HomeResourcesCareer Fast-trackCareer Exploration – First Step of Career Planning
  • The Kelly Global Workforce Index survey revealed that only 47% of professionals and industry leaders are satisfied with their career. A whopping 53% of professionals are unhappy with the direction in which their career is heading.
     
  • In spite of good pay, continuous learning and a wide array of opportunities that are offered by the IT sector, the number of applicants for the IT sector has drastically reduced.
     
  • Identify the factors that actually motivate you and help you in switching to the field of your choice.
Exploring the available career options is the first step of career planning. This involves exploring the options that are of your interest and discovering new options that you were previously not aware of. Ascertaining your career options involves gathering and evaluating data/information about your interests and skills as well as exploring various other career options that are available, in order to land on the best opportunities.

Career Assessment

Career Assessment involves the usage of a set of tools for identifying some of your personal attributes such as interests, preferences and values. It is of two types - informal assessment and formal assessment. Informal assessment can be performed with the help of worksheets, whereas formal assessment is done with the help of self-assessment tools. Some of the most prominent formal self-assessment tools include Myers-Briggs Indicator (MBTI) and the Strong Interest Inventory.
  1. MBTI – This self-assessment tool evaluates and identifies the preferences of your personality and enhances your ability to lead as well as to become a good team player.
  1. Strong Interest Inventory – Explore and identify careers that match your interest and help you in choosing the right certification or other training programs. This assessment also helps you in understanding your risk-taking preferences.
Make informed career-related decisions by identifying industry sectors and occupations reflecting your interests, values and skills.

How Do I Go About?

Start by making a list of options that you would like to explore. You might certainly have some options in mind. However, the following suggestions might help you in creating a new list or expanding the existing one.
  1. Carry out a self-assessment and identify the field of your interest.
  2. Check whether you are equipped with the right skill sets to get into that profession.
  3. Browse some of the professional and industry associated websites and check whether any of the roles catch your interest.
  4. Check whether any of your existing skill sets are transferable to the new role that you are looking forward to fulfill.
  5. Refine your skills or acquire new ones to make yourself more employable in that sector.

What Should I Know?

If you have discovered the career that interests you, then put in some efforts and find answers for the following simple and straight questions:
  1. What are the responsibilities, duties and day-to-day activities in this job?
  2. What are the actual requirements for that job?
  3. How do you gage yourself with respect to the work-specific and employability skills that are required for the profession of your choice?
  4. Is any certification course or a specific license required for doing this type of work?
  5. What is the effect of changing technology on this type of work as well as its future employment prospects?

Where Can I Find the Answers?

The best way to find accurate answers is by following the latest developments and other updates on published materials, online resources, print resources and more.

People who are already working in the field of your interest are the best source for extracting all the necessary information. They can provide up-to-date information that is difficult to access from any other source. Use your networking techniques to learn more about your field.

Factors That Misguide You While Exploring Your Career Options

While some people look out for a genuine transition of their career, most of us tend to explore new career options for all the wrong reasons. If you are exploring your career because your current job has left you broke, then please note that you might stay in the same situation even after transition if you are solely seeking financial security. Please rethink over the whole concept of career transition if you are exploring your career options for any of the following reasons:
  1. to attain financial security
  2. to overtake your peers, without evaluating your interests and skills
  3. because your current job is not the most sought after profession
  4. because your current job is not one of the top-paid jobs.
Take off those rosy glasses and keep your eyes and mind wide open while exploring your career options. Hold yourself accountable for every step you take. Give a sincere try with all the vigor, commitment and seriousness. Find answers to all your burning questions. Bring about the transformation!

References

http://www2.open.ac.uk/students/careers/exploring-your-career-options
http://careernetwork.msu.edu/_files/PDF/PassportF13-explore.pdf
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0321944178.pdf
http://careerplanning.about.com/od/exploringoccupations/a/exploration.htm
http://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/services/assessment

About the Author

EshnaEshna

Eshna is a writer at Simplilearn. She has done Masters in Journalism and Mass Communication and is a Gold Medalist in the same. A voracious reader, she has penned several articles in leading national newspapers like TOI, HT and The Telegraph. She loves traveling and photography.

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