Career choice can have a major impact on not only your career path but your quality of life. Several factors should be taken into consideration to make the right choice, from your personality type and working conditions to your career prospects. This article explains how to optimize the career guidance process.
What are your career goals?
Career goals represent what you want to achieve in your professional career in the short, medium or long term. They can vary according to individual interests and ambitions.
Financial stability
The first objective of a career is to generate a regular and satisfactory income to meet personal and family needs.
Hierarchical promotion
This implies that you are aiming for a higher-level position, taking on more responsibility and becoming a leader in your professional field.
Career development
You can set yourself the goal of developing new professional skills that will improve your performance and make you more competitive in the job market. To do this, you can follow:
- Ongoing training in your specialty;
- Language training;
- Information technology training (IT);
- Soft skills training;
- Conferences and seminars;
- Etc.
Career transition
If you’re considering a complete career change, your goal may be to take up a job that will enable you to acquire new skills and open up new professional horizons.
Developing your own business
If you’ve got an entrepreneurial mindset, your goal may be to set up your own business, improve its profitability, expand your customer base and innovate in your sector of activity.
Social impact
If the idea of making a positive difference in society motivates you, your career goal may be to work in a field that has a significant social impact, such as health, education, the environment or humanitarian aid.
Work-life balance
The goal of seeking employment may be to achieve an optimal balance between professional activities and personal concerns. This is important for reducing work-related stress, improving performance and maintaining a good quality of life.
What are the most important things to consider when choosing a career?
Education
Looking for a job that fits in with your studies has several advantages when it comes to career management:
- Optimal mobilization of skills: a job that corresponds to your field of study enables you to put your theoretical knowledge to use, and fosters autonomy, creativity and self-confidence.
- Quick to adapt: when you work in a field related to your training, you’re more likely to adapt quickly to the demands of the job. This facilitates your integration into the work environment and helps you to improve your performance.
- Job opportunities: Employers often tend to prefer graduate candidates. By choosing a job in line with your training, you increase your chances of being selected during the recruitment process.
- Professional recognition: working in a field consistent with your program of study builds credibility with colleagues, customers and employers. You’ll be perceived as someone with in-depth knowledge in your field.
Know your interests
A career path that matches your interests helps you:
- Work with motivation and enthusiasm;
- Achieve personal fulfillment;
- Building a long-term career;
- Optimize your performance;
- Stimulate the creative spirit;
- Facing the challenges;
- Etc.
Evaluate your skills
Assessing your skills enables you to identify your strengths and areas for improvement. It helps you focus on areas where you can excel, and set in motion a process of improvement. In this way, you can identify new skills required by the job market.
Career compatibility with personal values
A career choice in harmony with your values enables you to be authentic in your work and act under your principles.
Growth prospects
To ensure a good long-term professional career, you need to assess the growth prospects of your target field. Here are some criteria to consider:
- Economic market trends: focus on sectors that are growing and have strong development potential;
- Job demand: explore occupations where there is a high demand for skilled labour. This may include fields where there is a shortage of talent or an increase in demand due to demographic, technological or economic factors.
- Networking and collaboration opportunities: consider careers that offer opportunities to network and collaborate with highly qualified professionals. Professional relationships can play a crucial role in enhancing your career.
- Continuous training: choose a career that encourages professional development and offers opportunities for ongoing training. Companies that invest in the skills of their resources and encourage continuous learning offer strong growth potential.
Working Style and Environment
Work style and environment need to be factored into your career preferences. Here are a few points to consider:
- Self-employed or salaried;
- Corporate culture;
- Teamwork or individual work;
- Work in the public or private sector;
- Local or multinational;
- Etc.
Compensation and financial stability
Consider your financial needs and the earnings prospects in the field you’re considering. It’s important to align your financial expectations with a realistic goal. Compensation varies according to many factors, such as:
- Skills and qualifications: the more solid your knowledge and specialized qualifications, the more likely you are to earn a high salary.
- Years of experience: experience testifies to the expertise acquired over time, as well as an ability to meet challenges and act proactively;
- Level of responsibility: positions requiring team supervision, strategic decision-making and project management are often associated with higher remuneration.
- Sector of activity: remuneration can vary from one sector to another due to market demand, competition, regulations, etc.
- Individual performance: resources that meet targets and make a significant contribution to their company may be rewarded with higher remuneration in the form of bonuses, commissions or gifts.
- Company policy: some companies may have rigid pay scales, while others may adopt a more flexible approach offering opportunities for salary increases.
What are your career interests?
Career interests can be represented by the RIASEC model. This is a typology that groups career interests into 6 domains:
Realistic range (R)
People with realistic interests enjoy manual activities and prefer hands-on tasks. They are often drawn to occupations that handle tools, equipment, materials, plants, etc.
Investigator (I)
People with this type of professional interest have the intellectual and analytical capacity to excel in careers in research, technology, computing, etc.
Artistic (A)
An artistic profile prefers aesthetic expression in its work. They often work in the visual arts, design, music, theatre, literature or multimedia content creation.
Social (S)
People with social interests are empathetic and have a strong desire to help others. They often choose careers in health care, teaching, social work, psychology, community services and so on.
Entrepreneurial (E)
Enterprising people have a strong capacity for persuasion, autonomy and leadership. They are often attracted to careers in sales, management, marketing, executive positions and so on.
Conventional (C)
People with conventional interests are organized and prefer structured, office-based jobs, such as administration, accounting, financial services, human resources management, etc.
How do you test logical reasoning?
How do you see your professional career developing?
The job market is constantly changing. That’s why it’s a good idea to put in place effective career planning to maintain the value and competitiveness of your profile.
- Regularly assess and develop skills;
- Set clear objectives;
- Be flexible to change;
- Search for potential careers;
- Consult a recruitment expert;
- Participate in professional events such as open days and job fairs;
- Explore the possibility of setting up your own business.
Discover your career interests
If you want to find your ideal career, HRID offers you the ID-Career test as well as the ID-Personality and ID-Cognitive tests to help you identify:
- Your professional interests;
- Your cognitive skills;
- Your personality traits;
- Your RIASEC profile;
- Career options that suit you;
- Jobs furthest from your interests;
- Etc.
The ID-Career test takes 30 minutes and results are available immediately.