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You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.
                      -Steve Jobs

With thousands of options, how will you pick a career that’s right for you? If you don’t have any idea what you want to do, the task may seem insurmountable. Fortunately, it isn’t. Put enough thought into it, and you will increase your chances of making a good decision.
There is an old saying that if you’re trying to choose a career, you should think about what you would do if you didn’t have to work. If you had a million dollars and you could do anything, what would you do? Your answer to that question, while maybe not literally the best career choice for you, may give you insight into what you should do.

Assess Yourself

Figuring out what you should do with your life may sometimes require you to get to know yourself better. If you want a career that will really make you happy, you have to have a very good understanding of what you want and what you enjoy. For some people, this means taking some time off to decide what’s important to them.

Before you can choose the right career, you must learn about yourself. Your values, interests, soft skills, and aptitudes, in combination with your personality type, make some occupations a good fit for you and others completely inappropriate.
Use self-assessment tools, often called career tests, to gather information about your traits and, subsequently generate a list of occupations that are a good fit based on them. Some people choose to work with a career counsellor or other career development professionals who can help them navigate this process.

Make a List of Interests

It is very easy to turn your hobbies or something you love doing into a future career. Many hobbies correspond to real world needs and positions. Consider what you like to do and how that might fit into a career. Remain humble as you work toward your goal. You may want to work part-time as you get referrals and experience in your desired career.

Academic subjects translate well into future careers but may require more schooling than other types of careers. Your favourite class in high school could very well launch you into your future career but you have to be willing to work for it.
You probably have multiple lists of interests in front of you at this point-one generated by each of the self-assessment tools you used. To keep yourself organized, you should combine them into one master list.

First, look for careers that appear on multiple lists and copy them onto a blank page. Your self-assessment indicated they are a good fit for you based on several of your traits, so definitely consider them.

Sometimes it’s hard for us to see the areas in life where we excel. If you don’t think you’re good at anything, ask your parents, other family members, friends, or teachers what they think you’d be good at. Their ideas might surprise you!

Explore the Career List

Now get some basic information about each of the career suggestions on your list. You will be thrilled you managed to narrow your list down to only 10 to 20 options! Consider what career options are available for you to easily move into. These would be careers in which you have both the necessary skills and an “in.”

Find job descriptions and educational, training and licensing requirements in published sources. Learn about advancement opportunities. Use government-produced labour market information to get data about earnings and job outlook.

Create a “Short List”

Narrow down your list even more. Based on what you learned from your research so far, begin eliminating the careers you don’t want to pursue any further. You should end up with fewer than two to five occupations on your “short list.” A dream board is a wonderful tool for organizing your aspirations. It can also help you hold yourself accountable as you work toward reaching your goals.

If your reasons for finding a career unacceptable are non-negotiable, cross it off your list. Remove everything with duties that don’t appeal to you. Eliminate careers that have weak job outlooks. Get rid of any occupation if you are unable to or unwilling to fulfil the educational or other requirements, or if you lack some of the soft skills necessary to succeed in it.

One of the most important things to consider is if the career path you’re choosing will provide you with an acceptable level of financial security. Job markets fluctuate as society needs different things at different times. Certain jobs are also always in demand or frequently unstable. You will need to consider if the career you choose is stable enough for you and your desires for the future.

Conduct Informational Interviews

When you have only a few occupations left on your list, start doing more in-depth research. Arrange to meet with people who work in the occupations in which you are interested. They can provide firsthand knowledge about the careers on your short list. Access your network, including LinkedIn, to find people with whom to have these informational interviews.

Make Your Career Choice

Finally, after doing all your research, you are probably ready to make your choice. Pick the occupation that you think will bring you the most satisfaction based on all the information you have gathered. Realize that you are allowed do-overs if you change your mind about your choice at any point in your life. Many people change their careers at least a few times.
Identify Your Goals

Once you make a decision, identify your long- and short-term goals. Doing this will allow you to eventually work in your chosen field. Long-term goals typically take about three to five years to reach, while you can usually fulfil a short-term goal in six months to three years.

Let the research you did about required education and training be your guide. If you don’t have all the details, do some more research. Once you have all the information you need, set your goals. An example of a long-term goal would be completing your education and training. Short-term goals include applying to college, apprenticeships, or other training programs, and doing internships.

Write a Career Action Plan

Put together a career action plan, a written document that lays out all the steps you will have to take to reach your goals. Think of it as a roadmap that will take you from point A to B, and then to C and D. Write down all your short- and long-term goals and the steps you will have to take to reach each one. Include any anticipated barriers that could get in the way of achieving your goals and the ways you can overcome them.

