Whether you’ve just started looking for your first job or you have decades of professional experience but you’re craving a career change, it can feel daunting to peer out into the unknown. You want to find something that you’ll love. But you also want to make sure it aligns with your financial and lifestyle goals. When you’re finding your path, it can feel like you have too many options, or sometimes none at all, and you don’t know where to start.
Discovering how you want to use your time — and how you need to use it to pay your bills — is huge. It’s why our team offers career development counseling. Meeting with a therapist and talking about what you want and need can help you get clarity. If that sounds like something that could help you, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
But you don’t have to sit idly by as you’re waiting for your first appointment. Or maybe you’re not quite ready to meet with a career counselor. We have a few tips that can help with finding your path.
Figure out what energizes you
What brings you joy? What makes the time fly? Are there any activities that help you find a state of flow or leave you feeling refreshed?
Take some time to write out a list of ways you really enjoy using your time. Because at the end of the day, a career is going to be just that: something that uses a huge chunk of your day. Ideally, you want to spend your working hours on something that brings you life, not something that drains it out of you.
The internet can be your friend here. Typing the activity + “job” into a search engine might turn up a career path you never knew existed. This is at least a good place to start your process of exploration, which is a good launching point when we feel intimidated by the unknown.
Evaluate your goals
You might love singing and it might be your dream to be a pop star. But do years of trying to make it — probably doing a side job to get the income you need — align with your vision of your ideal life?
Money isn’t the be-all, end-all, but having enough income to minimize financial stress definitely helps people feel more content. So as you’re planning a career path, make sure it aligns with the kind of lifestyle you want to lead both now and in the future. Maybe you enjoy living simply and don’t need much. But if you’re the type of person who likes a little cushion in life, it’s worth exploring career paths with a salary that can accommodate your wants.
Do your research (sites like Indeed and Glassdoor can help). Make a list of your career priorities — this can help you narrow your search.
Talk with people in the field
Now, you have an idea of some areas in which you might want to develop your career. So it’s time to find out if the job you’re considering matches up with what you’re picturing.
The best way to do this is to talk with people who actually work that job. Find people on LinkedIn or through online company directories and ask for an informational interview. If they live near you, you can offer to buy them a cup of coffee in exchange for their insights.
You’ll probably get some nos, but many people are more than happy to talk about what they do — especially with someone who’s interested in following in their footsteps.
Make a game plan to try things out
You might be the type of person who likes to dive in head-first. By all means, you can try getting a job in your chosen field. But most people struggle to make a big pivot into a new area. Here, opportunities like shadowing, internships, and part-time work can help.
This benefits you in two ways. First, it lets you try your potential career on for size. You get to explore what you like — and what you don’t — in a relatively low-stakes way. Secondly, you get to build some experience on your resume. And this can make it easier to get a job in that field if you do decide it’s right for you.
Finding connections with the right people in the field may give you leverage for more work opportunities in the future, too. The scary part is that it might require you to breach a bit out of your comfort zone — but try and stay connected to potentials. Do it for your future self!
These are a few tips to get your wheels turning as you work toward finding your path. But if you want more guidance and a deeper dive into what might be right for you, you can talk to one of our therapists. Contact our team at the Ventura Counseling & Wellness Center in Ventura or the West Valley Counseling Center in Tarzana.
