Nowadays, students have great career options available to them which previous generations did not have. On the one hand, it’s exciting to have so many options. On the other hand, it can also be quite stressful and intimidating. Especially when people keep asking you, “What are your plans for the rest of your life?” Having a clear idea of your career path can help you avoid wasting time in low-paying jobs.
What is a Career?
Career refers to a person’s advancement in a profession or field of occupations. It revolves around your professional journey to achieve financial stability. This can include your personal growth and development as well as your professional and recreational activities.
Many students are unaware of the many career options available to live a successful and happy life. As per India Today report, a student, especially in India, between the age of 14 to 21, knows and understands about only seven career options out of the 12000+ career options available. Another recent survey conducted by Wheebox, a talent assessment business, for the India Skills Report 2018 reports that around 85% of candidates believe that they are overqualified for the job.
professional judgments. Over half of job seekers look for work through institutions, followed by 21% through various web portals, and only 17% through close and extended family members.
The key to finding the right job is determining which professions can give you the most happiness and success. Whether you choose to pursue a career in accounting, theater arts, interior landscaping, or environmental sciences, you will need to develop a few abilities as a college student or working professional. Reading, writing, computers, critical thinking, and effective communication are among these skills. These skills are developed or strengthened in general education classes and through your first job or internship. These abilities, together with good career planning approaches and an expert career counselor’s guidance, can help you make better decisions, which is still not an explored field but indeed a much-needed mentorship required for students.
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Make a list of Careers that interest You!
Without accurate knowledge it is difficult if not impossible to make rational decisions and analyze and consider a specific career. Gathering information about careers is an important step in the career planning process. To start, make a list of potential careers that you think you could do well in.
Today there are approximately 31,000 career fields listed by the government. Most graduates claim to know nothing about careers in the government or private sector. Furthermore, I find it difficult to list or define more than 20-40 possibilities. Therefore, career counseling platforms like Mentoria come in handy! It provides a 4-step career guidance program and explains how one should determine their career options, whether they are a student, parent or working professional.
Students should spend time understanding and reading career magazines and getting ideas from all other sources of career options, especially career counselors.
Don’t forget to list down the careers you have always wanted to follow. After you are done making the list, look into each option and identify the ones that appear to be potentially suitable for your future. For each option, determine the following: Typical job responsibilities, qualifications, outlook, salary, and entry procedures, for example. How do your skills, values, and interests align with the types of employment you are looking for?
Looking for career information, reading everything you can about occupations, talking to people, participating in field activities, and enrolling in crucial courses are the four main ways to collect career information. Another is to explore sites like Mentoria. Mentoria has free materials, such as blogs and videos, that help one understand the right meaning of a career and a holistic way to approach it. You can also explore a day in the life of the profession you are interested in!
There is a large collection of printed and media-related career materials available at several websites providing career information. Students can also get materials from some academic
divisions. In addition, public libraries, the Internet, state and municipal organizations, career fairs, and professional organizations (Career advisory platforms) can all provide career information.
It is best to start with a quick skim of the resources available anywhere on the internet or at offline stores nearby. The resources can be about any career or profession that could be of very little interest to you. Talk to your teachers, professors, and parents, and read career magazines to learn about it. Even the placement cell in your college or career counselors in your school or college can help.
Many career counseling platforms have a wide range of professions listed that include information on the nature of the work, working circumstances, places of employment, required training, employment outlook, earnings, related occupations, and extra resources. Mentoria includes a wealth of career information.
People may be great resources for job advice. Interviewing is a safe way to learn about different professions. You may get the most up-to-date, full explanation of the responsibilities of a job and the qualifications you need by asking precise questions of someone already working in the industry you are considering. This will also allow you to gain a better understanding of the particular job field. You gain exposure to the work environment and the types of individuals with whom you would work by conducting this type of interview. Refer to Mentoria’s webinars section to see what a day in a certain profession looks like and decide if that is your preferred profession or if you would like to learn more about it.
Furthermore, informational interviews with individuals such as college faculty, staff, or administrators are readily available. They can also help you find people in the public and private sectors for a quick conversation. There are certainly a lot of students and graduates wondering how to find the right stream and fields that they might be interested in. Many organizations have a list of professionals you wish to speak with and learn about their daily lives in a particular profession. Other excellent ways to learn about careers are to attend conferences or career fairs.
One of the most effective ways to explore a career is by taking specific courses related to the fields of study that you wish to build your career in. Through these courses, you can develop the necessary skills and knowledge to enter a variety of industries. Although many jobs require a college degree, others are not tied to that specific academic field. Therefore, when choosing a major, consider all the options but find the best three.
Internships are one of the best ways to learn about it, or you can go for career assessment tests. Doing so provides you with a firsthand look at the various characteristics and values required for that field. Field experience can be achieved through various means, such as full-time,
part-time and summer employment. Some academic departments also have internship opportunities available.
Internships are very popular with students. They require a commitment of time and are typically awarded for a specific period of time. They are ideal for students who are looking to acquire experience while simultaneously pursuing a college degree. Although it can be very time-consuming, it’s still important to take the time to thoroughly explore various career options. Doing so can help you narrow down the options that are most suitable for you!
The unawareness of career options could actually get you in trouble, forcing you to look for guidance and ways to get out. According to an Economic Times report, only 20% of people are satisfied with their job; the rest, 80%, are struggling to find an alternative and are mostly unaware.
Discover what you are good at and Target the market.
