5 Questions That Will Help You Choose the Right Career

5 Questions That Will Help You Choose the Right Career

Jan 05, 2018

Too many choices are not always good, especially when it comes to picking your career. Use these soul-searching questions to decide which path is right for you.

Here are a few great questions to ask as you decide:

1. What are you good at, and what do you love?
The problem isn’t the idea of pursuing things you’re good at and that you love; it’s that your aspirations are too broad and difficult to act on. Think of your passions as a starting point. If you want to be the next Stephen King, break that passion down into writing and editing. Then do a “skills inventory” to determine just what else you bring to the table.
Your skills inventory could take the form of a checklist, a mock resume or interviews with friends, family members, mentors and former employers who can provide an outside perspective. You can then return to a tool like the one provided above and more carefully match your skills and interests to job titles, narrowing in on those that are both best suited to you and have the best prospects for growth.
2. Are you promotion-or prevention-focused?
Feeling motivated is an essential aspect of job satisfaction. But causes for motivation vary widely from person to person. In general, there tend to be two main motivation types: promotion-focused and prevention-focused.
Promotion-focused professionals are classic creatives and entrepreneurs. They work quickly, seize new opportunities and think abstractly. The downside is that they can be impulsive, overly optimistic and are likely to make bigger mistakes.
Prevention-focused professionals are just the opposite, focused on maintaining the status quo and protecting all they’ve worked on. These professionals prefer planning, reliability, thoroughness and analytical thinking.
While we all need a little bit of promotion- and prevention-oriented thinking, it’s important to determine which way you lean before diving down a career path. A prevention-focused person, for example, would do far better as a developer in a major corporation than launching her own startup. A promotion-oriented person will likely feel suffocated in a traditional 9-to-5, thriving instead in a more creative environment with bigger risks and bigger rewards.
3. What is the best environment for your personality type?
Deeper personality tests will help you further pinpoint just what you need in your work environment to thrive. Particularly important is determining whether you’re more of an introvert or an extrovert, as the two personality types differ widely in their needs.
An introvert, for example, may be more attracted to a quieter research role, while an extrovert will thrive in a busy, loud sales office. Public speaking, amount of teamwork required and frequent contact with clients are also factors to consider.
4. What kind of lifestyle do you want?
Most jobs start off with at least a few years of hard labor at lower pay than you’d like. What’s more important is looking ahead at people well into a career track to determine whether the lifestyle they lead is desirable to you. Some factors you might want to consider include the amount of control they have over their own time, their salary and the amount of travel involved, among other factors.
If giving back to the community gives you the most job satisfaction, then perhaps being a social worker with a relatively low wage will satisfy your needs. But if you’d prefer to turn off work at the end of the day and go live your “real” life, including eating out, travel and play, then perhaps a higher salary goal is more appropriate.
5. Where do you want to live?
While not essential for every career type, determining where you want to live can be an important part of the career search process. This is especially true for jobs that are focused in certain regions. 
Beyond geographical region, think again about the lifestyle on offer in the places you’ll be headed. Do you seek a metropolitan lifestyle with restaurants and cultural attractions on every corner? Or do you need the beauty and quiet of a rural setting?
Deciding which career is right for you can be an overwhelming process. Rather than focusing on identifying a direct path, first determine your own needs and goals, and then sync your findings with what the world has to offer.

 

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