Knowing Yourself
The first step in planning your future career is learning about yourself. You will not be able to find a career field that appeals to you without knowing your interests, values, and abilities. A career that appeals to your interests, respects your values, and allows you to use your abilities will most likely be a stronger, more long-lasting fit for you than a career that is only partly related to those aspects of your life.
Remember, it may not be possible for you to have a career that fits precisely with the thing you love to do best (for example, even if you love to play basketball, it is very unlikely that you will have a career as a professional basketball player), but you still have options. Some options could be:
Below are some resources that can help you explore your interests, values, and abilities.
O*NET Interest Profiler - This tool helps you sort your interests and see how they relate to potential careers. It can help you find careers that you may want to explore further.
O*NET Work Importance Profiler - This free downloadable software provides a tool that helps you focus on what is important to you in a job.It can help you identify occupations that you may find satisfying based on how well they align with your values.
Indiana Career Explorer - This website, provided by the state of Indiana, offers interest, values, and skills assessments to Indiana residents. The site does require you to create a free account.
ISEEK Skills Assessment - This tool allows you to rate yourself on many different skills and then see which occupations are a match for the skills that are important to you. It also allows you to see occupations that match your skills that require varying levels of education.
Remember, it may not be possible for you to have a career that fits precisely with the thing you love to do best (for example, even if you love to play basketball, it is very unlikely that you will have a career as a professional basketball player), but you still have options. Some options could be:
- Choose a career that relates to that thing (you could coach or be a scout, get involved in sports management or marketing, become an athletic trainer, work for a sports equipment company, study to become a sports psychologist, be an agent, get into broadcasting, or work in a sports facility or arena as maintenance or security staff).
- Choose a career doing something else you enjoy or could be good at that still leaves you with the time, opportunity, and financial resources to pursue the thing you love to do most as a hobby (you could make career decisions that will leave your evenings or weekends free to play in a church or rec league, or you could coach AAU or YMCA teams).
- Choose a career that allows you to use some of the same skills or that appeals to some of the same interests as the thing you love doing (you could choose a career field that allows you to be competitive, to work as a part of a team, to practice and improve your skills, to focus and prepare for a challenge, or to set individual or team goals and work to achieve them).
Below are some resources that can help you explore your interests, values, and abilities.
O*NET Interest Profiler - This tool helps you sort your interests and see how they relate to potential careers. It can help you find careers that you may want to explore further.
O*NET Work Importance Profiler - This free downloadable software provides a tool that helps you focus on what is important to you in a job.It can help you identify occupations that you may find satisfying based on how well they align with your values.
Indiana Career Explorer - This website, provided by the state of Indiana, offers interest, values, and skills assessments to Indiana residents. The site does require you to create a free account.
ISEEK Skills Assessment - This tool allows you to rate yourself on many different skills and then see which occupations are a match for the skills that are important to you. It also allows you to see occupations that match your skills that require varying levels of education.