Too often, college students and people with years of work experience make career choices without critically examining their own impressions and understanding of a particular career. They often rely on someone else’s attitude towards a specific career without finding out what is true and what is not.
Career planning and your choices are often made with limited and often inaccurate information. Rare is the person who takes the time for self-analysis and gathers information to develop viable career options. If her vision is limited, you may be overlooking a hidden but ideal career situation.
Career myths are everywhere and the key is to test assumptions and critically examine the information you know about a job or industry. There is considerable risk in allowing assumptions to be the basis of a career choice. The consequences can lead to a career in which you have little interest and a lukewarm passion. A recipe for disaster.
Some give up their job aspirations based on misconceptions about the career. They do not investigate the race because they were told that “there is no money.” Listening to others without challenging their inaccurate beliefs can put you off a potential dream job.
Career choices or changes must be approached critically and impartially. Here are four guidelines to follow to help you make the best informed decision:
1. Test all your assumptions – You may only have a fraction of the correct information along with feedback from family and friends. Go through everything and do extensive research to learn as much as possible about the career. Also, stay flexible as your investigation will no doubt uncover other promising leads.
2. Get information about your career from a variety of sources: If you’re currently in school, discuss your career with a counselor or your teachers. Search the Internet for relevant information. Find someone who is currently working in the potential career and give them a call to set up a short interview. Attend job fairs and discuss the career with recruiters.
Keep track of the resources you discover in your basic research. Go back to your sources as you gather additional questions.
3. Critically analyze all the information about your career. Be a critical thinker when analyzing your research. Think carefully about the sources of information, are there contradictions? Perhaps a little more research is in order. Think carefully about your sources of career information. Who can give you a better idea of what it’s like to be a CPA: a couple of CPAs who work in the accounting field every day, or your uncle who was audited by the IRS 15 years ago due to an error in his judgment. CPA?
4. Test your career ideas: If you’re still in school, consider applying for internships in your chosen field. If possible, a part-time job in the industry will give you a better idea of both the job and the industry. If you still have concerns about a career, continue your research. If the proposed career seems less than exciting, your continued study will point you in the right direction.
Above all, don’t think of a career based solely on anecdotal evidence or hearsay information. When you make your career choice based on solid information, you’ll advance much further in your career, enjoy it more, and be glad you spent the time for proper career research and analysis.