How To Choose A Career now that you are uncertain about one!

How To Choose A Career

by Rebekah Sager

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Finding a career you love is a priceless thing. However, economist Neil Howe says that only 5% of people pick the right job on the first try. He calls those people “fast starters” and in general, they are less creative, less adventurous, and less innovative. It can take time to land the perfect gig, but mostly it takes an honest look at yourself and an honest examination of what will really make you feel the most content.
Pick a lifestyle, not a job title–Barbara Roche, author of Commit To Confidence, executive coach, professor, and public speaker recommends asking yourself the question “Which camp are you in? Do you live to work? Or do you work to live?” Even if you already have a job, it’s important to figure out how much your passion to do something plays a role in your job choice. For example, can you work as a bank teller by day and singer at night? Or do you need to commit yourself to becoming a professional singer and allow for the fact that you may end up pretty impoverished in the pursuit?
Don’t over commit–The important thing is to not overcommit to one path. Graduate school, for example, is overcommiting because if you don’t end up liking that field, you will have spent four years gaining entrance into the field. Taking on college debt is over committing because you are, effectively, saying you will only take jobs that are relatively high paying in order to service the debt.
Pursue Your Passion– Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of the book Lean In, has a buzzy new catchphrase for ambitious young women: in a new video and accompanying Tumblr, her organization asks, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” Well says Roche, that’s all well and good, but it’s also important to dispel the myth that it’s easy to find your calling. It takes work.
Larry Smith an Economics professor at University of Waterloo in Canada believes the only people holding themselves back is themselves.
“No matter how many people tell you that if you want a great career, pursue your passion, pursue your dreams…you will decide not to do it.” Excuses, he says, are holding people back.  Smith says he’s angry and bewildered by the lack of conviction. He says he’s spent his entire teaching career coaching students to find careers they love, but he still hears excuse after excuse for not following one’s passion.
Create a compelling resume–Focus on the impact you have made and how you have added value instead of just describing your career history. Target your resume to address the needs of employers – to really address what they’re concerned about and how you can help. (And take the time to research what that might be). Remove all ‘resume speak’ by which I mean “filler” words that sound good but don’t say anything.
Develop the skills you’ll need–Whether you need to do an internship, volunteer, or take an adult education class, if you want to pursue a goal, you’ll need to figure out what the key skills are and learn them.
Dig your heels in try to truly assess yourself. You may need to go old-school and pay for an Aptitude test through the trusted site Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation. Here you’ll find your natural talents and special abilities–the components that may suit you to your desired profession.
Finally, as a writer who gets to do what she loves every single day, I use the quote of one of histories greatest writers–William Shakespeare…his character says it better than I ever could.
Hamlet Act 1, scene 3. Polonius’s last piece of advice to his son Laertes before he leaves to catch the next boat away from dad.
“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Farewell, my blessing season this in thee