5 Guidelines for Finding the Best Career for You

Trying to find the right career for you can be a long and difficult process. This decision takes a lot of introspection and planning, so don’t expect it to happen overnight. Here are five tips to help you figure out the career that will truly fulfill you.

Make a List of Options

If you’re unsure where to begin, making a list of potential career paths that you’re interested in is a good way to start. Write down anything that you’re even remotely curious about, whether it’s a specific job or a general career area. Getting your thoughts down on paper can make it easier for you to visualize your thought process. Once you’ve finished making your list, you can rank your options or look for any overlap. For example, if you find that many of the jobs that you wrote down are related to the STEM field, it can be a helpful hint that this is the career path for you.

Take a Gap Year

Taking a gap year can be a great way for you to focus on your personal development, allowing you to reflect on what matters most or even discover a hidden passion. If you’re feeling burnt out after finishing school, taking a gap year can allow you to take time for yourself and increase your maturity, independence and confidence. A recent survey found that 97% of students who took a gap year reported an increase in maturity, while 96% reported an increase in self-confidence. In addition, 77% reported that taking a gap year helped them discover purpose in their life. Instead of jumping right into the job market with no insight into what you truly want to do, take a gap year to help you find your footing. Looking up why take a gap year can help you decide if it’s the right path for you.

Take a Career Assessment

Career assessments are designed to evaluate your personality traits, skills, values and interests in order to determine the best job for you. Some of the most common types of career assessments are the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, Strong Interest Inventory and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. These tests can help you determine possible careers, the ideal environments for you to work in and a list of strengths and weaknesses that you can use to your advantage. Although these assessments can be lengthy, they provide extremely detailed results that can help you determine the most suitable career for you.

Seek Help From a Mentor

Although you may think that you don’t need one, a mentor is a great option if you’re struggling with finding a career path. In fact, 80% of CEOs cite mentors as one of the main reasons for their success. A mentor has been in the exact same position as you and can therefore provide you with valuable advice that you probably wouldn’t be able to get from friends or family. In addition, a mentor can determine areas that you’re struggling in before you’re even aware of them. Although they can often be brutally honest, this is often what you need to grow both personally and professionally. As an added benefit, mentors are free, making it a win-win situation.

Review Past Experience

Past behavior is often a predictor of future performance. Therefore, it’s important that you analyze your previous job experiences to determine what did and didn’t work for you. Identify job positions in which you felt fulfilled, and determine if there’s any link among these, whether they’re in a similar field or utilize similar skills. This can guide you in the right direction and allow you to find a career that’s best for you.

You’re most likely going to be spending thousands of hours at your job, so it’s important that you find one that utilizes your skills, lines up with your values and truly makes you happy. Using these five guidelines can help you on the path to success.