving skills.
Technical ability - IT, programming skills, etc.
Effective sales & negotiation skills.
Analytical & numerical ability.
Time management & prioritisation skills.
Planning and project management skills.
Organisational skills.
Ability to learn and develop.
Language skills.
Attention to detail.
Professional Approach.
Adaptability / flexibility.
Ability to manage change.
Creative skills.
People management / leadership skills.
Coaching & feedback skills.
Dealing at all levels.
Presentation skills.
Customer service skills.
Decision-making skills.
Multi-tasking.
Relationship building.
Working under pressure.
Strategic awareness / thinking.
Administration skills.
Influencing / persuasion skills.
Report-writing skills.

Successful career planning is dependent on effective career research.  Career research helps identify various career options available (some options may not have been considered previously!).

By now, there should be an understanding of:

Key motivations (Stage 1) towards a career.
An idea of what is interesting / enjoyable (Stage 2). 
Understanding strengths and weaknesses in a skills & qualities profile (Stage 3).

This gives a broad framework to continue any career research. 
Effective career research involves three main areas:

1) Listing / brainstorming ideas
Identify all the jobs and careers of interest and possibly others previously not thought of. 

2) Defining job titles / career headings
Finding out more information & eliminating those careers or job titles holding no further interest.
Simplifying career options by identifying top three career choices.

3) Undertake more specific research
Read up on main career options & job descriptions.  Be thorough using online, library and career advisory resources. Identify how best any skills, qualities & experience will fit within these roles.

Only deeper career research will serve to reinforce career choice(s).

This could involve talking to someone doing the job, reading up on career blogs, going to careers fairs, and even attending company open / recruitmentdays, etc.

Enquire about the possibilities of job shadowing, short term / voluntary work experience or even do some temporary work for any desired organisation.

CAREER DECISION MAKING  |  Evaluating Weaknesses In Skills and Experience

It is important to assess what is required (and where people are) relative to any career decision or aspiration.  For instance, certain weaknesses in skills and experience can prevent people from pursuing their ideal job role.

Identifying weaknesses can be used positively to focus on the wider career goal.  Determination to overcome any weaknesses shows employers effective problem-solving skills and a strong desire to make a successful career.

CAREER DECISION MAKING  |  Improving On Career Weaknesses

Part of the battle is identifying main weaknesses.  Once aware, naturally people will work harder to overcome them.  Weaknesses may ultimately become a strength if enough time and attention is given - it is usually down to building confidence.

It is important to list any weakness, identify why it is a weakness and how it affects individuals in a work or even a social environment.  The idea is to turn this around and be positive by identifying areas for improvement.  Action plans can involve reading a book on the subject, research on the internet, attending classes or speaking to a mentor, etc.

For instance, a weakness may involve presentation techniques.  An action plan may involve reading a book on improving techniques and awareness.  Practising presentations in front of friends and family can build confidence.  Extra confidence and experience can be gained from doing more presentations.  With further practice, people often forget that it was ever a weakness and are then able to draw on previous exeperiences!

CAREER DECISION MAKING  |  Dealing With Other Career Obstacles

There maybe other obstacles inhibiting any career path.  These could relate to a lack of experience, qualifications, location and even personal factors.

It is important to list all obstacles, identify why they are obstacles and how it could affect work or even in a social environment.  For instance, an obstacle could involve a lack of qualifications.  This can be approached by selling any additional experience and wider knowledge of business / subject area.

Winning CV recommends using two frameworks to reinforce any career decisions made. 

1) Rating each career alternative by evaluating the pros and cons of each career option.   
2) Assessing personal strengths & weaknesses against career opportunities available (also identifying possible threats inhibiting career decision). 

CAREER DECISION MAKING -  1) Simple Criteria Rating

It is up to individuals to identify what criteria they wish to rate. More subjectively individuals can write down the pros and cons for each attribute. It is probably best to present this in a table or under certain headings so it will make it easier to identify patterns or trends.

CAREER DECISION MAKING -  2) SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O) and Threats (T).
It is best to present this in a simple table.

Strengths and weaknesses are most relevant to the individual (internal factors).

Opportunities and threats are external factors, which cannot be influenced by any one individual.

The more strengths and opportunities you have the better (i.e. can help narrow down career choices).

Weaknesses and threats will serve to highlight areas to focus on and improve.
If there are too many weaknesses and threats, it may highlight careers to stay away from.

Having been through the each stage and considered all career options, it is time to make a positive career choice.

CAREER CHOICES  -  1) The World Of Work!

This is where most people will end up.  There is no guarantee of a 'job for life' or a good job.

Employers expectations have risen, competition for jobs has increased and the process of
getting the right candidate (recruitment) is becoming ever more sophisticated. 

Therefore, it is important to adopt other career strategies, make a sound career choice,
get the required skills & experience in order to differentiate (stand out) from the crowd.  

Winning CV recommends another useful article:  10 Ways To Win A Job Interview

CAREER CHOICES -  2) Self-Employment

Self-employment will be a massive area of employment growth for the future.
There are many sources of advice and help with getting started.

CAREER CHOICES -  3) Further Study

There are many academic and vocational courses out there to help improve qualifications, skills and training.  This will always improve the 'employability' of job candidates.  Remember, it is important that any choice of study reflects your choice of ultimate career path!

CAREER CHOICES -  4) Taking Time-Out!

Taking time-out to travel the world or just having a career break. 
Ensure at least some of this time is productive or adds to experiences in some way!

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