{"id":36538,"date":"2020-01-15T14:28:32","date_gmt":"2020-01-15T18:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/?p=36538"},"modified":"2020-01-15T14:28:32","modified_gmt":"2020-01-15T18:28:32","slug":"choose-career-thats-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2020\/choose-career-thats-right\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Choose A Career That&#8217;s Right For You"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Choosing a career is not as easy as our parents made it out to be when we were young when the question \u2018what do you want to be when you grow up?\u2019 was answered with such exciting things as an astronaut, a ballerina or a wizard.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Who wouldn\u2019t want to be a wizard?\u00a0 Unfortunately, we need to be a bit more realistic now and put a bit more thought and pragmatism into our choices.\u00a0 But how do we decide what career is going to fit us best? It\u2019s not easy, and you\u2019ll need to do a fair amount of honest self-reflection to narrow down your choices.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>It\u2019s OK if you don\u2019t know what you want to do<\/h2>\n<p><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ai7glfgaLnY\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In her now-iconic article, Mary Schmich told us <i>\u201cdon&#8217;t feel guilty if you don&#8217;t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn&#8217;t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don&#8217;t.\u201d\u00a0 <\/i>It was immortalized by Baz Luhrman in his song Everybody\u2019 Free To Wear Sunscreen.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"560\" height=\"315\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sTJ7AzBIJoI\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" class=\"lazyload\" data-load-mode=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Maybe you only have a vague idea in your head that you want to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2019\/5-steps-start-career-girlboss\/\">be your own boss<\/a> or work in the charitable sector.\u00a0 That\u2019s a good start.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not only young people who are choosing careers, people now change jobs frequently throughout their working life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Make a list of potential careers you\u2019re interested in<\/h2>\n<p>For this first step, list any job you think you may be interested in.\u00a0 From web designer to a chef, a vet to a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/online.norwich.edu\/academic-programs\/resources\/public-administration-careers\">career in public administration<\/a>.\u00a0 The point of this exercise to get it all down on paper and begin narrowing it down from there.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Find your career \u2018sweet spot\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Lucia Smith, HR Consultant at <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.grayscalable.com\/\">Gray Scalable<\/a> talks about the career sweet spot. This spot is where what you want to do, what you\u2019re good at, and what the world needs, intersect.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s where you need to make some more lists.\u00a0 What are you good at? Are you good at maths, practical, resourceful, excellent at sports? Write it down and match it to your list of potential careers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Next, see if these careers are in demand.\u00a0 Do your research on the career you have in mind.\u00a0 Are the skills, conditions and salary expectations something that appeals to you? Take into account how future proof this role is too.\u00a0 If it\u2019s likely to become an automated process or done by a machine or computer program in the near future, then it\u2019s probably best to choose something else.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Take a career aptitude test<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.themuse.com\/advice\/the-11-best-career-quizzes-to-help-you-find-your-dream-job\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/the-11-best-career-quizzes-to-help-you-find-your-dream-job.jpg\" alt=\"the-11-best-career-quizzes-to-help-you-find-your-dream-job\" width=\"750\" height=\"367\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36542 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 750px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 750\/367;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s an episode of the TV show Friends where the character Chandler quits his well paid, boring job in data processing but isn\u2019t sure what he wants to do next.\u00a0 He goes through eight hours of aptitude testing to be told he\u2019s best suited to, you guessed it, data processing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wingfinder.com\/\">Aptitude tests<\/a> have become quite sophisticated these days.\u00a0 They aren\u2019t just a glorified online quiz but use machine learning and a huge amount of data to analyze your personality and skills and match you to potential careers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Get some work experience<\/h2>\n<p>One of the best ways to get an inside track on the job you want is to do it (or at least see it being done).\u00a0 Internships are a great option to spend time in a company and learn what really goes on there. If you can\u2019t find an internship in the right area, contact a company and offer your time for a few days or weeks, or at the very least, ask if you can shadow a member of staff.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Ask someone who\u2019s already doing the job\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/kateharrison\/2018\/01\/03\/4-tips-for-finding-a-career-mentor\/#1b800d2a52cf\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/4-tips-for-finding-a-career-mentor.jpg\" alt=\"4-tips-for-finding-a-career-mentor\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-36541 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/4-tips-for-finding-a-career-mentor.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/assets\/4-tips-for-finding-a-career-mentor-768x576.jpg 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 960px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 960\/720;\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<em>4 Tips For Finding A Career Mentor<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Get in touch with someone who is doing a job you\u2019re interested in and ask them if they would be willing to get a coffee and give you some insight on what it\u2019s like.\u00a0 Ask them to be completely open about the best and worst aspects of the role and any advice they would give you on getting into the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Deciding on a career can be daunting but unlike previous generations, you don\u2019t need to be stuck in a career you find unfulfilling for the rest of your working life.\u00a0 Career changes are commonplace now and you may find yourself revisiting these tips more than once. Good luck. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Choosing a career is not as easy as our parents made it out to be when we were young when the question \u2018what do you want to be when you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[109,5989,7232],"tags":[11546,5891,276,11544,360,11543,7961,5368,655,5865,5961,730,918,118,5986,1494,11545,115,222],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How To Choose A Career That&#039;s Right For You<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Choosing a career is not as easy as our parents made it out to be when we were young when the question \u2018what do you want to be when you grow up?\u2019 was\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2020\/choose-career-thats-right\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How To Choose A Career That&#039;s Right For You\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Choosing a career is not as easy as our parents made it out to be when we were young when the question \u2018what do you want to be when you grow up?\u2019 was\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/2020\/choose-career-thats-right\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Daily Business Resources for Entrepreneurs, Web Designers, &amp; 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