How to make a career choice (The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you will know when you find it. - Steve Jobs)

There are hundreds of career options out there. How do you make a career choice when you don’t really know what you want to do? Does it seem like an insurmountable task? No! But you will have to put some time and energy into making your decision and your effort will be well worth it in the end. Follow these steps to making a good career choice.

Assess yourself

Before you can make a career choice, you have to learn about yourself, your values, interests and skills in association with certain personality traits. This will enable you to discover the careers that are suitable for you and some that are inappropriate. You can use the following simple self assessment tools.

1.   Make a list of occupations to explore

Generate lists of occupations. You need to come up with a much shorter list, consisting of between five and ten occupations and titled the list as “Occupations to Explore.”

2.   Explore the occupations on your list

For each occupation on your list, you will want to look at the job description, educational and other requirements, job outlook, advancement opportunities and earnings.

3.   Conduct informational interviews

At this point, you should only have a few occupations left on your list. You now need to gather more in-depth information. Your best source of this information is people who have firsthand knowledge of the occupations in which you are interested. Identify who they are and conduct informational interviews with them.

4.   Continue narrowing down your list

Pare down your list of possible occupations based on what you learned from your research. For example, you may not be willing to put the time and energy into preparing for an occupation for which an advanced degree is required, or you may consider the earnings for a particular occupation inadequate. You must consider your values, interests, skills and personality traits. For example if you are not good analytically or with figure, to be an Accountant, Engineer or pilot will be difficult and  if you do attach interest to every details and work longer hour, you can be a doctor.

5.   Set your goals

Lucius Annaeus Seneca said “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favourable.”  Before entering senior secondary school you should have decided on one occupation you want to pursue. It’s time to put a plan into place so you can eventually succeed academically, secure a good job and happy been in the field, but first you will need to set some goals. One of the most important things you will do during the career planning process is set goals. A goal is something you want to achieve; the end to the means, so to speak. In order to achieve your desired goals, you should set both long-term and short-term goals and be passionate about it.

Long-term goals: you should be able to achieve these in about three to five years.

Short term goals: you should be able to reach these in one to three years.

6.   Write a career action plan

Now that you have set your goals, you will need to decide how to reach them. A career action plan will help guide you as you pursue your long and short term goals. A career action plan is a road map that takes you from choosing an occupation through becoming gainfully employed or successful entrepreneur to reaching your long-term career goals. It is also referred to as personal career development plan.

7.   Training and mentorship on your new career

It is likely you will have to train for your new career. That could take the form of earning a degree, doing an internship or taking courses to learn some new skills. Today’s work place is very competitive. You will need to have a variety of skills that will give you the competitive edge you need to succeed.

To be competitive in today’s workplace you must be able to:

• Settle for professional job that are mostly available and attract good income:  It a suicide to choice a profession that is not available in your locality. There are job that cannot lead you to your desired future because they are not valued. Remember that each man will receive the exert value he gives.   
• Listen well: Good listening skills make you more productive, help you get along better with others, and allow you to work better in a team-based environment.
• Be computer literate: No matter what your job is, it’s likely you will need to use a computer. It’s important to make sure your computer skills are up-to-date.
• Write effectively: Whether your job requires you to write short memos or lengthy reports, you must be able to communicate well in writing.
• Attitude is key to your lifting:  There is nothing you can trade for good attitude in whatever career you find yourself. Discipline, Diligence, dedication, commitment, self motivation, passion, hard work and Honesty are attributes that can take you far beyond your imagination.