Key Life Area: Career
Are you bored at your current job, wondering if you made the right career decision?
Are you just starting out, and overwhelmed by the number and type of jobs out there?
Would you like to transfer from your current position, into a profession you are more passionate about?
It’s possible to go into the career of your dreams, it may just require some planning.
Career planning
Career planning takes preparation, patience, and sometimes a little bit of ingenuity.
There are many aspects to consider before going into or transferring into a career full-fledge, and you may need to sit down and look at each of them and prioritize them to see whether the particular career you are considering would work well for you.
Some aspects may be more important to you than others, and may or may not make up the strong points of a profession.
While considering a career possibility, some of the areas you may want to look into include:
Personal interest
Work environment
Hours
Salary
Advancement opportunities
Marketability
Variety of jobs
Locations
And other factors
Each of these areas varies depending on the profession chosen, and should be a key part of your decision-making regarding the career.
Do Your Research
A publication such as the Occupational Outlook Handbook, provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides much of this information and more, for many common positions and industries.
It has a full listing of different types of jobs, and you can filter your search based on different factors and categories.
CareerOneStop.org is a U.S. Department of Labor sponsored site that you may want to go to first. It comprehensively covers the career planning process, including:
Career exploration
Employment searching relating to your current life situation
Finding skills and education that meet your desired position
It also gives information on:
Networking
Resumes
Interviewing
You may also wish to go to a job search website such as Indeed.com, where you can see how many similar actual jobs are currently listed of positions in which you may be interested.
Review and Prioritize Different Factors
When looking into a career, you will need to do research to find out the information on the different job factors.
Find out as much as you reasonably can about each area, and then put it together to create a basic overview of the profession.
You may not want to just go over the factors in your mind – try putting them on paper so that you can look at them objectively and comprehensively.
In this way, you can have a more detailed and broad idea of the career you are considering, and can refer to the information you have researched when thinking about a particular aspect of it.
Finally, you should prioritize the different aspects that you are researching, and see if the career in question meets the levels of priority that you have set for those aspects.
For instance, if salary and marketability are high priorities for you, then the career you are thinking about should meet those needs.
Planning for a career takes effort, but it does not need to be intimidating.
• Researching
• Reviewing
• Prioritizing
the main aspects of a profession can help you make the right decision and lead you to success in your chosen field.
The next step, after researching different positions, and determining the one that you are most interested in, is to combine the key work segments you will need to address to get the job you want.
Different people have different goals, but, whatever your aspirations, you can take better control over your career path by combining five key segments together to work in conjunction to your benefit.
Career segments:
• Work experience
• Education
• Skills and training
• Volunteer experience
• Affiliations
Work Experience
Probably the most counted on method for people getting the job that they want is through gaining work experience in that particular area or field.
Many employers either require or prefer familiarity at similar previous jobs in order for someone to be considered for hire.
Because your work experience can help to determine the available job possibilities for you, it is important to consider what job you may have, and where the know-how you may be getting from it can take you – to your next position or further on down the line.
As the saying goes, “One thing leads to another.” That is what can happen in job succession.
Education
Education is an area that can open doors for a job candidate, maybe more so than directly qualifying him or her for a specific position. There are different types and levels of education, including:
• Secondary school -high school
• GED (General Educational Development) – equivalent of high school education
• College
• Graduate School
• Continuing education
For general information on financial aid for higher education, you can go to:
https://studentaid.gov/ and/or https://www.usa.gov/education.
The reason education is valued in the marketplace is that it builds a foundation of knowledge, comprehension, and application which a person can use for a higher chance of success in handling the responsibilities of a given position.
Skills Training
Certain positions require specific qualifications regarding skills training that an individual must meet in order to be considered as an applicant. Gaining these skills may involve attending courses or a trade school, especially to receive certification.
Skills may be acquired through training in such areas as:
• Health Professions
• Computer Training
• Office Technology
• Business and Management
• Language
• The Arts
• Athletics and Fitness
Volunteer Experience
One component of potential improvement in your career wishes that can be easily overlooked is volunteering.
Not only does volunteering offer you the chance to give back, which is a reward in itself -it also provides the opportunity to gain skills and experience while only giving up your time and energy.
There are all sorts of organizations which accept and even recruit volunteers, and there is a good chance you can find an opportunity which will grant you the chance to gain skills and experience in your field of choice, or in an outside area which may prove just as valuable.
It is also potentially a very good way to get your foot in the door of a company or organization in which you might like to work.
Examples of types of areas in which you can gain volunteer experience:
• Administration
• Legal
• Health
• Senior Services
• Environment
• Education
• The Arts
An easy place to find volunteer opportunities, is volunteermatch.com.
Affiliations
It is important to be connected to others in your field to keep up to date with what is going on as well as to maintain relationships with other professionals.
You don’t have to necessarily be an active member, but you may benefit from joining trade organizations or associations related to your line of work.
By doing this, you can
• Meet new contacts,
• Attend conferences and workshops
• Find out about job opportunities
In addition, as with the other previously discussed sections, this action can provide depth to your resume. There are affiliations available for just about every field and industry.
A popular professional network you can join to make contacts, is LinkedIn.
Career Map
To progress on the road to a more fulfilling or desirable career situation, you can apply each of the five given sections to your career map.
A suggested way to do this is to begin by
1. researching and educating yourself about the profession or area in which you want to work. If you are sure about the type of position that you want, you can go from there.
If not, there are a couple of more ways to learn about jobs and to meet people in the field you may be interested in which I will discuss.
