Continue Growing And Learning
As with any change, it can take time to adjust to your new career. During this transition time, pay attention to the parts of your job that youre enjoying. Youll continue growing, learning and changing as you understand more about yourself, your industry and what works best for you.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you step into a new career:
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Make the most out of your first year. In a new job, it can be overwhelming to take in new information, learn the industry and become an established member of the team. You might research
How Will A Career Test Help Me
The purpose of is to build self-awareness about what we are good at, how others view us, and what we bring to the table, Pastore says. This insight may help you find new careers to explore or it may help you thrive in your current job.
Regina Borsellino contributed writing, reporting, and/or advice to this article.
The Muse is a values-based careers site that helps people navigate every aspect of their careers and search for jobs at companies whose people, benefits, and values align with their unique professional needs. The Muse offers expert advice, job opportunities, a peek behind the scenes at companies hiring now, and career coaching services. The current team of writers and editors behind The Muses advice section includes Regina Borsellino, Brooke Katz, Rebeca Piccardo, Devin Tomb, and Stav Zivand over the years has included many other talented staffers! You can also find The Muse on , , , , TikTok, and Flipboard.
Identify Your Core Values
Identifying your core values can help you focus on a career you find personally fulfilling. It can also help you find fields or niche areas that you are passionate about. Consider making a list of qualities you think are important in a company or its employees. You can use this list to search for companies and job descriptions that share these values.
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When Youre Ready To Make A Career Move Two Of The First Questions People Are Going To Ask Are:
What are you looking to do? and Can you shoot me a copy of your resume?
These people whether theyre recruiters, networking contacts or hiring managers are also going to sleuth you out online. And, you better believe theyre going to quickly land on your LinkedIn profile.
Youd best make it worth their while. And you sure as heck want to make sure this is all worth your while.
Were not just talking about a job here. This is your vocation, your livelihood your contribution to this world.
You owe it to yourself to get it right.
Well help you get it right.
How To Choose A Career

If you’re stuck for job ideas and knowing where your skills might best be served, it’s worth taking the time to come up with a career development plan – simply follow these four steps to choosing a career
A career plan is a strategy you’ll continuously develop to manage your learning and progression throughout your working life. Consisting of four stages, its purpose is to help you visualise the actions you need to take to achieve your career goals, and how to put these actions into practice.
The four stages of a career plan are:
Career planning is important for a number of reasons – having a career development plan in place reduces the risk of you making impulsive decisions, and it helps you to recognise when you’re ready to look for new opportunities and develop new skills.
This model can be used by anyone – from school leavers to students, graduates and career changers.
Learn more about what the process involves and how to map out your career journey.
Student Career Guide 2021/22
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Rule Out What Doesn’t Interest You
Sometimes, the results of your personality test will include a list of suggested careers. After making a mind map, and completing an assessment, you may be able to clearly identify career choices or paths that don’t match your personality or interests. If one of the suggested careers goes against your nature, belief system or does not interest you, cross that idea off of your list.
Eliminating job types that aren’t for you narrows your focus. A list with fewer potential job titles is likely to help you concentrate and feel positive about choosing the right career for you.
Seek Out Professional Resources
In addition to thinking through the areas mentioned above on your own, you can also turn to various career resources for more guided help.
College career center: If youâre still in college, take advantage of the career resources your college or university may offer. You may be able to meet with a counselor or advisor trained to help you transition from college to a career.
Career coach: You can find a career coach trained to help clients learn more about what kinds of work would best suit them. Career coaches are an additional expense, so make sure to research their credentials, experience, and background to make sure they will be a good fit for your needs.
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Wanting To Find A Job That Makes You Happy
Most people spend about 40 hours a week fulfilling the requirements of their full-time jobs. If your priority is to find a job that makes you feel happy, the first step is to decide what happiness means for you. The most important component of a job search for people in this position is going to be prioritizing their wants and needs.
Read more:40 Ways To Find Happiness at Work
How To Choose A Career Path
Your career path should account for your goals, future plans and personality. Considering these factors can help you choose the right starting position and make strategic decisions over time.
Follow these steps as you prepare a career path:
Outline your career goals
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What are my strengths and aptitudes? Soft skills? Hard skills?
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Do I want to specialize in certain technical skills or take on management roles?
