how do you choose the right career path

7/31/2019 How Do You Choose the Right Career Path

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Choosing the right career eludes some of us right upuntil retirement. Be one of the lucky ones who have

truly found their calling. The following tips fromBayt.com should help.

Franklin D Roosevelt once said It is common sense to

take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly andtry another. But above all, try something. Thankfully,

we live in trial-and-error times where growth andchange are expected and employers have learned to

tolerate if not wholeheartedly appreciate and welcome

the diversity in background and skills that come fromcareer changers.


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In lieu of life-long job and career stability, many of todaysprofessionals espouse a career trajectory that is open to

responding to new challenges and opportunities as they arise.

These may be motivated by entirely extraneous factors such aseconomic restructuring, downsizing, upsizing, the emergenceof lucrative new industry sectors or motivated by changes in

personal situation which could include age, changes to maritalor family status, geographical preferences, new life demands,

desire for better work/life balance etc.

Whatever the motivation, career change is no longer thefrowned-upon sole recourse of the unemployed but a commonturn of events and one that is expected to become more so as

economies restructure at an ever more accelerated pace,information about alternate career paths flows ever more

freely, work/life balance becomes an increasingly hot topic,and a booming global economy means opportunities abound.


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A recent on-line poll run by the Middle Easts #1 job site

Bayt.com covering over 1,420 professionals that enquired howoften candidates have changed career paths in their life sawthe majority of respondents have changed careers at least

once and many had changed careers two times or more. Only40% of respondents have never changed careers whereas

27% had changed careers once and 32% of respondents hadchanged careers twice or more.

So how in such times of flux and opportunity and in light of thevast amount of choice out there do you determine the right

career for you? Below the Career Experts from Bayt.com offersome pointers as you approach this important topic:


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(Examine yourpassions and

interests)


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1. Read the current literature on career change the whys, how-tos and

whens. Books such as What Colour is Your Parachute are a great way to start

the self-exploration process.

2. Ask yourself what you would do in an ideal world if money were noimperative. What would you do if you had a year away from work or if you

could emulate someone who in your opinion has a dream job? Would you write

poetry, run a global corporation, compete in athletics, design world-classarchitectural projects, publish literature, start your own little business, work

with children, with the elderly, teach, heal, perform?

3. Ask yourself what tasks you ideally like to immerse yourself in. Do you

prefer the analytical aspects of your current (or past) job, the administrativeaspects, the leadership aspects, the coaching aspects, problem-solving aspects,

decision-making in teams, writing, designing, co-ordinating, managing,creating, trouble-shooting etc. Where do you find yourself happiest and most

comfortable?


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4. Make a list of those aspects of your job or other jobs that you dont like andwish to avoid.

5. Be honest with yourself, be creative and dare to dream as you think of whatyou would really like to do. The dreaming stage is not the time to focus allow

yourself to really explore all avenues of interest and be curious about newpaths and possibilities.


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(Examine yourvalues, priorities and

skills)


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6. Determine what your priorities really are. How important is work-life balanceto you versus career growth or financial stability? How important is leisure

versus work versus learning for you? Are you willing to put one or two on hold

while you pursue a third or is your ideal life plan a blended one that includesthe three? Are you content with financial stability or are you interested in hugefinancial gain? Are you interested in a job or a career? Is prestige and social

status critical to you and how much of these does your career, past andpotential, afford you?

7. Determine your real values and ask what career satisfies and is consistentwith those. Albert Einsteins advice on this front was: Try not to become a

man of success but rather try to become a man of value.

8. Make an inventory of your skills and strengths.

9. Take self-assessment tests to even more deeply understand what it is thatmotivates, drives and inspires you.


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(Examine alternate

career paths)


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10. Research alternate career paths look at growth potential, job profiles,pay, benefits, mobility, work/life balance and all other issues that willdetermine your longevity in the career.

11. As you hone in on potential career paths obtain the maximum amount ofinformation about these careers. Read industry blogs and websites, talk to

people in the field, subscribe to industry journals and newsletters and leave nostone unturned as you familiarize yourself with the potential new territory.

12. Map your personal inventory of skills, interests, values against therequirements of alternative career paths.


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13. Realistically analyses and make contingencies for those factors that impedeyour career mobility. These may be geographical mobility issues, financial

limitations, family considerations, or education/ training issues. Look atoccupational and non-occupational barriers to career entry and determine

realistically how you can/will overcome those.

14. Seek counseling and advice. As you seek to reinvent yourself you may wantto talk to a professional counselor formally, or informally to someone in yournew area, an old colleague or a peer. Formal counseling is useful when trying

to overcome mental blocks to career growth and advancement. Often, thebiggest detriment to career development is low self-esteem, anxiety fear,

inertia and the inability to deal with change meaningfully and constructively.


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(Select the ultimatecareer path)


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15. Let your natural instincts, your introspection and the fruits of your intenseresearch guide the way. Many of us in todays number-crunching world havelearned to quell those very essential natural instincts that propel us towards

leadership, happiness and success.

16. Dont be swayed by external pressures. Often family, friends and societyplace undue pressure on a person to conform to or follow a certain career

path. Pablo Picasso once said My mother said to me, "If you become a soldier,you'll be a general; if you become a monk, you'll end up as the Pope." Instead,

I became a painter and wound up as Picasso. .

17. Dont let financial considerations alone guide you unless of course you havedetermined that financial gain in itself (with all its glories and trappings) is your

overriding value, interest and goal in life. Oftentimes, short-term financiallosses can be compensated for by the fact that you will eventually prosper

most and acquire the most depth and skill in the field that most interests you.


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(Confidently strideinto your new career)


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18. Believe in yourself. Have faith and be bold and brave as you follow youraspirations. Dont let negative self-perceptions and external diatribes detract

you from your true calling. After the homework, the reading, the research, theintrospection, soul-searching, networking and analysis, close your eyes and

find the person you always wanted to be.

Robert Kennedy famously o nce said Only those who dare to fail greatly canever achieve greatly. Arm yourself with your dreams, your invaluable newly

acquired self-knowledge and your rigorous research into the plethora ofopportunities out there and dont hesitate in pursuing the career of your

dreams. Your success will thank you!


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how do you choose the right career path

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