Once you pinpoint the type of job that you want, you can
2. pull up a job opening that you might be interested in, and check into the requirements. These will usually include education, work experience, certifications, etc.
If the chosen position is representative of the types of jobs in which you would like to find yourself, then
3. you have an outline for the goals you need to set to eventually be hired for one of them.
For instance, if the job you are looking at requires applicants to have a bachelor’s degree in that field or a related one, you know that that is an objective you must meet to reach the point where you can apply for the job.
If the qualifications allow for more extensive work experience to substitute for a degree, then that can be an alternate goal. Should the position require certain certifications, then that is an area you may need to aim for as well.
Some jobs insist on having a good amount of work experience. This can be frustrating to someone new in the industry or who is changing fields.
You can help to overcome a lack of work experience by supporting your resume in the other four segments: education (by taking classes), skills training (taking courses and/or adding certifications), volunteering (which can help replace work experience), and affiliations (by becoming a more active member of a trade organization).
If you are unsure about the direction you want to take in your career, but have an idea as to what field or fields you may be interested in, there are two approaches you can take to help decide more about what type of work you might wish to pursue: informational interviews and observing.
Informational Interviews
Informational interviews, which are just like they sound, are an effective way to meet professionals who are doing the work that you want to do, and find out about them and their job.
You can learn what these individuals’ responsibilities are, what their typical workdays are like, what their backgrounds are, and other related information.
With the knowledge you gain from interviewing professionals, you can use much better judgment and make a more informed decision on a career path.
How to set up and conduct an informational interview:
1. Find professionals (search for more than one for more objectivity) in your area that are in a career position in which you may like to eventually find yourself.
2. Call or e-mail them, introduce yourself, offer your background, and ask them if they might be willing to meet with you (or talk over the phone) for twenty minutes to share information about the work that they do.
3. In the interviews, ask questions which will have a direct impact on your decision-making process for how you will choose your career track. Especially consider asking about each individual’s work and educational background, and how they got to the positions that they are in now.
4. Always follow up with a thank you letter or e-mail.
Observing
If you are at the point in your career-searching process where you are more positive about the area in which you would like to work, but have little experience in that particular type of environment, then a helpful way to actually familiarize yourself with that kind of setting is through going there and observing the routines and actions of people at work.
Many companies and organizations are amenable to allowing you to actually come to their place of work and simply spend time observing what they do, given that you present yourself as someone who is interested in possibly pursuing work in their field.
You can set up an observation opportunity as you would an informational interview. Make sure to be aware of restrictions they may give you for reasons of potential liability.
Entrepreneurship
Another option that is available to you in your career choice is that of having your own business. Becoming a successful business owner can be difficult – however, there are many positives to having your own company: autonomy, more earning power, tax advantages, and more flexibility, among others.
One way to start is by working on your own business part-time while still holding a job. In this way, you can lessen the financial risk if your company is not successful.
There are many ins and outs to starting and running a business, and the area of entrepreneurship goes beyond what this guide covers. However, helpful resources to turn to in this area are the Small Business Administration and SCORE.org.
Career – My Own Story
Years ago, I was in a transition point in my career. I had a business degree, but was not satisfied in any of the jobs that I had had in that field. I wanted to go into an area that I felt more suited for.
Evaluating Career Possibilities
I originally had been interested in health fields, and decided to look back into those areas of work. I looked into kinesiology, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. I was familiar with kinesiology, but wanted to get a better idea regarding physical therapy and occupational therapy.
Observing Positions in Person
I had read about “observing” in a workplace, and decided that that would be the best way for me to gain some experience with those particular professions, before thinking about going to school and trying to get a job in one of them.
I called a couple of reputable local clinics, and asked for permission to “observe” them at work. They both were very amenable to the idea, and agreed to let me come in during certain hours.
They were also very willing to provide me with materials and answer any questions that I might have for them.
A Clearer Direction
I “observed” their work for a few days each week for a few weeks, learned a lot, and got a real sense of the environment, and what it might be like to be in their profession.
Because of this experience, I was able to eventually have a sounder basis for going in a different direction, and making the decision to pursue a Master’s Degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies. Within a couple of years, I was able to land my dream job as a Recreation Program Director.
Conclusion
Now you have the knowledge necessary to explore and research positions, to find the right career for you.
Below is a Career Map to help lead you through the process of preparing the key career segments, and set you on the path for getting your dream job!
Career Map
Work Experience
What type of work experience does your desired position require? _________________
Do you need to have worked in a specific field? If so, which one? __________________
How many years of work experience are needed? ____________________
What type of job can you get that would provide work experience toward your desired position? _______________________
Education
What level of education does the position require?
High School/GED? ________
Associate degree? _________
Bachelor degree? _________
Graduate degree? _________
Will the employer accept work experience in lieu of education? ____________________
Skills Training
Does the position require specific skills? __________________________________
If so, in what area are the skills needed? _________________________________
Are they obtainable through courses? _____________________________
If so, which ones? ________________________________
Volunteer Experience
Is there experience or skills that the position requires that could be gained through volunteer experience? _________
If so, what type of experience? ____________________
Where could you volunteer to gain that experience? ______________________
What type of skills? _________________
Where could you volunteer to gain those skills? __________________________
Affiliations
Could you benefit in applying for the position by belonging to one or more trade organizations? _________________
If so, given your research, which one(s) would best fit? _________________
Does the organization:
Offer networking opportunities? ____________________________
Have conferences and workshops? _____________________________
Provide courses for continuing education? __________________________