Choosing or changing a career is never easy, you can take some steps to ensure that you follow your career passion and excel in the right direction. A recent survey in New York revealed that a lot of professionals want to change their career three times in their lives until they are satisfied with their current work situation. Indeed too many people are unhappy in their current jobs and think constantly of changing their jobs due to multiple reasons.
Many students in the college wonder about where their career in college would go when they complete graduation. If you want to make a change in your career or wondering about how you can have a fulfilling career in the years to come, these 9 tips will go a long way to help you to think positively and have a sense of direction in your life.
#1. Think About Your Passion
The first obvious step is to think about your passion and desire about doing something that you love in your life. You can turn your passion into your career and be able to make good money; moreover, it will provide you with the ultimate satisfaction that was missing throughout from your previous job roles. If photography or singing makes you happy, then go follow your passion and never look back. A day will come when you will not regret your decision and have a lot of gratitude.
#2. Know What You Are Good At?
Maybe you do not currently feel good or passionate about your career, if you are not good at what you do, chances are you will likely to remain behind in that job role or career. Therefore always choose a career path or job role that excites you and motivates you to excel in it.
#3. Test Your Abilities
Most people are not even sure what they are good at, if you are one of them, then go ahead and take some career assessment tests to find out what is your best skill. A free online website can be very helpful in this goal; you can match your skills with the results and job roles to find out what should be your future career move.
#4. Apply For an Internship
A great way to test an industry or try a new job role is to try an internship in any professional organization; if you are good at what you do and love what you do, they might hire you to provide full-time services as an employee. This could be a beginning of a new career in the middle or start of your professional career.
#5. Find a Good Mentor
A mentor is always a good option to take your career to the next level. He will analyze your progress and let you know your shortcomings; take a positive look at what you are missing to create a lucrative career in your respective field of interest. A mentor will guide you towards the right career path.
#6. Explore Other Exciting Careers
All the popular career choices are available to students like the doctor, engineer, lawyer, teacher and a computer scientist. But if you do not find them attractive or inspiring, do not follow the crowd and waste your time in conventional careers. These choices may lead you to a disastrous career; choose an unconventional career that you have never heard of. Explore magazines and websites to read the list of best dream jobs and choose one for yourself.
#7. Ask for Advice
Seeking advice from experienced people is the best way to start or excel in a new career. Remain in contact with people who work in your field and explore social media sites to start gathering information about your next career move.
#8. Create a Career Plan
Failing to plan is planning to fail; unless you create a solid plan for choosing a right career, you may become nobody in the future. For example, if you want to pursue your passion of becoming a writer, then you need to explore what is the next step after graduation to help you develop writing skills and get an internship or job to gain experience as a writer. You should set realistic goals and milestones to achieve your dream to become a writer or anything you want.
#9. See Your Career Path as Stepping Stones
Of course, all these plans and ideas are never set in stone; consider that your career is a race in the Marathon and you have to walk the winding road to get to your destination. If you know where you are going, any road will take you there. Just have a firm belief that your choice will lead you to a fruitful career.
Melanie Pinola has worked as a career counselor and a content marketing services provider, she constantly explores new ways to improve careers of students and guide professionals to make correct decisions.