Many career options are open, and it can be challenging to pick the right one for you. So how do you figure out the best fit? Identify your strengths, and you’ll be better able to find a path that will lead to a fulfilling and rewarding career. Then, browse through our job ideas to decide which would suit you best. Once you decide the path you would like to take, Pitman Training programmes can get you the skills you need to succeed!
Planning Your New Career
Making a career choice is one of the most important and exciting things you’ll do. It will impact your future in a big way, from your income, identity, and your retirement options. If you’re thinking to yourself, “I don’t know what career I want,” you’re not alone. Here are some steps to help you work through your career options and pick the right career choice for your strengths.
1. Identifying Your Talents and Interests
It’s essential to assess your strengths and weaknesses before deciding on a career. Ideally, you’ll be able to find work that makes the most of your talents and skills. Doing a self-assessment involves a SWOT analysis. That stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
The best way to get an objective picture of your strengths and weak points is to sit down and write out what you think they are. Consider your soft skills, like people skills or communication abilities, and your hard skills, which are anything you have learned through formal studies. Then take the list to your teachers or family members and ask them to be objective in filling it out. This list will be critical to helping you make a career plan. And, in finding a career that matches your interests and skills.
2. Additional Factors to Consider When Picking a Career
Along with your talents and skills, there are other factors that you may want to think about when searching for career ideas. These include things like:
- Salary – how much money do you want to make, or is money not your priority?
- Lifestyle – what kind of lifestyle do you want to have? If you’d like to travel often, you must have a job that allows you to do that.
- Location – your job can also determine where you live. Some careers are only in urban locations, while others are strictly rural occupations.
- Opportunities – knowing the forecast for your career is also essential because you don’t want to end up in a profession that has no future potential for growth. For example, one of the most in demand industries currently is tech. This demand will continue to grow as technology continues to play a major role in our lives. Specifically, software developers, web developers and cybersecurity careers are highest in demand.
To find out more about in high-satisfaction, in demand career ideas, check out our list here.
3. Match Your Skills With a Career
As you narrow down your career options, consider the jobs that call to you or interest you. Make a list of careers that you’d like to explore. Then look at how your strengths and weaknesses will fit each role you’ve listed. To do this, you may need to research what each career choice involves or the day-to-day demands of the job.
It’s important to understand what specific job activities your employer will expect you to complete. For example, if you thrive on structure and routine, look for jobs that offer this stability. Alternatively, if you’d like a career where no two days are the same, you’ll want to know what jobs offer that. Then, you can take the next steps –
Job Ideas to Matches Your Abilities and Goals
While there are no perfect careers, some roles will suit your temperament better than others. Below are a few careers to consider based on your analysis. These job ideas will get you headed in the right direction. For example:
You thrive in a structured environment and enjoy routine daily tasks.
You are highly organised, enjoy working on the computer, and excel in communication skills. If this sounds like you, then work in office and admin might suit you well. Additionally, if you really enjoy helping and communicating with people, an HR career could be the perfect fit.
There are plenty of jobs in office and admin, such as – an office manager, legal secretary, medical secretary, receptionist, or a personal assistant! In HR, you can start as an HR assistant with opportunity for job growth.
You enjoy working with technology and solving problems.
You are creative and you prefer different work tasks every day. Also, you are curious to learn and improve your skills. Further, you want a job that provides stability and growth. If all of these things sound interesting to you, you should search for a career in information technology or software and web development.
In an IT career, you can work in cyber security, web development, cloud computing, software updates, and more. This is a high demand job with potential for significant salary.
You are creative and love thinking out of the box.
You want to find a career that is in demand and allows for growth. And, you enjoy working on a team and are a great communicator. If this sounds like you, why not explore a career in graphic design or marketing? Additionally, if you especially enjoy planning events, you can study event management.
There are many job openings for Graphic Designers. In Marketing, you can start as a marketing assistant with opportunity for career growth. Or, you can become a digital marketer. In event management you can help plan weddings, parties, corporate events, and more.
Love working with numbers? Are you organised and analytical?
There is always a need for accountants and bookkeepers. This career is perfect if you enjoy working with puzzles and are great at planning. Also, if you enjoy meeting new people and emphasise accuracy in your work.
Bookkeepers and accountants are similar in that they both aim to help a business’ finances. However, bookkeepers will record the financial transactions of businesses. Meanwhile, accountants will record, report, and then analyse financial records.
Create a Plan and Train for a New Career
Job ideas can help you decide which career is best for you. After you’ve been able to match your skills, strengths, and interests to a career, you’ll want to create a career plan to get there. The best way to do this is to break your goal into smaller steps. For example, to become a marketing manager, consider the different roles you’ll need to work in before you reach a management position. You’ll also need to work on training for a new career because there will be things that you need to learn before you can find work in your chosen industry.
Whether you’re just getting out of school or looking for a career change, you’ll likely need some training. The first step is to decide what type of training you need.
What to Learn
What you have left to learn depends on the career and industry you’ll be working in. For example, if you’ll be going into a job as a web developer, you’ll need computer programming and design skills. At Pitman Training, our programmes can get you up to speed with the best design software, including Dreamweaver and Adobe Photoshop. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a job in accounting or bookkeeping, you’ll need to know the techniques and software most businesses use for their financial records.
Where to Learn It
After you’ve found the right career for your strengths and determined the hard skills you’ll need, it’s time to decide where you want to gain training for your new job. The good news is you don’t have to commit to an extended study programme to gain the experience and skills you need for your career. Career Training can get you on the way to a new career!
At Pitman Training centres, we’re committed to providing flexible learning options that fit your life. You’ll be able to decide between learning in person at any of our centres across the UK or internationally, or you can opt for online studies. We offer over 250 courses in different areas, including business, accounting, IT, marketing, visual design and software development. So, once you’ve picked the career that suits your strengths, finding training for your new role is easy.
For more information about courses linked to your career, contact us today. Our experienced course advisors are here to help you figure out the right steps to take to secure your future career!