Once you answer questions like theseand any others that are important to youyou can better research potential careers paths. Its also important to revisit your career goals as you grow personally and professionally to ensure your goals remain achievable and aligned with your interests.
Read more:Setting Goals To Improve Your Career
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Discover Your Personality Type
A personality type is a set of personality traits that can be grouped. There are multiple methods for discovering your personality type, many of which focus on your responses to different situations. Different personality types may naturally gravitate toward different interests and develop different strengths, including careers.
Different tests list common career choices for each personality type. If you take a variety of tests and one or two careers appear across multiple tests, that specific career is likely worth researching. Some popular tools you can use to identify your personality type include:
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
This questionnaire is a self-reporting inventory that includes introspective questions to identify your psychological preferences. Using this information, the type indicator system classifies people based on four key dichotomies. With this information, you can identify your personality type out of 16 options.
The Keirsey Temperament Sorter
This is a self-assessment questionnaire. While it is similar to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, it more closely identifies roles that match each temperament type. The questionnaire focuses on behaviors and temperaments rather than preferences.
The Jungian Type Index
This self-assessment can provide you with an overview of your personality type and recommended careers by identifying Jungian cognitive functions or explanations behind certain psychological preferences.
Read more:Guide: 16 Personality Types
Take Classes First Figure Out Your New Career Later
Try something new whenever the opportunity presents itself. Take online classes, attend workshops, read books, and watch YouTube tutorials. By taking these chances, you may find out that youre really into UX design, digital marketing, Python programming or something else entirely!
The point is that nowadays there are so many options for learning new skills and, by taking advantage of them, you have a fantastic opportunity to find a passion that gives you more flexibility in terms of career choices, helps you get a job, or that you can turn into a new career.
And, if nothing else, youll have a new skill you can use at your current job or a new hobby that you can turn into a side gig.
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How To Choose The Right Career
Getting a sense of your own personality and source of motivation forms the backbone of making good career decisions. The problem is, our career choices are often affected by bias.
According to research, early-career preferences are predominantly cultivated by extrinsic factors such as parental influence, peer pressure, status, and media. These preferences tend to take a backseat when you actually start thinking responsibly about your career interests.
Career Planning 4 Step Planning Process

Knowing Yourself
Exploring what is out there
Making Decisions
Career planning is an ongoing process that can help you manage your learning and development.
You can use the four step planning process whether you are:
- an adult returning to education or adding on skills
- an adult changing job or career.
Career planning is the continuous process of:
- thinking about your interests, values, skills and preferences
- exploring the life, work and learning options available to you
- ensuring that your work fits with your personal circumstances
- continuously fine-tuning your work and learning plans to help you manage the changes in your life and the world of work.
You can revisit and make use of this process all the way through your career.
The career planning process has four steps:
Step 1: knowing yourself
Step 1: knowing yourself
Begin by thinking about where you are now, where you want to be and how youre going to get there.
Once you have thought about where you are at now and where you want to be, you can work on getting to know your skills, interests and values.
Begin by asking yourself the following questions:
- Where am I at now?
- Where do I want to be?
- What do I want out of a job or career?
- What do I like to do?
- What are my strengths?
- What is important to me?
Step 2: finding out
At the end of this step you will have a list of preferred occupations and/or learning options.
Step 3: making decisions
Ask yourself:
Step 4: taking action
Begin by asking yourself:
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Are There Jobs Available In This Career
, a variety of IT roles have been the highest in-demand for a number of years now, followed by sales people and registered nurses.
Interestingly, statistics from the second half of 2021 showed that the biggest amount of new job listings during this time came from the hospitality sector, with housekeepers, food specialists and kitchen staff all making the top 10 spots. The labor shortage in the hospitality industry happened because of the dramatic reduction in staff when global restrictions were imposed and subsequent surge in demand for the industry caused by Covid-19 restrictions loosening again. Whilst the industry is desperately trying to attract new talent to the industry it presents a perfect opportunity for young graduates to bag themselves better working conditions such as work-life balance, paid leave and higher salaries.
While you dont have to work in one of these popular occupations, you should consider the potential job availability in your future career field. The travel and tourism sector is estimated to contribute $8.6 trillion to the global economy in 2022, supported by 330 million jobs in 2022.
