Are you about to graduate/have already graduated and are not quite sure what you want to do next? Do you find it difficult to know what is out there and what is right for you? This section focuses on things you can do to help address these questions
When thinking about future careers do you find it hard to identify what you want, or what would be a suitable job for you?
Have you taken time to really consider your own strengths, values and motivations?
Self-awareness is a key first step of the career decision making process – there are 4 facets of self-awareness that you should consider when thinking about the career decision making process:
- Skills
- Interests
- Values
- Personality
These make up your personal ‘factors of career choice’ and can be reflected on to help you make decisions when planning your career. These factors are also likely to be important when trying to ‘market yourself’ to employers during the recruitment process – so being aware of your own factors of career choice is hugely beneficial!
Skills
Skills are hugely important to employers when recruiting new employees. Possessing ability in a core set of skills is essential in being able to carry out your work successfully.
Therefore, being aware of your competency in specific skills is hugely important when considering your suitability for jobs. It can also help you think about areas where you need to improve, allowing you to set yourself goals and action plans for skills development.
Some skills will be specific for a type of job; technical skills, ability to use certain software, or experience of using specific tools and machinery.
Others are important across all types of job; these are your transferable skills (also known as ‘employability’ or ‘soft’ skills). Examples include teamwork, communication and problem solving.
There are a huge range of transferable skills – but what are the most common ones graduate employers look for? Target Jobs has a useful overview of the top 10 skills that graduate recruiters value.
Are you aware of your own skill set? Why not take a few minutes to think about all your experiences and consider what key skills you have gained from these – the skills audit worksheet below will help you think about this…..
Interests
What do you enjoy doing? What kind of activities energise you? Have you had a job before that you really liked? What was it about that job that stimulated your interest?
Finding work that genuinely interests you and involves activities that you really enjoy doing can lead to increased motivation, and potentially a more rewarding and successful career. Being aware of your personal interests therefore is an important factor when making career decisions.
For example – do you have a deep interest in a sport? Even if you can’t play the sport at a professional level you could still work in the industry; perhaps in a sales, marketing or management role.
Or, do you enjoy art? Even if you don’t make a living from this you can still use your creative thinking in many other jobs. Thinking more widely about your interests can open up lots of different opportunities.
The psychologist John Holland created a widely used interest inventory which states that most people fit into one of 6 categories: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional. These 6 categories also apply to working environments and can be used to match you to suitable job types.
Why not have a think about your own interests? Here is a short online test to help you get started –
You can also have a go at forming your own Holland interest type by completing the attached worksheet.
Values
Have you ever asked yourself the question ‘what is important to me in a job?’ Being aware of your work values can form an important part of your career decision making; finding a career that aligns with your values can also have a great influence on your motivation for, and enjoyment of, the job.
Values will differ between individuals, and, indeed may differ for you at different stages of your life. For some, money, status and travel may form an important aspect of their career. For others, flexible working, work/life balance and helping others are crucial in creating job satisfaction.
The more a job meets your values the more chance you have of finding your career rewarding.
Why not have a think now about your own values – what is most important to you when considering a job?
You can complete an online work values test and/or complete the attached worksheet.
Personality
Being clear about your own personality is a crucial aspect of self-awareness – having an understanding of your character traits and personality type can really help you consider your suitability for a job and decide whether you are a good fit.
Your personality is determined by patterns of thinking and behaviour over time and includes how you react to your environment, your communication style or how you react to a problem.
One of the most common personality tests out there is based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) which introduces 16 personality types encompassing a range of characteristics including Extraversion (E)/Intraversion (I), Sensing (S)/Intuition (I), Thinking (T)/Feeling (F) and Judging (J)/Perceiving (P). So, one person might be a ENTJ type while another may be ISFP, for example.
Within your personality you will display a set of characteristics that influence how you react to various situations. Being aware of these can help influence whether a job is right for you or not.
So, for example, if you are a quiet, unassuming type person who doesn’t enjoy speaking in front of groups, then jobs which require public speaking might not be for you. Or, if you are energised by working with others then jobs which require a large amount of independent working may not be a good fit.
Take some time to think about your own personal characteristics and personality traits; you can do this by completing an online tests at:
What did it show you? Are you surprised? Do you agree with it?
You can also have a go at this short worksheet and self-assess your own personality traits.
Prospects planner also have a Job Profile test you can undertake to gain some insight to help you research potential job roles that may be of interest: Career Planner | What job should I do? | Prospects.ac.uk
Has this sparked some thoughts? Do you have any questions? Why not book an appointment or contact the Careers Service online?