What kind of career do you want?
That is a standard question, but it can be heard very differently depending upon who receives it. A high school student, a college graduate and a middle aged, single mom with a stack of bills in one hand and a pink slip in the other will have disparate answers. Choices are influenced by world-of-work information and self-awareness. The best choices come from thoughtful consideration of good information. Chances are that the question about career is too big to be practical.
Let's break it down a little and begin with self-awareness. What kind of temperament do you have? Your interests can help you discover your job temperament type. In broad terms, do you get more satisfaction from working with people, things, or data? Do you get more energized by being alone or by being with other people? Do you enjoy solving problems, directing others, or creating art or music? These are hints to your temperament type and can help you discover a rewarding career path. Check out the link provided to take an interest survey that can help you determine your Holland Code.
Simply put, John Holland believed that people are naturally drawn to careers that fit their temperaments, so he established a system whereby general temperament categories are matched with careers. This is known as the RIASEC system and each letter stands for a temperament type: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. Your two or three-letter code can be matched to jobs that fit your temperament type. It is a place to begin your self-awareness and world-of-work education.
Most people have a dominant type with one or two less prominent types. For example, a very people-oriented person who loves to self-start and likes to follow established procedures might be a Social, Enterprising and Conventional person represented by the letter combination SEC. That particular grouping matches nicely with certain sales occupations.
This information gives you a starting point for searching through what would otherwise be endless possibilities in the world of work, many of which would be a poor fit. Finding the right fit for your temperament goes a long way toward a life of joyful, satisfying work.
That is a standard question, but it can be heard very differently depending upon who receives it. A high school student, a college graduate and a middle aged, single mom with a stack of bills in one hand and a pink slip in the other will have disparate answers. Choices are influenced by world-of-work information and self-awareness. The best choices come from thoughtful consideration of good information. Chances are that the question about career is too big to be practical.
Let's break it down a little and begin with self-awareness. What kind of temperament do you have? Your interests can help you discover your job temperament type. In broad terms, do you get more satisfaction from working with people, things, or data? Do you get more energized by being alone or by being with other people? Do you enjoy solving problems, directing others, or creating art or music? These are hints to your temperament type and can help you discover a rewarding career path. Check out the link provided to take an interest survey that can help you determine your Holland Code.
Simply put, John Holland believed that people are naturally drawn to careers that fit their temperaments, so he established a system whereby general temperament categories are matched with careers. This is known as the RIASEC system and each letter stands for a temperament type: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. Your two or three-letter code can be matched to jobs that fit your temperament type. It is a place to begin your self-awareness and world-of-work education.
Most people have a dominant type with one or two less prominent types. For example, a very people-oriented person who loves to self-start and likes to follow established procedures might be a Social, Enterprising and Conventional person represented by the letter combination SEC. That particular grouping matches nicely with certain sales occupations.
This information gives you a starting point for searching through what would otherwise be endless possibilities in the world of work, many of which would be a poor fit. Finding the right fit for your temperament goes a long way toward a life of joyful, satisfying work.