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Career Uncertainty
Selecting a career can be a long
and complicated task. There is no one document, person or
test that will give you all the information you need to make
an informed choice. Listed below are some general principles
to follow. In addition you need to bear in mind that:
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You will change and as a result, career
aspirations will change over time. What makes you happy
and excited today won’t be the same as in 5 years
time. Be prepared to reassess your career plans over
time. |
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In the ever-changing environment of the 21st century;
few careers will be available for life. It will be more
important than ever before to be flexible and actively
manage your career development (rather than letting
things happen to you). |
For further information and assistance see Careers
and Employment.
Step One – Self Awareness
The first and most important aspect of career planning is
having a clear understanding of your-self, particularly in
the area of your career related.
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Interests |
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Skills, abilities and knowledge |
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Values |
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Personal style |
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Aspirations |
Each of these aspects of yourself is developed from all of
your life experiences, not only your academic life.
Links for Self-Awareness:
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Step Two – Opportunity
Awareness
This may seem obvious but… you can only choose between
the jobs you know about – if you don’t know about
a job or industry you can’t select it and you career
options are narrower than they need to be. You need to research
and know what choices are available, this includes information
such as:
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range of jobs, industries, career fields
and sectors available |
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skills and tasks each job entails |
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education and training needed for you intended career |
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state of the labour market (now and predictions) |
Links for Opportunity Awareness:
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Step Three – Implementation
Once you have a short list of careers you are interested
in you need to be able to act on your interests. To do this
you need to find out how to apply for each course or job.
Find out about the:
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application forms (on line or paper) |
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closing dates for each application |
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selection criteria |
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Step Four – Decision Making and
Planning
After progressing through steps one to three, you will know
career related information about yourself, what is available
and how to gain access into each of the careers. The next
step is to decide on a career goal. What steps need to be
completed over the next five years to make your career goal
happen? |
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