The Key to Choosing the Right Career is Knowing Yourself

If you are at the beginning of your work life and ready to choose a career or if you are thinking about a career change, you are likely doing a lot of thinking about finding the right career for you. Should you go with the career that pays less but gives you lots of room for creativity?  Or should you look for a career that pays really good money and has room for moving up?  It’s a tough decision to make and everyone needs to come to the final conclusion for themselves.  Unfortunately, no one is going to make that decision for you.  Well, that’s a good thing really.

One of the keys to choosing the right career is knowing yourself well.  You might think, “I’m 30 years old – I think I know myself fairly well!”  But do you?  How much time have you thought about what you really like? What gives you the most pleasure?  What kinds of things you can do for hours at a time without thinking about when you can stop?

And if you’re fresh out of high school (or maybe even still in high school) you might never have consciously thought about who you really are.  After all, that’s not something that is exactly encouraged in high school is it?

So, how can you go about finding out who you are so that you can choose the right career for your future?

Here are some questions you can ask yourself:

• When am I happiest?
• What can I do for a long time before I realize how much time has passed?
• Who do I admire the most and what are the qualities I admire about them?
• What qualities do I have that I’m proud of?
• Do I prefer to be indoors or outdoors?
• What do I talk about a lot that impresses other people?
• What kinds of characters do I connect with most in books?  In movies?

You can also ask other people questions about you.  Other people often have insights to who you are that you don’t see.  Ask your friends and family:

• What am I good at?
• What kind of job can you see me in?
• What’s the happiest you’ve ever seen me?
• What’s my best quality?  My best skill?

The more questions you ask the more answers you will find. These answers will help you find the career that you should be in!