Often students are afraid to ask, but when I talk to them about careers that match their talents, passions and values, I know they are wondering, well what on earth would I be doing in this job you’re describing to me? We miss the mark in exploring careers, oftentimes, because we assume that people know what they don’t know.
Now what?
Once you’ve made job matches and considered them through their demand in the marketplace, you have to actually learn about what you would do on a day-to-day basis in the jobs that seem like a fit for you.
Your matches should lead you to further exploration.
STEP 1: Compare your matches on paper. First, document your matches and other careers that interest you with a chart like this one that you can download here. It’s a good way to compare them to each other and consider pros and cons. If you are a student, I’d consider about 10 possible jobs to explore. Many of them may be very similar. If you are an adult considering a career transition, documenting 3-4 careers may be adequate.
Once you’ve got your list completed, grab a highlighter and highlight the things that are “pros” of each job listed. You may want to rank order those that have the most “pros” to the least.
STEP 2: Get REAL TIME: After you’ve done this documentation, it is now time to learn about these careers REAL TIME, not just by reading about them, but by experiencing them. Over the next few weeks, we’ll talk about these real time activities and give you downloadable tools to help you with your exploration in each REAL TIME AREA:
- Informational Interviews
- Job Shadowing
- Internships
How have you learned the most about a job or career you’ve considered or have been considering?
