Evaluating Your Career Interests
Want to find out what you are best at when it comes to proactively building your career? What are your real interests? The first step in career planning is reflecting. Reflecting upon your own self, to be more self-aware, and then following your dreams with both your heart and mind. Here is an opportunity to begin exploring yourself. At the end of the process, you will have a far better understanding of your desires than you have currently.
The first step in career planning is reflecting. Reflecting upon your own self, to be more self-aware, and then following your dreams with both your heart and mind. Here is an opportunity to begin exploring that age-old question, ‘what do I want to do in my life?’ Try answering these questions and at the end of the process, you will have a far better understanding of your desires than you have currently. Try to introspect, as the answers to these questions are buried deep within you. Some questions might lead to the same answer, but we encourage you to try answering all of the following questions honestly, even if the answer seems to be the same!
Q1. What are my talents and strengths?
What are your top talents and strengths? What is it that you are good at? What is it that you enjoy doing and are passionate about? The talents you achieve most with? The activities you get the most satisfaction from?
Q2. How do other people think of me?
What is my perception of other people? What am I known for? What is it for which they generally come to me, seek my help or advice?
Q3. If money were no concern, what I would be doing?
While answering this question, think of no boundaries. Imagine you have the power to accomplish anything and you don’t have to worry about earning money to lead your life. In such a situation what you would do?
Q4. When have I been most committed, passionate, and enthusiastic?
Reflect on your life to date. When you have been most committed? When did you love working on something so much that you lost track of time? When you got satisfaction from some activity? When was the time you felt very committed and passionate about some task?
Q5. When have I been most creative?
Reflect again to remember when your creativity has been on its peak. When you created something that you enjoyed most? When have you enjoyed your work most?
Q6. What do I consider to be my greatest accomplishment?
What accomplishment you value most. Is there anyone moment in your life that you felt was your greatest achievement? Your answer can be related to any phase of your life, schooling, work, or personal life, as long as you view it as a personal achievement.
Q7. When do other people consider being my greatest accomplishment?
When other people think you have been the most successful. When you got a lot of recognition from others for doing something? What is it that you think your family, friends are proud of you?
Q8. When I have been most sure of myself and my decisions?
What were the circumstances when you were most sure of your decisions and were willing to make those decisions? Is there a situation where you have taken a very strong stand? If yes, what were you trying to achieve?
Q9. What talents was I relying on, and using, in these situations?
What were the talents that you were using were confident of in situations from Q2 to Q8. Were there some interests or values that you were following? Also, add any talents that you might have discovered using any psychometrics tests.
Q10. What are my top 5 interests or talents?
Based on your reflection on questions from 1 to 9 identify your top 5 key talents or interests that matter most to you and you consider yourself to be good at.
Download the template provided here free of cost and use that to explore these questions. The five top talents will be used in a later exercise to understand your career options and developmental plan.
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