Advice For People Who Are Very Unclear About Career Goals

 

Are you unclear about your career goals? We know it's a tough place to be in, especially if you are getting out of college. You have been sticking through for three to four years, and you are starting to realize that your major doesn't interest you and that a career in the industry isn't what you want to spend the next 20-30 years doing.

Or, you have got a big major – criminal justice, business, English – but the field is so vast that narrowing it down is hard. Or, you want to make a significant career change and switch your current career path with something new, but you aren't sure what it is.

There are endless opportunities and career paths you can try. But you are not sure where to begin. The only thing you know is you don't want to continue doing what you are doing.

Finding a career path is one of the most crucial tasks you will ever accomplish in your life. But when you aren’t sure where you are going with your life, it’s easy to get demotivated. If you are feeling overwhelmed and confused, we will tell you why this confusion is good and what you can do about it.

Advice to Choose the Right Career

It’s Ok To Be Confused About Your Career

Are you sitting down, wondering how you got here and if is this where you want to be? Sheer panic strikes you the moment you feel lost and confused. You think, ‘I made a huge mistake. How could I be so stupid?’

But, believe us; if you are lost, you are fantastic because now you have a great opportunity in hand.

Getting lost and confused is a good thing because it provides you with an experience you didn't have before. You had no intention to explore this career path, but you did, and you wouldn't have seen it otherwise. To put it short, you didn't waste your time, but you spent it gaining know-how and perspective.

The best thing – you figured out you are lost. Often, people never realize they are, or if they do know they are lost, they ignore it and keep heading in the wrong direction forever. But here we have you who were brave enough to see the truth. So, understand that this confusion isn’t telling you that you did something wrong. Instead, it’s telling you that you are going to do something right.

Now, you can figure out where you want to go next, and not everyone gets this opportunity – not because it isn't available to them but because they ignore it. To be successful, you need to be an expert in finding out when you are off track and decide a new course. Lastly, being completely clueless is exciting as you get to create new opportunities from there.

What Should You Do Now?

#1 – Understand that you will be changing careers 2-4 times.

Having the same career in the same field for 30+ years was a dime of a dozen back in the 1960s, but now it's rare. In the present world, you will have to switch careers or your field more than once. So, just accept the fact that it is going to happen no matter what and it will become easier to decide your new career path.

Your new and your current career field don't need to have anything in common. Think about what you will enjoy doing for the next few years. Join that field, keeping in mind that you can switch to something new whenever you want. It will help you grow and not hate what you do for the next couple of years.

#2 – Chances are, the job you will be doing in your 40s doesn't exist now.

The Internet didn't exist in the 1980s. There was no World Wide Web, blogs, or email. However, many of the professionals who work in the IT field today were in college at that time. Back then, their profession as a Python developer, or software engineer would have made no sense to anyone. However, now these professions are considered one of the most respected and lucrative career options.

The point here is, you need to future-proof your career by building key, flexible skills. You need skills that will help you switch from one field to another with ease. For instance, currently, almost all job listings ask for oral and written communication skills. So, if you can write and speak clearly, you are already more valuable than many other people who apply for jobs.

On the other hand, if you are skilled at selling things, consider the world your oyster. You will be able to work in any industry. You can sell insurance, financial services, computer software, machinery, industrial lighting, and you name it. For such people, all that matters is whether they can build networks and work the phones rather than industries.

#3 – Take a look at what you do now for fun.

Maybe you are someone who enjoys writing, or you like going to concerts, or perhaps you enjoy board games or traveling, or baking cookies. If you tap into what you enjoy doing, you will find there are a whole lot of things you can do to make a career even if you don’t want to become a professional writer, hiker, or board gamer.

For example, if you are a writer, there are plenty of marketing agencies and IT companies constantly looking for people with strong writing skills. Being a freelance writer is your best bet as you can do it from almost anywhere in the world with a laptop and Wi-Fi connection. Similarly, if you like board games, board game publishers can offer you marketing, or board game designing jobs depending on your skills.

#4 – Start professional networking with people

Once you figure out where you want to take your career next, start talking to people who are tangentially related to that field. Ask them for informational interviews to learn how they got into that field. Also, consider finding out who else they know and meet with as many people as possible.

At the very least, these interactions will help you learn about the field and how it works. Nevertheless, if you are fortunate, you might end up meeting someone who can offer you an opportunity to do exactly what you love and make a living doing it.

The Future Will Be Bright

If you are not sure about your career yet, just look for ways to get paid doing what you love. Make sure that you learn some adaptable skills as you go and be prepared for career switches. If you are ready for all these, we assure you that you will end up doing something that you can enjoy – something that you will hardly think of as work.