7 Steps To Take Before Choosing A Career

Learn about the job responsibilities, employment opportunities, and training or education
requirements prior to pursuing a specific career. Follow these steps to narrow potential
career options:

1. Assess yourself - Each individual has different goals, talents, interests, and values. In
other words, there are certain careers each individual should not pursue and others where
they'd excel and be satisfied. Determine what you would enjoy and excel at by taking career
assessments, receiving career counseling, and conducting thorough self-evaluation.

2. Make a list of potential occupations - After conducting some self-assessment, it

3. Explore the options - Learn about each potential career after narrowing your list. Be
sure to learn about educational or training requirements, job duties, employment outlook,
annual earnings, and promotion opportunities. Information can be obtained from the
Internet, but try to meet with a professional in each field to obtain in-depth details about
each profession. If you not know professionals in these fields, contact willing participants
and schedule informational interviews. However, you will probably find that you have
relatives, colleagues, and school mates currently working in fields that interest you. During
an informational interview, collect details about annual salary, employment prospects, and
entry-level employment requirements. It's not recommended to request employment during
these interviews, but take advantage of networking opportunities.

4. Narrow down your list - Eliminate careers that no longer interest you after thoroughly
reviewing each one. Many people become dissuaded from pursuing a career after learning
about education requirements, annual earnings, and declining industry growth. Once you've
become acquainted with each career, narrow your list to 1-2 options.

 Set goals - After your list has been narrowed, establish attainable goals. You should be
informed enough to establish short and long term goals. Typically, short-term goals can be
met between 1-3 years and long-term between 3-5 years. It will not be easy reaching each
goal, so be prepared to work hard, make adjustments when necessary, and remain
committed. Goals are typically achievable when they're defined, flexible, realistic, and
attainable within a specified time period.

6. Create a career action plan - Once you've established career goals, begin developing a
career action plan consisting of goals and specific steps to reach them. Additionally, career
action plans contain possible obstacles, steps to address them, and resources that can be
utilized when assistance is needed. This plan will clearly define how you will receive required
training or education, obtain employment, and develop professionally once you've begun
your career.
7. Obtain training - Obtaining required career training will probably consume the majority
of your time and efforts as you pursue a career. Depending on the profession, you may be
required to earn a college degree, complete vocational training, learn new skills, or
complete an apprentice or internship.

How to Use SWOT and Gap Analysis for Career Planning & Decision-Making

Planning and decisions can be complicated. How do I organize and evaluate all the
information? How do I determine which options are most attractive?

There are two tools commonly used in business that can help organize and create a
visual way to look at and evaluate the many variables that influence the decision-
making and prioritization process. For example, when facing decisions about education
or career management, these tools can be adapted to fit individual versus a corporate
outlook.

Here’s an overview of each of these tools:

SWOT Analysis

SWOT (an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) offers an
objective look at how a company or person fits in their competitive landscape and
market. By providing a visual way to organize the variables, the SWOT tool makes it
easier to look at all the angles of a particular decision or objective.

 To use this tool for a personal analysis, first, it is important to define your
objective. Write it down to keep yourself focused. For example, perhaps you are
interested in improving your current situation, considering doing something new,
or need to choose a college major.
  Your goal is to conduct a critical evaluation of your situation using each of the
above categories. It may help to get objective input from someone else.
o Strengths: What are your strengths in your current role? What other
strengths do you have? What advantages do you have that others do not
(e.g., degree, certifications, special skills, connections, etc.)? Look at your
knowledge, skills and abilities in all areas.
o Weaknesses: Where could you improve your performance or situation?
Are you completely confident in your qualifications, education / training and
skills? If not, where are you weakest? What tasks do you tend to avoid
because you are not confident when performing them? Do you have any
negative work habits or traits that hold you back (e.g., missed deadlines,
disorganization, impatience, poor interpersonal skills, etc.)? What might
others say needs improvement?
o Opportunities: What does the market look like (e.g., industry growth, new
technology, college acceptance rates, job availability, etc.)? How can you
leverage market growth opportunities and industry trends? Is there a need in
your organization or industry that no one is addressing? If so, how can you
fulfill it?
o Threats: What are the biggest threats or barriers you face? What does the
competition look like? How do your financial situation and/ or personal
relationships factor in? What is the impact of timing? Are the demands of
your position or the work tasks you perform changing? How are
technological advances changing your job? Could any of your weaknesses
lead to new threats in the future?
 Now you have a realistic, big-picture look at your situation and can
evaluate where to direct your energy.
o By analyzing the strengths and opportunities, you can identify areas that
look positive and for which it may be worth developing an action plan.
o Conversely, if you look at the weaknesses and threats, you can identify
areas that need attention through an action plan as well as areas to avoid.
Gap Analysis

Following a SWOT analysis, you can use gap analysis (sometimes referred to as needs
analysis) to identify the key components of an action plan and/or compare different
options. In business, this type of analysis can help develop the best plan to remedy a
weakness or achieve an outcome. The example below helps compare gaps in meeting
the requirements for a new job. Another example could be admission to a school,
program or department.
(For more information: Mind the Gap: Using Gap Analysis as a Career Management
Tool;
Lifelong Learning for Lifelong Success.)

Summary

Complex decisions tend to have layers and there is rarely just one right answer. They
take some reflective time and effort. Documents let you revisit your thinking quickly if
you tend to second-guess yourself and they provide a vehicle to share your findings
with others who may have a vested interest in the outcome.

SWOT and gap analysis tools facilitate capturing all the information you need to make a
decision. The simple act of writing it out makes the picture clearer and makes it easier
to compare options. By incorporating tools, you gain structure and a sense of progress
toward the objecti