Even if you had a crystal ball, finding your career won't be straightforward.
A: One of our readers recently posted a comment on the chat box. She was wondering how to find her career. I’ll try my best to shed some light on this.
There are a couple of things you might want to check out when you’re on the verge of establishing your career. Among these are your interests, aptitude, educational background and experience. Ideally, to find a good career, these should be in line with each other. What this means is that, you should have finished a course and obtained a job in an area that you are interested and skilled in.
In reality though, a perfect alignment of these factors is not always possible. You may have completed a course you’re not interested in or you may have gotten your first job experience in a completely unrelated field. In these cases, my grandfather, who was a career counselor, suggested that you should at least try to begin a career in a field that you are interested in and that you have an aptitude for.
What he meant by this piece of advice is that you should try to apply for jobs that you are interested in and that you have matched skills for. Your interest in a job will make it a lot easier for you to stay motivated. If you have matching skills or aptitude, then you will find it easier to complete work tasks.
That said, you should also look at the reality of employment in the Philippines, Misamis Oriental and Cagayan de Oro. To be brutally frank, jobs are in short supply. Applicants hardly have the luxury of being able to cherry pick among the options for positions that they like or are skilled in. The best course of action if you can’t find what you really like to do is to apply for a job that fits your educational qualifications or your initial work experiences.
You may not like the options available to you but you may get accepted because of your qualifications. Don’t stress too much about not getting what you want. Treat this as a stepping stone to future career advancement. Do your job even if you aren’t really crazy about it and do it well. In the future, you might just find new doors of opportunities opening up for you because of your excellent work performance.
thank you for this post..
for years now, i am constantly in a dilemma on going about my career. i am a great believer that life is short and one should go on doing things one loves, rather than growing old and not having done anything you love. i wouldn’t be proud of succeeding on things i didn’t even want to do.
like you have mentioned in this post, i managed to barely finish a course i did not like because i did not have the right motivation to do so, just because i would be able to earn higher than what i wanted to do and my parents pushed me to take it rather than pursuing my dreams because sa economy ngayon, mahirap ng kumuha ng course na di ka naman sure makakakuha ka ng trabaho, lalo na yung unheard dito sa pilipinas. in actuality, the course i’ve dreamed of is not even offered in mindanao, or i never heard any that offer in the philippines, when i was asked to decide what course to take.
ofcourse, i have taken on jobs regarding the course i finished, but everytime i work, i always think about “what ifs”. no one know when one’s life will end, so i am determined to look for a job related to my passion which would be abroad. what do you think should i do given that i wasn’t able to take a course related to it, and haven’t had any chance of being hired a job related it. i also don’t have the proper knowledge and expertise to be competitive in the industry of my passion even if i am able to find an job hirings on the net.
what do you think should i do? do i need to put that i graduated in college and the employment i had even if it is not related? thank you
I know of several people now working in jobs that are not related to their course (nurses working as web developers or marketers in music). I’ve learned from them that although there is a time in life when being practical in life is important, there’s also a point when your true passions will come knocking.
My tip, learn as much as you can about your true passion. Pursue a course or certification if you need to just so you have papers to show. If you’re strapped for cash, work in a field related to your course for awhile so you can save and then finally, just have the guts to make the jump to your preferred career if this is really what you want.
It is very important though to take ownership of this decision. You have to have the courage to take the risk and accept any consequences that may happen because of it.
As to including your course in your resume that’s not related to what you want to do, there’s nothing really wrong with this but you need to balance this with a strong background/experience/certification in your preferred field. Also, be ready to explain to the recruiter why you’re shifting focus.
Hi i just wanna know something coz for me i know what i want to be but why its hard to get it,.i dont know whats really wrong with me. i have my confident to do the job but i dont know what to do i do always passed my resume and application coz i know my qualification is good enough but i dont get any response from them. maybe since i dont have yet work experience but i do believe that everything can be learn. i hope you can help me or give me some tips for this and i will look forward for your reply, thank you and God bless you
Hi Anne. You always need to keep in mind that competition for jobs in our province/country is always stiff. There’s a chance you might not be able to get in because other applicants meet the qualifications better. My best tips for you are to simply never give up AND think outside of the box. You may not be able to get the job you want right now. If this is the case, go for a job that is slightly out of your interest just so you can start working. Eventually, more doors will open for you. Also, do not imagine that office employment is your only option. If you have opportunities to start a small business even if it’s just selling small items, go for it.