If you have looked at a variety of career options, you are now ready to focus on a core professional objective. At first, it may be easy to dismiss some options as clearly inferior or incorrect. It may be challenging to choose the option that best suits you from the remaining options. It is important to conduct an additional study about your employment choices as well as your talents, values, and interests. Any decision, career or otherwise, should be made after gathering enough knowledge. The issue now is determining how to process the data and make a decision. There is a lot of variation among people on how much thought we put into a decision and the tactics we employ.
With careful analysis and a rational approach, the likelihood of making a successful decision can increase. A systematic strategy employs a framework that allows you to successfully assess and evaluate the information you have obtained in order to make a professional decision.
Anyone can learn how to make career decisions systematically. It can be described as a series of five tasks. The steps are as follows: (1) define the decision to be made; (2) identify all options to be considered in the decision; (3) gather information on each option; (4) Assess the potential outcomes of each option considered; and (5) select the best choice. Following this procedure boosts your chances of making sound business judgments.
Determine what you want out of a career.
When you don’t hate your job, getting out of bed on a gloomy, rainy Monday morning or working at weekends seems simple, clear, and productive. When workers’ skills and abilities are put to good use, they are the happiest. According to work satisfaction surveys conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, millennials value professional growth more than any previous generation, with 88% ranking it above all others. Feeling valued by coworkers and obtaining competitive salaries and perks are also important aspects of professional pleasure. Higher education, as well as internships or apprenticeships, will almost certainly be required when choosing a professional path to ensure that you are on the right track to a job that you will enjoy for many years.
If you create a career path and stick to it, you can have high-paying, appealing jobs. Decent employment might help alleviate the stress of excessive living costs, particularly increased rent or mortgage payments. Furthermore, college graduates have the highest rate of employment. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 88% of students with a college diploma were employed in 2016. It’s vital to have a job that won’t go away during a recession. Because so many occupations demand some form of post-secondary training, high school dropouts face the greatest danger of being unemployed, with a poor employment rate of 48%. While dabbling in a variety of low-wage occupations may suit your current lifestyle, it will cost you later in terms of job security.
You should create a timing and sequence outline after you have identified your career goals and defined the tasks that will help you reach them. You won’t be able to complete everything at once. Certain activities should obviously come first. Try to write it all down, outlining the actions that must take place, their right sequence, and the amount of time each will require. Finally, put your long- and short-term goals into action and track your progress as you go.
Talk to Industry Experts: Career Preparation
After you’ve decided on a career path, the next step is to plan how you’ll get trained for it, gain experience in it, and eventually enter the field. In this step, you should figure out how much effort and what you’ll need to be successful in your chosen profession. What are the prerequisites in terms of education and experience? Which of the qualities required for that job do you already have, and which do you need to acquire? Additional schooling, internships, specific courses, or training are the best ways to get the qualifications. The answers to these questions will assist you in identifying and setting appropriate goals.
Research the Job Market: Brand Yourself
Even after you have graduated from college, there are still many factors that you need to consider before you decide on a career path. Although your degree may open many doors, it’s up to you to find the type of job that fits your interests and needs. Doing a self-assessment and a good job search is the first step in finding the right job.
The job search process is similar to a marketing campaign. In this process, you must find potential customers for your product and learn how to effectively sell it. Before you can successfully close a sale, you must be aware of the competition in the industry and the product that you’re selling. You also need to prepare various marketing tools.
For years, job seekers have used various marketing techniques, such as responding to advertisements, searching for work through various means, and participating in on-site
recruiting. According to government studies, only about one in five job openings are advertised. Instead of wasting time and money trying to find employment through traditional means, try networking and forming a group with like-minded individuals.
Whether you’re applying for a job or not, there are various ways to proceed. You can use various means to apply, such as writing a cover letter, calling the employer, or applying on various job sites. Depending on the type of job that you’re applying for and the people that you’re reaching out to, some techniques may work better than others. It’s also important to prepare various documents and records.
The last step in the job search process is timing. It often takes many months for most people to find their first job. Having an emotional support group can motivate you. A support network can be composed of people from all walks of life, including your family, friends, and those who are actively looking for work. Having this group can help you keep going through the process until you find a job. And professional guidance is the cherry on top!
Career Management
By this time, you should have landed the job you want, one that makes use of your skills while also satisfying many of your values and interests. Keep in mind that one job will not be able to provide you with everything you desire. Whatever needs aren’t being met by your paid job can be actively met outside of it. In the same way, an ideal job should educate and prepare you for a better one.
Working as a professional is not the same as going to school. You performed particular assignments for specific grades as a student. Employee evaluation techniques are frequently ambiguous. In many cases, you will be asked to generate results with little or no guidance or feedback. Your knowledge of the workplace, networking efforts, and contributions on the job will all have an impact on your job stability and growth prospects. Keep a record of your successes and categorize them. This information will aid you in obtaining the performance evaluations, salaries, and promotions that you seek.
Final Verdict
You must be flexible in times of fast change and widespread obsolescence in occupation domains. A “12-job, career work life”, is gradually replacing the “one-job, career work life” of a generation ago. You might start asking yourself questions about your current job at some point. You could question if there’s something better out there or if, as your talents, values, and interests evolve, a different job would better fit your needs. The career planning process will have completed its cycle, but what if this occurs again? You can go back to Step 1: Self Assessment and start the process over as many times as you like during your working years. Remember that preparation and consistency are the keys to success. Make an appointment with a certified career counselor to discuss your options.