"What career are you planning to pursue in the future?" A lot of teenagers and young adults have heard this question far too many times. In fact, a substantial amount of our lives revolve around trying to ascertain the answer to this question.
Currently, our nation's job market is becoming increasingly competitive as a large group of people, most of whom are recent college graduates, search for paid occupations. While overwhelming and redundant at times, the career that a girl chooses is one of the most important decisions of her life, particularly because it is often one that has the potential to define her.
Do you ever feel stressed either because you are unable to decide what career you want to pursue in the future or because you are faced with the seemingly daunting task of finding a job? Don't worry. A substantial amount of people can understand your sentiment. In fact, finding a job or a career is a daily struggle for many. But it doesn't have to be. Take this as an opportunity - an opportunity to learn more about yourself and discover personality traits and assets you may have never even knew you had. This is only the beginning of the long journey ahead of you.
Here are five pieces of
advice that you should keep in mind when finding a career to pursue:
Do what you love.
Whatever you end up doing, make sure you stay true to yourself. This piece of advice may sound very hackneyed, but like all cliché things, it's true. Not only is this true, but also following it is essential in order to have a satisfying career. A significant amount of successful people constantly emphasize pursuing a career that you are passionate about for a reason. You might think that the concept of passion is often overused and constantly fabricated in our society. This is true to some extent due to fake "passions" that are often pushed upon people. However, if you find your true passion and pursue it as your career, it will be a source of continued motivation and discipline. If you pursue your passions, then your work will not feel tedious and cumbersome and your productivity and success rates will dramatically increase.
Don't choose a career solely based on income or socioeconomic status.
This piece of advice goes along with whatever was previously mentioned. While choosing to pursue a career with generally high income rates and prestige may seem appealing, if money and status are your primary motivation, then you will most likely be mediocre at best. This mediocrity will be due to the lack of passion and interest present in your day-to-day life. Obviously, you should take a job's salary into consideration when applying, but you simply should not go into a job with the mere expectation of receiving a series of large paychecks if you have little to no interest in it.
In addition, you should keep in mind that your job is what you make it. There are high and low salary ranges present in every profession. Everyone has the potential to earn high salaries regardless of their job specialization. As long as you demonstrate high proficiency in your daily activities and are very satisfied with your career path, then your material success will immediately follow.
Don't be afraid to take an unconventional path.
There is no right or wrong way to do anything. Just because the path you choose to travel on may not be in accordance with what is generally accepted by society does not mean that you will amount to nothing. Far too many people possess a narrow-minded mentality, causing them to believe that there is only one correct way to do something; however, since we don't live in a two-sided, black and white world, this is outright untrue. Even if you get mocked or ridiculed, continue to do what feels right to you and trust your intuition.
In addition, remember that it's OK to take risks. In fact, the biggest risk that you can take is not taking any risks at all. All successful people took large risks at one point or another, so why can't you be one of them? Never let the fear of failure hold you back.
Find a mentor.
It is always helpful for you to have a mentor who has already been through what you are currently going through. Mentors can contribute invaluable advice and insight as to how you should proceed regarding your career path. In addition, they can provide encouragement and serve as spirit guides when you are following through with your aspirations. This is especially important when you are planning to pursue a career in business and entrepreneurship since connections are key in the business world.
When making connections, it's helpful to utilize social media such as Facebook and LinkedIn. LinkedIn is especially helpful when trying to find job opportunities and expand your network of connections. Keep in mind that even if you do not have a strong mentor-mentee relationship with someone, it's always helpful to have people who you can turn to for reliable advice regarding your career.
Don't be discouraged if you're a beginner.
It's OK to be a beginner. Everyone had to start from somewhere - even highly successful people. You should never feel inadequate simply because you are new to something. As long as you have the motivation to learn and gain experience in any field, then you will improve your skills.
In addition, it's never too late to change career paths or pursue a new field of interest. As long as you have a strong interest in whatever you choose to pursue and enough motivation to follow through with your aspirations, then you will automatically gain proficiency in whatever field you choose. To add, you should also never let people tell you that you are not capable of doing something. Whenever someone tells you such things, that's only indicative of their own personal limitations - not yours.
Good luck with your career! :)