People often ask me how, on my radio shows, I help people find a career in three minutes. Here's an approach I often use:1. Take 30 seconds to tell me what makes you different than most people?
2. What career fits your answers to that question? (Need ideas? Scan the careers in the Occupational Outlook Handbook or the 500 often more under-the-radar careers in my book, Cool Careers for Dummies.)
3. What does that career score on The Meter: 0 means you hate it. 10 means you love it?
4. What keeps that from being a 10?"
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until one or more careers score a 9 or 10.
Of course, you shouldn't make your final career choice in three minutes:
- Learn more about the career(s) scoring 9 or 10 in the Occupational Outlook Handbook and/or Cool Careers for Dummies. Or google the name of that career and the word "careers." for example, "electrician careers."
- If the career still sounds interesting, speak with or, better, visit a few (not one) people who work in that career to get a better sense of what it's like.
- If a career still scores a 9 or 10, congratulations. You've found what will likely be a well-suited career.
2 comments:
This outline is helpful, there's a missing ingredient - your vast knowledge of occupations based on your voracious reading and your ability to instantly recall everything you know. Not only do career seekers want to know "how you do that," but fellow career professionals do, too. On your show, you substitute your own suggestions for a client's independent research (in answering #3: What's a career that fits your answers to #1 and #2?) but how do you come up with those suggestions? I have gotten to that point in a session and been unable to "play optometrist" because I cannot think of As and Bs. I guess everyone has their limits. If you could bottle that ability, you'd make millions.
As I suggest--scanning the index of the Occupational Outlook Handbook, Cool Careers for Dummies, and the recommended careers on usnews.com/careers can help.
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