How to Choose a New Career
A career can be many things to many people. Some people look upon their career as an essential part of their identity. Others may see their career solely as a means of earning money and cultivating other interests. Changing careers is a common decision. You may realize your current occupation no longer suits you. Your area of employment may be caught in an economic downturn. Finding a new career can be the right choice and need not be a difficult or complicated process.
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Instructions
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List your strengths. What are your strong points? Are you always on time? Do you concentrate on details? Can you write well or draw or build things with your hands? Do you like the outdoors? Take stock of yourself. Your strengths can be the key to a new career.
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List your weaknesses. A weakness can be something you are not good at such as working with numbers or singing. A weakness can also be something you would choose to stay away from such as cold weather or dogs. Your weaknesses can help you decide which careers you would prefer to avoid.
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Take career and personality tests like the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (see Resources section). Such tests can help you uncover previously unknown information about yourself. You may find out that you are more shy or more outgoing than other people. This kind of understanding about yourself can then be applied to a new career. An outgoing person might wish to explore a career in sales. Someone less outgoing may prefer a career where he can work by himself as much as possible.
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Talk to others about their career choices. First-hand accounts can be a useful source of information. Ask people how and why they choose the careers they did. One of the easiest ways to do this is to see if the career you may be interested in has a professional organization. Very often you can contact members and ask questions about the profession. Professional organization members may even be able to help you find resources to help make the transition to another career less difficult.
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Save enough money to allow you to explore other career options. Changing careers may be expensive. You may face a pay cut or loss of seniority. You may want to work for free for a few months to convince an employer you are serious about a new career. A six month's monetary cushion can help you meet any unexpected new expenses.
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