What is the best way to determine which career is right for you?
Every individual has a unique personality and self discovery is an important first step towards finding a career that rewards you not only personally but financially as well.
Questions like -
Are you outgoing or introverted? Do you feel comfortable working alone or in a group? Would you like to be given a task that you finish by yourself or would you like to work on a big project with multiple teams? These are important questions to answer for career selection.
Let us look at a few important things to consider when selecting a career.
Research your personality type
One of the best ways to know if a specific career is right for you is to research the career choice extensively. For example, if you are an extroverted person who prefers to work in teams, a solitary research job is probably not for you. Whereas if you are an introvert and love working alone, then that research job can be an amazing career choice.
Consider Skills and Interests
Another important aspect that you need to consider is your skills and interests. What excites you? What subject are you passionate about? Do you enjoy learning about art and culture or do you like technology? Think about what sort of skills you possess and what you enjoy doing and then try to find a career that closely aligns with your interests.
Review insider experiences
Talking to people who are already working in the jobs you are interested in can be of great help as well. Try to read up on articles and books about the industry to gain a better understanding about what specialists have written about your career of choice. Looking at industry statistics about job satisfaction and attrition rate can also provide you an idea about stability and employee working conditions.
Check Lifestyle Compatibility
After researching your career choice and reviewing the information available, you also need to keep in mind the kind of lifestyle that you wish to have and whether your career choice will provide you the resources to attain that lifestyle. For example, if you wish to have time for your family and friends on the weekends and want career balance then teaching and research may be a viable option.
However, if you want a fast paced career with lots of travel then a career in consulting or banking might be more suitable for you.
Take a Career Guidance Test
Decoding your skills and interests is not easy and you may find that you are not quite able to get a handle on it. Taking a career guidance test designed by experts is something that you can try. These tests provide you with deep insights into your personality type along with your skills and interests.
Many times career guidance institutes have expert guidance counselors. They initiate the career guidance process with a career aptitude test which is basically a psychometric questionnaire to evaluate your personality and check your abilities. Based on the results, career experts check your compatibility with the various career options available.
A career aptitude test seems easy, however, it may take a week's time for a complete analysis. These psychometric tests have proved to be extremely helpful to students which is why they have become popular all over the world. Top institutions in India have embraced it fully and provide aptitude test for career selection after 10th for their students as an added evaluation tool.
