WOMEN AND THE WESTERN LIFESTYLE

It takes most people a long time to decide what they want to do with their lives.

Once you graduate from high school, most young people really don’t know what career they want to be in. Deciding upon the best career for your personality can be tough. And then trying to get your first job in your desired line of work can be even more difficult.

There are four basic steps towards choosing a career. The first step is a critical assessment of your values, interests, strengths and weaknesses. Your skills, strengths and weaknesses are important in choosing an appropriate career. Ask yourself about what type of working environment is your personality best suited for, and what are your developmental needs?

The second thing you should do is get a list of all the potential occupations and compare your strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes with each of them. Try to find a few good matches. Take into consideration the job duties you would be doing every day. Think about how you would feel waking up five days a week, knowing that you had to go to work at that job. Seriously picture yourself at the job.

Phase three is the action step. Here is where you make the commitment to get the knowledge, skills and training you need to get your first job. For most people, this means going to school. Many students are opting for an associate degree from a local community college as a practical, affordable way to start. Some students will stop at the associate’s degree, while others will transfer to a four-year college or university to complete a bachelor’s degree. Some people will favor a service apprentice program versus classroom study. The key is to take some action and get moving forward towards getting that first job.

The final phase of your career search is to actually go out and get your first job. You will most likely need to work hard at getting your first job. You may be lucky if the school you are graduating from has job recruiters come to the school looking for potential new hires. But most job hunters have to network, submit resumes, write letters, make phone calls and walk in potential employers in order to meet people and introduce themselves.

Still, the majority of good jobs are filled by a candidate who was recommended to the employer by someone the employer knows and trusts. You should network yourself as much as possible. Make sure that everyone you know is aware of the type of job you are looking for and why you are a qualified candidate to fill that job.

One day, you will have that great job that you worked so hard to get. And, hopefully, you will also like your job once you get it. But just because you have your job, you can’t just relax. You should constantly be moving forward, learning new processes, taking more classes and taking the initiative to become more and more valuable to your company. Try to become an employee that your company can’t do without.