What Education Or Training Do I Need
Certain careers require advanced education and financial investment. For example, you may need eight to 12 years of education and training to be a doctor, but you could earn a hospitality management bachelor in four years. Think about the time and money required to pursue a career as you make your decision.
If you already have these hard skills but feel as though you a missing a piece of the puzzle, soft skills such as effective communication, are highly sought after in leadership positions in the hospitality industry. Skills such as communication, leadership, critical thinking, organization, follow through, cultural competency, flexibility, and customer service, just to name a few.
According to Daniel Ciapponi, a Senior Lecturer at EHL, these soft skills are currently missing in hospitality in what he describes a Skills Gap. Therefore, developing and honing these skills will give any candidate the competitive edge.
As a general rule, although there are exceptions, the higher the salary bracket, the higher the education level is required. However, any career path is worthy of such time and financial investment, but you have to decide whether it is worth it to you.
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Compare Job Requirements To Your Education
Many jobs have specific education requirements for applicants and new hires, such as obtaining a high school diploma, completing a bachelors degree program or having a masters degree. Some positions also require applicants to have their degrees in a specific field related to the position.
Review the education requirements for jobs you are interested in and apply for jobs that accept your current level of education, or research additional degrees or certifications you may need.
Consult An Adviser Or Mentor
Your academic adviser or professional mentor is likely to know a lot about you and your history. Take time to explain your goals to them and describe your feelings about starting your career. Speaking with a trusted individual about your feelings can help you organize your ideas and gain clarity. It is likely that this person will also have helpful insights and experience for you to consider and learn from.
Related:How to Ask Someone to Be Your Mentor
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What Color Is Your Parachute By Richard N Bolles
If youre on the hunt for a new job, or happen to be looking for a new career, then this book is for you. The book is updated yearly, but the core concepts remain the same:
Finding a career you love is more than possible if you can navigate interviews, have a marketable skill-set, and are willing to be flexible and creative.
This book will teach you how to do that.
Assess Your Current Skill Set
Make a list of your current skills, certifications and areas of expertise. You can also ask coworkers and colleagues for feedback about your technical, interpersonal and people management skills. This evaluation can help you find careers that match your experience.
Related: 10 Best Skills To Include on Your Resume
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Talk To People To Learn What Your Dream Job Is
Start taking some time in your job search to request and schedule informational interviews with people in the fields youre interested in to learn about their career paths and get career advice. Ask about their job, their professional past and aspirations, and the industry.
Just be sure to prepare with questions in advance so that you get the most out of these meetings or calls and, besides the no-brainer thank you afterward, do all you can to find a way to repay the favor.
And dont limit yourself to people you know or have connections with. Network at conferences and workshops.
Join Twitter chats, other social media platforms, or Facebook groups. Go on LinkedIn and read peoples job descriptions or read interviews and articles about people in jobs you admire. For instance, if youre curious about what a day in the life of a WordPress developer looks like, do a quick Google search and youll likely be able to find plenty of info and people to reach out to.
Before you set your heart on a right career or completely rule something out make sure you get a sense of what the job is like day-to-day.
If a career in tech is right for you What tech careers fit your strengths What skills you need to reach your goals
What Are Career Tests

Lets get this out of the way: No test can guarantee itll tell you your dream job or your forever career.
These quizzes will ask you about your values, interests, skills, and goals and give you some ideas for careers or types of careers to explore furtherin other words, theyre a jumping off point, says Muse career coach Lynn Berger, whos used these tests for over 20 years to help clients gain focus and direction in their careers.
Some will also help you learn more about your working style or what type of environment you thrive in. Your results might even provide a little help for you in your current positionsetting you up for success, no matter where you are in your career journey.
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Things To Do When You Can’t Decide On A Career
Jamie Birt is a career coach with 4+ years of experience helping job seekers navigate the job search through one-to-one coaching, webinars and events. Shes motivated by the mission to help people find fulfillment and belonging in their careers.
Most people spend between eight and 10 hours per day working so it’s important to choose a job that provides physical or emotional benefits. If you are just entering the workforce or considering a career change, you may be struggling to decide what path to take.
In this article, we discuss why people sometimes can’t decide on a career and explain seven steps for choosing the right career path for you.
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Learn how to get clarity into your ideal career and start pursuing that path immediately in this virtual workshop with Tracy Timm, founder of Thrivist.