I need help deciding what career to choose – this is a frequent comment or concern from people of all ages. It comes from those who are in mid-life looking for a change, people who have found their jobs eliminated for whatever reason, and also from high school and college students trying to figure it out before they spend too much time and money going a direction that might not be the best.
This can be a confusing, frustrating, and intimidating thing to work through. So, many people turn to career tests to help find direction. When taking a career test, remember that this is not really a test. There are no right or wrong answers, and you don’t get a passing or failing grade.
It is better to refer to this kind of exercise as career profiling. What you are attempting to do is create a profile of yourself and then match (or profile) the best careers and occupations to your personal profile.
Career profiles that cover only your interests can be limiting and not long-term oriented, because interests can change over time, Whether it is 1 year or 10 years, interests can change, and then you can find yourself questioning the type of job you have.
The best approach is combining your interests with your abilities (aptitude), values (characteristics of work), your work style, and most importantly, your personality. Think about it – your personality is what it is, so why not include it in your personal profile when deciding what career to choose. It just simply makes sense. Your personality is going to stay with you for a long, long time, and there are careers out there for all personality types.
Closing comments – laying your personality and work style on top of your career interests, abilities, and values, will give a much better direction toward a long-term career field and / or occupation. If you are going to do a career profile (test), then choose it wisely. If you are going through a career change, also make sure your résumé supports your change of direction.
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on Thursday, November 20th, 2008 at 4:26 pm and is filed under Resume Help.
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