Making a career decision

An ideal career is one that matches your skills and abilities, interests, values and personality. If you haven't thought long and hard about what you want in a career, it's not too late to start now.

Identifying your skills and abilities

The first in making a career decision is identifying your skills and abilities. Write them down and keep adding to this list as you develop new skills and abilities. Make sure you're as detailed as possible whether it's being able to lead in teams or the ability to speak a language. It's important to know simply because it'll help identify different careers available to you. Let's face it. You can't be a financial analyst if numbers don't make sense; or an IT consultant if you aren't adept at computers.

In your list, include also any natural flair for tasks. It's better to find an area of work that exploits your innate talents rather than only learnt skills because when you're effortlessly good at something, you'll enjoy it more. Besides, why be involved in something you don't find pleasure in?

Interests

This should lead you naturally to ask: 'What turns me on?' Some of us might have clear ideas of what we enjoy and what we don't from an early age - things as diverse as art, crunching numbers, fighting for rights, even all the above at the same time. But it's a myth that knowing what you like is a simple thing. It might help to think of a profession as something you like to do so much that you would feel guilty getting paid to do it.

However, there is one reality check. You will want to mull over carefully the balance between your interests and financial stability. Craftwork may be your passion, but will it help you make enough money to pay your bills? On the other hand, just because people in investment banking earn the highest salaries, it doesn't mean you should throw yourself into it ignoring the fact that your interests do not lie there.

A long lasting career is one that satisfies you optimally on both sides. In today's market, there are many options and choices that should enable you to find a path to your liking. Freelancing and project-based contracts have also opened up new opportunities in age-old industries.

Values and personality

Besides your interests, your values and personality form an intrinsic part of a happy balance. The set of values that you have built over the years are the heart and core of you. Knowing what your values are and whether they correspond to your chosen field will give you a better shot at having a satisfying work life. Do you want a glamorous job or would you prefer to work behind the scenes?

Consider taking the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, a self-assessing instrument that helps identify personality traits. It'll give you an idea of whether you're more intuitive or logical, a risk taker or a cautious player and so on. These traits will suit different occupations. For example, to be a stockbroker you would need to be someone who can handle stress and uncertainty well, while as a consultant in any field you will need to be outgoing and persuasive. Your careers advice at university should be able to provide some information on this, failing which you can look for help on the Internet.

At the end of the day, it starts with you. Knowing yourself is the best thing you can do for your career. Don't worry if you don't know exactly what you want to do with your life. Many of us don't find our true calling till much later. Your choice now does not need to be final. Even doctors, having studied for five years, and gone through harrowing years of training have been known to give it up for something else. Career changes are not uncommon, neither are they something to be ashamed about. The only thing you should never do is be afraid to try.

Keep in mind though that a career doesn't just mean climbing up the ladder. There may come a time when you have to hop onto a different set of steps, pull yourself up a rope or scale a wall to get to where you want to be. In fact, there are times when you have to move 'backwards' in order to go up. Don't be afraid to change and adapt your plans. Life is bound to throw you a few surprise punches - your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to take them in your stride.

© GTI Specialist Publishers. Reproduced with permission.