City : Careers Advice Centre : Finding Your Ideal Career
Working out what job you want can be really difficult...
...but if you ask yourself the right questions then you can find a career that will suit you and make you happy!
Start by asking yourself some simple questions; you can then apply these questions to specific job types, and then check the skills needed for those jobs.
(If you're 13+ and living in England you can chat online to a careers adviser using the National Careers Service webchat service, available 8am - 10pm everyday!)
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...
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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?
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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?
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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?
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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: