Regardless of your age, and the amount of time you’ve spent in the workforce, you may have realised that you’re not in the right career. Maybe you would like a career, but you really just have a job which anyone else could do. Or maybe you’re about to choose your degree, but you’re unsure about which field you want to go into.
There are also more and more people who are realising mid-life, that what they’re doing isn’t what they’re passionate about, and they’re ready for a change.
Here are some ways you can discover your dream career:
Ask yourself the tough questions
After we’ve experienced a few different jobs, we can easily say which jobs we don’t like. However narrowing down exactly what we want to do can be a different story. There are a few questions you can ask yourself which may help you discover the career which is right for you:
1) If you could switch jobs with one friend, who would it be and why?
2) What have you always wondered what it would be like to do, and why is it interesting ot you?
3) If you had the right qualifications and education, which career would you pursue, and why?
4) When you get compliments from your friends and co-workers, what do they usually say you’re good at?
5) What do you love most about your current job and why?
6) What would you do more of in your current job if your boss would let you and why?
7) What do you want to be known for when you retire and why?
Try a career quiz
A fun and useful way to find your dream career can be trying an online quiz. These may seem like a fun way to pass the time, however you’ll also probably find that they also open your eyes to different possibilities which you may not have previously considered.
A great quiz to try is called Discover Your Dream Industry by Careers Australia, which is also a good way to find an industry which will suit you, and you can then narrow it down to a particular career.
Take your time
Finding your dream career may not happen over night, however if you commit to finding that career, it will happen sooner or later. Work out what your basic financial needs are, and begin to put money aside in case you need to work part-time, or quit your job completely in order to chase that dream career.
Remember, while passion won’t pay the bills, most people who build their dream career will find that with passion comes money, as you’ll be working hard, and far more productive than when you’re working in a job you hate.
Keep motivated
Once you find a career which you think may be the right one for you, it’s important to not settle, and keep that motivation towards finding the perfect career. Ask yourself if you would do that job for free, and if it energises you. If you can answer both of those questions with a resounding yes, congratulations, you’ve found your dream career.
