Many people who are beginning the career exploration process thing, casually searching the Web, reading and responding to classified ads, taking various types of tests, or seeing a career consultant for some sort will help them see the route to take in their planning. The truth is that any or all of these actions can be helpful if you are willing to invest time and energy in the process, at least as much time and energy as you would invest if you were deciding where to live or buying a car. Certainly being happy in your work is as important as where you live or buying a car. Certainly being happy in your work is as important as where you live or what you drive.
Most career counselors agree that people who benefit the most from career exploration assistance agree that the people who benefit the most from career Resume whisperer exploration assistance are those who already have an idea of what they are all about and what their purpose is in life, and who are willing to work for clarity by answering the Who, What, Where, and Why questions of:
Who am I?
What do I want to do?
Where do I want to do it?
Why do I want to do it?
In fact, clarifying the answers to these four questions is the secret to successful career planning.
Who am I?
This question refers to the essence of who you are-at school or work, at home, at play. People who can say “this is who I am” know what is important to them in life. They usually make career choices that reflect what they enjoy doing, what they do well, their natural styles of behaving, and most important, their internal value systems. The answer to the questions “Who am I?” is found in those characteristics that are consistent throughout all areas of your life: the characteristics that define you to yourself and to those with whom you have regular contact. Being true to your own self-definition is one of the best keep secrets of successful career planning.
What do I want to do?
This question refers to tasks you most enjoy doing, often referred to as your motivating skills. The “What” of career exploration is very much like the What of choosing a college major or degree, questions that you may have already addressed: What am I interested in? What would I be good at? Being able to state your interest in the form of preferred work tasks that can be translated into skill sets is a key to recognising career opportunities. The answer to the question “What do I want to do?” is often the beginning of your ideal job description, the outline of your resume, or an important clue to activities that you might enjoy doing outside of work. Don’t pay to o much attention to the job titles used in this section. Groups of work tasks are called by different titles in every organisation.
Where Do I Want to Do It?
This question refers to the type of environment that is motivating for you, a factor you probably considered in evaluating various college and university campuses where you were applying. In career exploration, it may represent a particular organisation setting, the kind of business you might like to start, or the setting for certain kinds of leisure and volunteer activities you’d like to pursue. People who find a good fit between who they are and where they work get ahead because they know what the rules are, both spoken and unspoken. A motivating environment is one in which you have a great deal in common with others who are drawn to the same setting. You are comfortable with your surroundings – the dress code, or lack of one, the corporate culture, the vocabulary, the work and outside of work expectations. You fit in and don’t have to prove the value of your contributions on a daily basis. Finding a compatible environment is one of the most important parts of a successful job search.
Why Do I Want to Do It?
The answer to this question comes from what is internally motivating to us. The most obvious answer is probably to make a lot of money, or to be successful. Theses goals are often very important to college students just starting out. But what seems most obvious doesn’t work for everyone. People whose work incorporates their own personal value systems feel a real sense of accomplishing something important and making a difference in the world. They know that they are doing in their work what they were meant to be doing with their lives. Career success comes from living that realization.