Hi, my name is Pat Goodwin, with patgoodwinassociates.com, and today, we're going to talk about how to choose a career. I think it's a fascinating subject to begin to think about, what career one would like to move into. During high school, and taking classes maybe in college, you begin to think about what you'd like and what you don't like, and as you begin to think about a career, I would encourage you to keep documentation, and write down things that you enjoy. Oftentimes someone gets a degree in a subject, but the fact that they have a degree in a subject, doesn't mean that that's the career they actually go into, so know yourself well. Ask yourself questions about what you really like, and what you don't like. There are wonderful associations and wonderful organizations that can offer an assessment, for you as a young person, to look at how you choose a career, and I would encourage you to do that. One of the ones that I'm familiar with, is called AIMS, and it's the Aptitude Inventory Measurement Service. You can go online and take a look at that, and see if that is something that you would like to invest in, and when I think about guiding people in a career, oftentimes, that is something that would be called a worthwhile investment. As you do part time work, growing up and doing part time jobs, in order to make money, you're going to be able to determine what it is that you like and don't like. Oftentimes, people move into a field of work, that is different than what they thought they would ever do, and I have known people who have moved in numerous, very creative lines of work, based on what they have enjoyed doing, so be open minded. Be open minded and be flexible, when you try different careers. What employers want from someone who is entering the career field,is to be dependable, to be on time, to be flexible, to be responsible, to be able to take a job, and finish it to completion, to show follow through, to show creativity, and initiative. Those are basic core values that everyone has, and if you demonstrate core values, when you're choosing a career, I think that you would feel more successful, in making a change in a career. I am very familiar with an individual, particularly, who moved to a larger organization, and started in the HR department, helping them with paperwork, and as soon as they recognized that she had so much more to offer, she moved within six months to three different jobs, but the company was the one that she wanted to go to work for, so she was able to take a job, that was an entry level job, and then she was able to be noticed, because of the work that she was doing, and the quality of work that she was doing. Therefore, she had an opportunity to move within the field of work that she wanted, because the company was large enough to provide her that opportunity, so be open and flexible. Try a few things. Don't feel bad if something doesn't work, and I hope that you will take a look at this information I provided, and feel good about exploring opportunities, and that's how you choose a career.
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