City : Careers Advice Centre : Finding Your Ideal Career

Working out what job you want can be really difficult...

...but if you think about it a little and ask for help in the right places then you can make sure that you get yourself a job that will suit you and make you happy!

Taking the first steps towards planning your career can be tricky, but try splitting it in to different steps. You can start by asking yourself some simple questions, then you can apply these questions to more specific job types, and then check the skills needed for those jobs.

For the first step there are three key types of questions to ask yourself. We've listed lots of specific questions under these question types below.

(p.s. we've also listed some online aptitude tests that can help you further in figuring out what career is right for you!)

• What do I like doing?

  • What are my hobbies?
  • What do I enjoy doing at the weekend?
  • Do I enjoy exercise, sport, or dance?
  • Do I like spending time outdoors?
  • Do I like helping other people?

   

  There are also some more work-related questions that you can ask yourself...

  • Do I like working with people, in a team, or on my own?
  • Do I like working with children?
  • Do I like working with animals?
  • Do I like to have a set routine or do I like being flexible?

• What am I good at?

  • Am I creative?
  • Am I good at working with my hands and doing practical tasks?
  • Am I good at understanding numbers and figures?
  • Am I good at talking to people, helping in difficult situations, or cheering people up?
  • Am I good at being on time?
  • Am I particularly good at a certain sport or hobby?

• What skills do I have?

  • What qualifications do I have?
  • What experience do I have? (This could be anything from helping a younger sibling with homework to writing your own stories! )
  • Do I have any work experience? What did I do for work experience and did I enjoy it?
  • Do I have any specific or unique skills?
  • Am I good with technology?

• What career is right for me?

  Online apptitude tests are a fun way to see what careers you might be suited to! Here are some good ones to try:

  - Barclays LifeSkills: Wheel of Strengths

  - Career Test: Which Career Suits Your Personality?

  - Team Technology: What Career is Right for Me?

  - The Guardian: What Job Would Make You Happiest?

  The NHS also have a career aptitude test focused on what healthcare roles might suit you:

  - Step Into the NHS.

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