How to Choose a Career

It's important to consider all of the ways your career choices will impact your life, so you'll be prepared to make the best career choice for your needs.

Nine Important Career Considerations

Aptitudes

Consider your natural talents. What types of tasks come easily to you, and what things are harder for you to learn? Choosing a career that is a good fit with your natural talents will help you to make choices that fit well with your strengths.

Skills

Skills are not the same as aptitudes. Aptitudes are the things that you could potentially learn easily, and skills are the things that you have already learned. You probably have more marketable skills than you realize. Understanding the skills that you already have will help you to see the broad range of jobs you could pursue.

Interests

You will spend hours work, so it's important to ensure that your work is a good match with your interests.

Personal Style

Your personal style encompasses your work preferences. Do you like to work independently or as a part of a team? Do you prefer to work outside or in an office environment? Even if a job is a good fit with your interests, if the major work tasks do not fit with your work preferences, it will likely not be a good fit for your needs. Ensure that the major work tasks are a good fit with the way you prefer to work.

Physical Needs

To help ensure that you will have a long career, you will need to ensure that a job is physically safe and suitable for you. If, for example, you have had concerns with injuries with your hands or shoulders, then a career that requires a large amount of data entry or heavy lifting may not be a good fit for you.

Family and Personal Needs

You will probably have to consider some very practical factors when making a career choice. The choices you make could affect where you live, how you spend your free time, the amount of time you will need to spend in school and many other facets of your life. All of these factors will impact other goals and they could also impact your family or other significant people in your life.

Values

The biggest source of career burnout is values and work requirements that are in opposition with each other. In order to choose a career that allows you to achieve work-life balance, the first step is to understand your personal values and consider the ways your career choice does or does not fit with those values.

Goals

Both career and non-career goals can be affected by your career choices. Do you want to retire early, start a family, buy a home, live in the country, travel, start a business, or be a work at home parent? The career choices you make will impact many of these goals. The more you think through your long term goals and needs, the more likely your chosen field will be a good match for you.

Financial Needs

Do you need to make a full time income immediately? Perhaps you're able to invest some time in your career by pursuing further education or building a business. Your immediate and long term household financial needs will be a consideration in your career choices.

When you understand all of the ways your career choices impact your life, take the time to really understand yourself and carefully consider all of the facts, then you'll be ready to making informed career choices. There are many factors that impact your ability to do a great job, build a successful career and be happy in your work. When you are able to carefully weigh all of these considerations, you will be ready to choose a career that is a great fit for you.

Lisa McGrimmon is a career counselor, author and entrepreneur who has helped over two thousand clients achieve their career goals. If you'd like to learn exactly how to manage your career and gain enormous control over your future, visit Career Choice Guide.

Visit her site for more information on how to make smart career choices.