How to Make a Career Decision When You're Unsure

With a large number of options,  how to choose a career path that is right for you? If you don't know what you want to do, the task may appear impossible to overcome. Fortunately, this is not the case. If you follow an organised process, you will have a better chance of making a good decision.

1. Assess yourself                                                                                    

You must first learn about yourself before you can choose the correct career. Because of your values, preferences, soft skills, and talents, as well as your personality type, some careers are a terrific fit for you while others are entirely wrong.

Use self-assessment tools and career tests to gather information about your abilities and create a list of careers that are a good fit based on them. Some people prefer to work with a career counsellor or other career development specialists who can guide them through the process.

2. Make a List of Potential Careers

You've probably got several lists of vocations in front of you right now, one from each of the self-assessment tools you used. You should integrate them into one master list to keep oneself organised.

To begin, look for jobs that appear on many lists and copy them onto a blank page. Call it "Occupations to Investigate." Your self-evaluations showed that they are a good fit for you based on numerous of your characteristics, therefore they are worth investigating.

Next, check for any occupations on your list that pique your interest. They could be occupations you've heard of but want to learn more about. Include professions about which you know little. You may discover something unexpected.

3. Investigate the Occupations on Your List

You'll be satisfied that you were able to narrow your list down to 10 to 20 options at this point. You can now start learning the foundations of each of the jobs on your list.

In public sources, you can find job descriptions as well as educational, training, and licencing requirements. Discover your options for progression. Use government-produced labour market data to learn about incomes and job prospects.

4. Make a "Short List."

Now that you have additional information, start narrowing down your list even more. Begin eliminating the occupations you don't want to pursue further based on what you've learned so far from your research. Your "shortlist" should consist of two to five occupations.

If the reasons for your job dissatisfaction are non-negotiable, cross them off your list. Remove everything that has duties that you don't want to do. Careers with poor job prospects should be avoided. Remove yourself from any career if you are unable or refuse to meet the educational or other standards, or if you lack some of the soft skills required for success.

5. Conduct Informative Interview

When you're down to a few vocations on your list, begin doing the more in-depth study. End up making plans to meet with employees who work in the industries that interest you. They can share firsthand information about the jobs on your shortlist. Use your network, especially LinkedIn, to discover people to do these informational interviews with.

6. Make Your Career Choice

Finally, after completing all of your analysis, you are probably ready to make a decision. Based on the facts you have acquired, choose the occupation that you believe will provide you with the most satisfaction. Recognize that you have the right to a second chance if you change your mind about a decision at any point in your life. Many people change jobs at least a few times in their lives.