5 Questions That Will Lead You to Your Career Path

When looking to embark on a meaningful career after recently receiving your hard-earned college diploma, one of the next questions to probably ask is, “Which career will I pursue?” Head of outreach at digital marketing agency Distilled, Adria Saracino, write about what you need to ask yourself to help in your decision making:

1. What are you good at, and what do you love?

Bring to mind what your true passions are. What keeps you up at night? Gets you excited tackling the next day? The next step is to conduct what Saracino calls a “skills inventory”, which brings to the forefront your abilities and talents. Conducting this kind of inventory can be done in a number of ways – making a checklist, using a draft resume, and asking feedback from trusted individuals such as mentors, teachers, friends, and family members. Being aware of your talents can bring to mind certain careers that match your skills.

2. Are you promotion- or prevention- focused?

Which of the two motivation types can you relate to? Think about the right brain-left brain thing. Promotion-focused workers, similar to right-brained people, are suited for expressive and creative tasks (think creatives and entrepreneurs). They are more open to new endeavors and are abstract thinkers. Prevention-focused employees, same as left-brained people, are adept at tasks that involve attention to detail, critical thinking, logic, and organizing. Saracino recommends finding out your motivation type before settling on a career choice.

3. What is the best environment for your personality type?

There are a myriad of personality tests that can give insight on whether an employee is an introvert or extrovert as well as the type of workplace atmosphere that can bring out the best in them. Critical factors to consider in choosing the best environment for your personality type are how the team communicates with each other and its clients, and the degree of teamwork prescribed by the job. On the other hand, Saracino cites author Susan Cain, who says that both introverts and extroverts can accomplish tasks suited for the opposite personality as long as each has the drive to do so and can make the necessary adjustments to manage the job according to their personality’s approach.

4. What kind of lifestyle do you want?

Make sure the career you pick will be conducive to living the lifestyle you aspire for. Each person’s preferences can be as distinct as a Krispy Kreme doughnut. How big of a factor is the amount of salary offered? Would you be comfortable with a career that has a considerable amount of travel? Would you rather work a fix number of hours on a given day or being on call even during weekends?

5. Where do you want to live?

More than the physical location, this question deals with the type of culture offered by the place you have targeted to live in. Others prefer residing in an area ripe with the hustle and bustle offered by various attractions such as malls, events, and restaurants, while the lure of a tranquil setting appeals better for some.

Have you obtained a little more clarity about yourself and your future career after reading the article? Share with us any lesson or insight learned in the comments section below. More importantly, make the honest effort to supply the answers to these five career search-related questions. The road to a purposeful and satisfying career path starts with self-awareness.

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