A CAREER is a lifelong commitment. Like getting married or having children, it makes a lasting effect on your entire life, personally and professionally.  A job is just a set of duties and responsibilities in order to get paid. But choosing a CAREER requires some serious thinking and decision-making. You’re not alone. There are a lot of teenagers I meet everyday, even in March or April of their Senior year and they don’t know what they want to do.

Please understand one thing before you begin: ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS! Chances are if you don’t ask, you will regret it.

Before we begin, do one thing for me…take EVERYTHING out of your mind as much as you can.  Don’t consider the coolest degrees, the best money made or the easiest degree that is offered in order to get a job. Don’t even think about the college or university that you’d LIKE attend. Choosing a college is down the road and we’ll get to that.

Having those preconceived thoughts will greatly hinder your opportunity to make the right choices and will stop the chances for you to think ENTIRELY for yourself.

Focus on YOU and YOU alone.

So take some time (about 30 minutes each) either now or very soon…to seriously consider the following steps in order to choose the best CAREER for you:

WHAT MAKES YOU SMILE AND GETS YOU EXCITED?

What is it that you like to do? Sit back, relax and take stresses out of your life right now.

What do you like in general? What do you like in life in general that you can get paid for in the future?

Make a list of things you like to do. Write them on a piece of paper entitled, “What I like.”

• Maybe it’s talking to people a lot, just the idea of being around people gets you sparked!
• Maybe you enjoy helping people…possibly because you feel good when you’re needed
• Maybe it’s being in the worst moment of someone’s life because you work well under pressure…
• Or maybe you are a homebody and like to sit at a desk all day long doing the same kind of work…
• Can you see yourself doing the same job everyday or do you need a variety of different tasks?
• Could it be that you’re soooo creative that you can design, create or come up with ideas off the top of your head…

THINK ABOUT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING YOU ENJOY!

When you do this, make a list of everything you like to do, whether it pertains to your future career or not. NEXT, in order for you to consider what you are good at, skills AND talents come into play.

We all have natural abilities to do things. We all have been brought up, or brought ourselves up learnign certain traits and things that we are better at than other people.

Part 2 is coming up…

My Success is Your Success,

Keith Lipke

  

Keith Lipke is a careers and college recruiter, coach, mentor and blogger at     The Hope Chest. His passion is to educate, inspire, and give hope to young people who need it upon their search for the right career and college.