Pursuing Your Dream Career

PURSUING YOUR DREAM CAREER

If you could be or do anything in the world, what would it be? Answer this, and you could be on your way towards securing a happy, fulfilling career.

Not everyone lands a dream job right after graduation. For a lot of graduates, deciding on a career that will interest and satisfy them takes some figuring out. But deciding on which path to follow doesn’t just involve choosing the right educational route. A lot of it involves figuring out who you are as a person and what you want out of life. In other words, it’s about finding your passion.

According to Dr Taj Kardaman, Career Counseling Consultant at Qatar Career Development Center (QCDC), discovering your dream career can be easy if one follows a guided career pathway, and by asking some basic questions. “You essentially need to answer three questions concerning who you are: What do you most love to do, where would you most love to use your skills, and how to find those jobs,” he says.

For those of you who are struggling to find answers to these questions, Dr Kardaman advises seeking guidance from QCDC. “QCDC has unique programs designed to help provide graduates with some concrete guidance. These programs will help you identify the skills you most enjoy using, as well as the field in which you will most enjoy using them,” says Dr Kardaman.

To help you get started, he recommends deliberating on these points:

Acknowledge Your Dream

What is that thing you’ve always wanted to do? Was it to travel the world, write a book or launch your own business? No matter what your dreams are, don’t dismiss them. List down what these are and move on to the next step.

What are your interests?

To determine what your interests are, make a list of all the things you enjoy doing, like travelling, writing, sports, etc. There are no right or wrong answer so list whatever that piques your interest. Next, think of types of work you could do that would involve your interest.

Assess Your Skills

The next step in identifying a career choice is to know what you are skilled at. Skills are not the most important indicator of what career you should get into because like abilities (which come more naturally), they can be developed with some amount of guidance and nurturing. Understanding your abilities and skills can guide you to a career that would be easier for you to enter, but they need to be competitive and desired in the workforce. In accessing your skills and abilities, ask yourself these questions:

• What are you naturally good at?
• What activities give you the most challenge?
• If you could be better at something, what would you choose and why?

Learn About Yourself

There are numerous personality assessment tools that can provide insights into your values, how you like to work and what you’d be compelled to do even if you never got paid. Some of these include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. These personality assessment tools go a long way towards learning about yourself.

Values and Beliefs

Take some time to evaluate and recognize your values and beliefs. In doing this, ask yourself what you believe in, what you stand for, what values you admire and make a list of your top 10 values. Some examples of values include trustworthiness, respect, fairness and community involvement. Your values have a major influence on your behavior and attitude, and will serve as a guide in choosing a suitable career.

Your Education

Of course, your education is the gateway to many career options. Together with your educational qualification, and an insight into your core self, you can easily establish a dream career route for yourself.

Getting on The Right Track

Effective career planning starts with finding out what your interests, skills and work values are. The Career Advising System offered by QCDC, developed in partnership with Kuder Inc., a world leader in career planning services, is a comprehensive career assessing and planning solution for students, instructors, advisors, counselors, HR executives and parents, and is used for reliable assessments to explore extensive educational and occupational choices, and search for substantial scholarship programs in order to identify the career path that is most suitable to you or those you are responsible for. The Career Advising System aims to equip individuals with the basic skills and essential knowledge of career advising and planning and provide them with tools and activities to help them embark on an ultimate career journey. The assessments don’t just define who you are or what your career should be, but they also help you narrow your search and consider options you may not have previously considered by helping you visualize which industry or career or field of study to pursue. The Career Advising System is an online activity that contains six modules which systematically take you from assessing skills and interests to occupational choices, educational and training choices, finding schools and scholarship, planning for work, and finding a career. You get help from everything from discovering suitable career options to finding job openings and crafting great resumes and cover letters.