Tamil Nadu

Basics in career planning

The first step toward choosing a Career is to spend some time finding out about oneself. Grades and test scores are only on part of the picture. Self-assessment is the first step of a career planning process. It is the process of gathering information about one self and the requirements of different fields, in order to make an informed career decision.

One of the foremost attributes to be successful in any career is, one has to be really good at what he or she is doing. There are no double takes on that .

Take Sachin Tendulkar, Bill Gates, or JK Rowing of Harry Potter fame, Dr. Abdul Kalam, Sania Mirza or Amitabh Bachan, all of them are extremely good at what they are doing. This ability to do a task well is called Aptitude. Different kinds of jobs require different kinds of aptitude. Imagine Sachin as a Chartered Accountant or JK Rowling as a scientist. It is really doubtful whether they could have become so successful. So the key work here is Aptitude. Each one of us is good at something. So it is important to clearly identify and measure (Quantitatively and Qualitatively) ones different aptitude levels and find a job which requires them, and you have one of the most important keys to Success. Aptitude tests can provide a unique insight into your innate abilities, and help you select the right study courses which can further enhance them in terms of knowledge and skills.

Passion. When one is passionate about ones job it not only shows in your work, it also gives you the energy of a thousand horses. You become a self-generating power house. No one needs to ask you to work.

Thomas Edison, the man who has the maximum number of inventions to his credit used to work 18 hours a day. But all he had to say was “I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun”. And imagine getting paid to have fun all your life. Your career counselor can help identify your passion, but he/she would probably label it is as your interest and psychological motivator.

Keeping the job requirements as a constant, it is important to assess the individual’s personal aptitude, personality and interest and align it to the right career. Each individual is different, so it is important to identify the right career fit. Else it would be like cutting ones feet to fit the shoes. It can be painful.

Therefore, in order to be fully satisfied in one’s work place, one has to start the ground work right from the school days. While choosing the subjects make sure that it is going to be helpful in shaping one’s future. And this career planning has to start ideally from 9th standard onwards.

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