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V S Syamlal
വിവിധ വിഷയങ്ങളെപ്പറ്റി വിശദമായ പഠനം നടത്തിയ ശേഷം കൃത്യമായ വിവരം വായനക്കാരിലേക്ക് എത്തിക്കണമെന്ന നിഷ്ഠ പുലര്‍ത്തുന്ന മാധ്യമപ്രവര്‍ത്തകന്‍. 1974 ജൂലൈ 23ന് തിരുവനന്തപുരത്ത് ജനനം. തിരുവനന്തപുരം ചിന്മയ വിദ്യാലയം, സെന്റ് ജോസഫ്‌സ് ഹൈസ്‌കൂള്‍ എന്നിവിടങ്ങളില്‍ സ്‌കൂള്‍ വിദ്യാഭ്യാസം. തിരുവനന്തപുരം ഗവ. ആര്‍ട്‌സ് കോളേജിലെ പ്രീഡിഗ്രി പഠനത്തിനു ശേഷം തിരുവനന്തപുരം യൂണിവേഴ്‌സിറ്റി കോളേജില്‍ നിന്ന് ഇംഗ്ലീഷ് സാഹിത്യത്തില്‍ ബിരുദവും ബിരുദാനന്തര ബിരുദവും നേടി. തിരുവനന്തപുരം ഇന്‍സ്റ്റിറ്റ്യൂട്ട് ഓഫ് ജേര്‍ണലിസത്തില്‍ നിന്ന് ഒന്നാം റാങ്കോടെ ജേര്‍ണലിസം ബിരുദാനന്തര ബിരുദം.1997 മുതല്‍ മാധ്യമപ്രവര്‍ത്തന രംഗത്തുണ്ട്. കോളേജ് പഠനകാലത്ത് ആകാശവാണിയില്‍ പ്രഭാതഭേരി പോലുള്ള വാര്‍ത്താധിഷ്ഠിത പരിപാടികള്‍ തയ്യാറാക്കിയിരുന്നു. കലാകൗമുദി വാരികയിലായിരുന്നു ഔദ്യോഗിക ജീവിതത്തിന്റെ തുടക്കം. തുടര്‍ന്ന് മാതൃഭൂമി പത്രം, ഇന്ത്യാഇന്‍ഫോ പോർട്ടൽ, വീണ്ടും മാതൃഭൂമി പത്രം, ഇന്ത്യാവിഷന്‍ വാർത്താചാനൽ തുടങ്ങിയ സ്ഥാപനങ്ങളില്‍ ഈ കാലയളവില്‍ പ്രവര്‍ത്തിച്ചു.2012ലെ മികച്ച ദൃശ്യമാധ്യമ പ്രവര്‍ത്തകനുള്ള കേരള സർക്കാരിന്റെ പുരസ്‌കാരം നേടി. സ്പോർട്സ് റിപ്പോർട്ടിങ്ങിനുള്ള ജി.വി. രാജ പുരസ്‌കാരം, സ്വദേശാഭിമാനി ട്രസ്റ്റിന്റെ വക്കം അബ്ദുള്‍ ഖാദര്‍ മൗലവി പുരസ്‌കാരം, മാതൃഭൂമിയുടെ എം.ജെ.കൃഷ്ണമോഹന്‍ സ്മാരക സ്വര്‍ണ്ണ മെഡല്‍, മലയാള മനോരമയുടെ കെ.എം.ചെറിയാന്‍ സ്മാരക സ്വര്‍ണ്ണ മെഡല്‍ തുടങ്ങിയവയ്‌ക്കെല്ലാം അര്‍ഹനായി. 2009ല്‍ ചൈന സന്ദര്‍ശിച്ച പ്രധാനമന്ത്രിയുടെ പ്രത്യേക പ്രതിനിധി സംഘാംഗമായിരുന്നു. 2010ലെ കോമണ്‍വെല്‍ത്ത് ഗെയിംസും ഇന്ത്യ പങ്കെടുത്ത ടെസ്റ്റ് -ഏകദിന മത്സരങ്ങളുമടക്കം ഒട്ടേറെ കായികമത്സരങ്ങള്‍ റിപ്പോര്‍ട്ട് ചെയ്തു. ഇപ്പോള്‍ സ്ഥാപനബന്ധമില്ലാതെ സ്വതന്ത്രനായി മാധ്യമപ്രവര്‍ത്തനം നടത്തുന്നു.Donate to support FAIR JOURNALISM

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