Following on from last weeks blog on ‘Who am I?’ we’ll be looking at the second question ‘What do I want to do with my life?’ This is a very important question and one that you should spend time thinking seriously about. If you don’t, you’ll possibly end up spending your life in an unsatisfying job, because that’s what you trained for and that’s all you know. So, let’s put a stop to that right now.
Working out What you Want to do
Now that you know who you are, you can start to think about what jobs you’d like to do. Brainstorming is a good place to start. Get a big piece of paper and put down all the jobs you think you’d like to do – no matter how outrageous they may seem. Now think about the strengths you identified in last week’s exercise and see which of the jobs, if any, fit in with them.
Researching the chosen jobs
When you’ve chosen the jobs you think you’d like and have the talent for, you should spend some time researching them thoroughly online to see what qualifications they require, what hours you are likely to work, where the jobs are and so on. Below are some ways you can do this:
- Start by searching the internet for articles or blogs written by people already in those positions. This will give you a little insight into what the role is really like, by the people already doing it. Just search on something like Google using the job name.
- Connect with people in forums, chat rooms and on social media sites, such as Facebook, LinkdIn and so on. You may be able to ask them questions, which offers you the chance to really find out what working in the role entails.
- Try to get hold of trade magazines, these are a great way to find out what the job market in your chosen field is like at this time, what the pros and cons of a profession are and what the trend is for that role i.e. is it up and coming or is it something that will soon be obsolete. These magazines are also a great place to find job adverts here too.
- You can also visit trade shows and job fairs to meet the people in the industry and chat with them.
- Company websites are another good place to find information about current vacancies – what the role entails, what the hours and pay are, if there are any perks, whether you need to travel and so on.
- Keep an eye on business publications to see if any companies in the sector you are interested in are being talked about in the press. If they are, is the talk positive or negative?
- Volunteer, work part-time or in a seasonal capacity. If this is possible it’s a great way to get a feel for the job and decide if it’s really what you want to do without making any great sacrifice.
Once you have all this information, you should write yourself an action plan. This should include how you can gain any qualifications or experience you’ll need (a good place to start is with our Business English with Spoken English course) the best ways to apply for vacancies and which companies are the best for those starting out and so on.
Good luck and let us know how you get on.
