Chris Durst and Michael Haaren
Back in the day, choosing a career path was easy. You were born on a farm and you worked there.
Now, things are different. It's like walking down the cereal aisle in the grocery store: My, so many choices! Indeed, maybe too many choices. What should I pick? What would taste good and also be good for me? (Cereal adviser may be the next new career path.)
Many job seekers, particularly when they've been out of the work force for a while, aren't sure what to do next. "What career path would really make me happy? What's my purpose in life?" they wonder. It's understandable; it's the cereal question writ large.
THE EXPERTS WEIGH IN
Fortunately, there are plenty of places to find good advice on determining your next career move. For starters, we asked career coach Nancy Collamer, of JobsandMoms.com, for her top tips.
"Think about what you love to do, do well and find meaningful," Collamer said. "All of us have a multitude of skills that we've developed over time. But the key to finding lasting career satisfaction is to not only know what you do well, but to focus on the things you most enjoy and find meaningful."
IDENTIFYING YOUR PASSION
For many, the most challenging initial tasks are identifying the things they like to do best and matching those activities to a potential career. For example, your biggest passion might be sitting in your hot tub and watching TV. But how do you translate that into a viable career?
Levity aside, many self-assessment exercises can help you focus on what you really like to do and link it to a rewarding career path.
One of our favorites is the Richard Bolles' classic, "What Color is Your Parachute?" Before giving job-search tips in the book, Bolles talks about finding your best career path and mentions the importance of developing or discovering a vision of where you should go. "You need a sort of picture in your head, that beckons you onward and upward," Bolles writes. "Call it what you will: a dedication, or vision, or entrancing idea, of what you want your life to be from here on out."
Bolles includes comprehensive exercises that help you delve down and identify what that picture or vision might be. (Be warned, the self-assessments are thorough. Bolles spent several weeks working his way through them in an earlier edition of the book; he found them very useful.)
TAKE A CLASS
You should also consider enrolling in a class, says Collamer. "While learning about a profession is not the same thing as working in it, attending classes, even if it is just for a one-night workshop, will provide you with an opportunity to evaluate your interest in new fields. Taking classes are also an excellent way to meet people who can help you learn about your fields of interest."
THERE'S ONLY ONE YOU
Whatever you decide, be sure to give the evaluation process the attention it -- and you -- deserves. Don't just go through the motions or settle for the first thing that comes along -- unless, of course, you need to get food on the table right away; that's a different story.
You're a unique individual and (we believe, in any case) you're here for a good reason. The path to that reason may change at different times in your life, and the "reason" itself may be more like tines on a fork than a bull's-eye on a target. But the importance is the same: Honor your life. Make it count. Bring the blessings of your hand to the world.
Christine Durst and Michael Haaren are leaders in the work-at-home movement and advocates of de-rat-raced living. Their latest book is "Work at Home Now," a guide to finding home-based jobs. They offer additional guidance on finding home-based work at www.RatRaceRebellion.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
Now, things are different. It's like walking down the cereal aisle in the grocery store: My, so many choices! Indeed, maybe too many choices. What should I pick? What would taste good and also be good for me? (Cereal adviser may be the next new career path.)
Many job seekers, particularly when they've been out of the work force for a while, aren't sure what to do next. "What career path would really make me happy? What's my purpose in life?" they wonder. It's understandable; it's the cereal question writ large.
THE EXPERTS WEIGH IN
Fortunately, there are plenty of places to find good advice on determining your next career move. For starters, we asked career coach Nancy Collamer, of JobsandMoms.com, for her top tips.
"Think about what you love to do, do well and find meaningful," Collamer said. "All of us have a multitude of skills that we've developed over time. But the key to finding lasting career satisfaction is to not only know what you do well, but to focus on the things you most enjoy and find meaningful."
IDENTIFYING YOUR PASSION
For many, the most challenging initial tasks are identifying the things they like to do best and matching those activities to a potential career. For example, your biggest passion might be sitting in your hot tub and watching TV. But how do you translate that into a viable career?
Levity aside, many self-assessment exercises can help you focus on what you really like to do and link it to a rewarding career path.
One of our favorites is the Richard Bolles' classic, "What Color is Your Parachute?" Before giving job-search tips in the book, Bolles talks about finding your best career path and mentions the importance of developing or discovering a vision of where you should go. "You need a sort of picture in your head, that beckons you onward and upward," Bolles writes. "Call it what you will: a dedication, or vision, or entrancing idea, of what you want your life to be from here on out."
Bolles includes comprehensive exercises that help you delve down and identify what that picture or vision might be. (Be warned, the self-assessments are thorough. Bolles spent several weeks working his way through them in an earlier edition of the book; he found them very useful.)
TAKE A CLASS
You should also consider enrolling in a class, says Collamer. "While learning about a profession is not the same thing as working in it, attending classes, even if it is just for a one-night workshop, will provide you with an opportunity to evaluate your interest in new fields. Taking classes are also an excellent way to meet people who can help you learn about your fields of interest."
THERE'S ONLY ONE YOU
Whatever you decide, be sure to give the evaluation process the attention it -- and you -- deserves. Don't just go through the motions or settle for the first thing that comes along -- unless, of course, you need to get food on the table right away; that's a different story.
You're a unique individual and (we believe, in any case) you're here for a good reason. The path to that reason may change at different times in your life, and the "reason" itself may be more like tines on a fork than a bull's-eye on a target. But the importance is the same: Honor your life. Make it count. Bring the blessings of your hand to the world.
Christine Durst and Michael Haaren are leaders in the work-at-home movement and advocates of de-rat-raced living. Their latest book is "Work at Home Now," a guide to finding home-based jobs. They offer additional guidance on finding home-based work at www.RatRaceRebellion.com. To read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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