There were very few choices when it came to career options only a few decades ago. Whatever was thrown at someone became his/her career, barring a few specialist professions which even today dominate and stand among the top choices of a skilled or lucrative career.
With the changing world and evolving opportunities post the millennium, opportunities and skills grew neck to neck. As it stands today, the universe offers 16 career clusters broken down into 92 career paths and over 3,000 designations to choose from. In effect, lack of jobs and unemployment scenarios today are proving a myth unless one is bent upon either not exploring or exploiting the available opportunities. One has to be only street smart right from the early years to explore and exploit the available potential both within and outside and settle in a demanding and satisfying career.
With umpteen career options available across the globe today, it is now incumbent upon the seeker to realise the right time to set the ball rolling early. One can begin by deciding and settling on the preferred study stream from as early as secondary school level which will lay a solid foundation. No doubt, this is a long process leading up to high school, university and till one gets qualified to stake claim of a fitting career and simultaneously develop the necessary skills to sustain in the chosen career and stand apart as a qualitative human being.
All it needs is a systematic approach from as early as possible. Today, most youngsters choose a career based on the following: a) Peer influence b) Parental influence and c) Surroundings and available choices influence. About 98.40 per cent of school pass outs in India today are unaware of what will be a successful career/profession for them. A typical career planning process consists of the following stages:
- Self-awareness
- Exploring the career options
- Identifying a suitable career path
- Execution plan to get there
It is preferable that the services of a certified career counselling professional are availed if one needs proper and professional guidance and if required, a certified career coach too. Career counselling is a detailed process of finding the complete career path of most suitable career profiles based one’s internal analysis. Who doesn’t need a proper hand holding?
Ideally, the above process starts with a psychometric test. Like a routine medical check-up, one takes a 30-minute ideal career test or a career suitability test, almost the time one takes to get ready to go to school, college or work. The result? Well, in spiritual terms, one attains self-realisation. Interestingly, this test can be taken as a student, a fresher, a job seeker, a housewife, an entrepreneur, professional, a subordinate employee, or an executive/senior executive.
This exercise has immensely benefited students, jobseekers and most importantly, those in mid-career crisis, where one sees their career path hitting a roadblock. Once the test is taken, choosing a career path and laying a road map becomes as easy as breathing fresh air. The test report is the lamp which lights up the career path, paving way to one’s dream career. What do the results identify?
- Personality Type
- Core Strengths
- Career Interests
- Career Values
- Preferred Learning Styles
- Skills and Abilities
- Career profiles
On completion of this process, one gets to know the preferred top career clusters, the favourite career path as well as a complete career profile list. Even during the career profiling stage, one can get a clear idea of career options preferences, starting from the top choices career paths to the career paths which need to be avoided. All these inferences are based on the findings of the test undertaken.
It is of paramount importance to first realise the self and the potential. Existing career interests, career values/motivators and the extent of existing skills and abilities may not necessarily match each other. However, one can easily identify the need for improvement wherever it is required. Similarly, it is important that one identifies the preferred learning style which will facilitate quick and perfect learning wherever there is need for development, improvement or even acquiring new or additional qualifications to fit into or achieving greater career heights.
The career road mapping is now complete, and the path is clear for a demanding, lucrative and most successful career which can be achieved in a well-planned and organised way.
Gone are the days of panic, wake up to your dream career!
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