Video:How to Research Career Choices

Transcript:How to Research Career Choices

Hi, my name is Erica Bovea, a psychology graduate and career counselor for About.com. Today we're going to explore the topic of choosing a profession that is right and satisfying for your personality. We will be able to choose the career that is right for you with a couple of written and online exercises and ideas to get you started.

Find Your Passion When Researching Career Choices

For this exercise I want you to grab a few sheets of paper, or if you're daring even purchase a journal to continue exploring these exercises. By the time we are through with the exercises, you should have an idea of what role you can play in the professional world. The number one principle of discovering your passion is answering a basic general question: Who am I? By this I mean, who am I to my family, friends and co-workers? What role do I play in their lives? What do they most seek from my company? What do you shine most in amongst your peers? Is it listening, fixing their computers, beating everyone's score in a video game, or even cooking the most delicious meals for them. 

Explore Career Choices Complementary to Your Passion

The next step should be easy, once you have figured out what you're good at, you can explore the options that include this special ability of yours. A great way to explore different choices is the Princeton Review website, which offers full career profiles and even income information about these. You can visit princetonreview.com for more information. If you are still uncertain on what natural talents make you such a great individual, the Princeton Review also has a wonderful five-minute career quiz that can offer some insight and perspective to answering your calling in the professional world. Another great and tool can be found online at assessment.com. This website offers a wonderful and accurate career match test absolutely free of charge, linking your personality to five different careers and offering the option of a printed report.

Visit Job Fairs When Researching Career Choices

Lastly, when you have done most of your research and mapped out your strengths and weaknesses, go to your university career services and sign up for professional development workshops. Career fairs are also a great tool to meet and network with recruiters that are looking specifically for what you have to offer in your chosen profession. Most people find the perfect fit at career fairs, and often gain a great amount of invaluable experience in their chosen field of work. For more information, go to your college or university's career center and ask for the upcoming scheduled events, career fairs and workshops.

For About.com, this is Erica Bovea wishing you the best of luck in finding your passion and in your future endeavours.