How can you find your desired career path?

When we were kids, people often asked what do you want to become when you grow up. Everybody has a dream job that they want to do. But you cannot reach your goals without a proper career path. Career paths can be personal or organizational. It is personal when you set a path for yourself keeping in mind your values and interests, while an organizational career path is developed by organizations for their employees. Having a career path gives you clarity, motivation, and increases your productivity. You can choose a career path in different niches like accounts, technology, arts, education, law, etc. Here’s how you can decide your career path.

Jot down your career goals and priorities

Do a little bit of self reflection and ask yourself questions like what are your interests and expectations from your job. Do you want a career that pays fortunes, gives travel opportunities, or provides a work-life balance? Once you answer these, write it on a paper and then a career meeting all these needs. You just have to do a little bit of research and self introspection to find a perfect career path.

Understand your personality

You should know your personality to understand which career suits you better. Some people like adventure and travel, they can’t adjust to a job that requires 10 hours of sitting in front of a computer. Similarly, those who want stability look for a career that can provide them security. So, choose a career that suits your personality.

Set a yearly or five yearly plan

It is always better to have long term and short term goals set for you in the coming years. Research and work hard for those goals and you’ll see your career graph going up. You can learn various skills that are required to achieve those goals with the help of websites that create online courses. You can easily learn any skill because there are plenty of resources available online. But, remember to be flexible with these goals and make changes when required.

Evaluate your skills

You cannot grow without evaluating your skills from time to time. The job market is dynamic, so you have to keep your skill set updated. Just take a page and make a detailed list of your skills by category. You can divide those skills as technical, soft skills, expertise, interpersonal skills, etc. You can also mention your strengths and weaknesses to find a career that matches your strengths.

Educate yourself according to your desired job requirements

If you want to choose a career then first compare your current education to your desired job description and work on building those missing skills. Many jobs need specific skills in a candidate such as bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or online certification. So, you can learn those skills and take a leap in your career. You can also look for online course builder websites to get a variety of certification courses.

Gain work experience

If you are working or a fresher, experience is what makes you an expert in any field. So, look for a career that provides opportunities for growth and experience. Freshers can look for a career that interests them the most and requires the exact skills that they have.

Take the help of a mentor or counselor

Having a mentor or counselor can greatly help you in deciding a career path suited to you. They’re the experts who can tell you how to fill the knowledge gaps and guide you through your journey. If you are clear about your goals and dream career but don’t know how to enter that field, connect with an expert working in that field and ask for guidance.

Networking is crucial

Join a professional network if you can to gain information about different jobs and real experience of the professionals. Communicate with them and ask the pros and cons of choosing that career path. You can showcase your skill sets to them and they might tell you about the best opportunity you can get.

Lastly,

Don’t be too stubborn and understand that there is nothing like a right or wrong career. Be flexible with your choices as circumstances might change and you become interested in a different career path. Just be bold, keep working hard and enjoy the journey.