Tips on How to Find your Ideal Career

Everyone enters high school wondering about their future careers. Most of us have a general idea about what we like to do and what we are good at, but at this stage in life it's difficult to know how to go about including our likes and what we're good at into our future goals and career plans. Here are Youthink's tips for incorporating those likes and skills into your ideal job.

Make a chart

First off, start by making an in-depth chart to find your strengths. List three things that you could teach someone else. Find another three things that you like to do for yourself, or that make you feel good. Then, write down three things that are really important to you. Eventually, you will narrow down your strengths and likes, which is important when choosing a career you're going to love.

Prepare yourself for success

Finding the perfect career isn't always going to be based on what you like; it's also based on what you do to get there. You'll need high averages to pursue university, but you will also need things outside your academic timetable. Extracurricular activities and volunteer hours, for example, show that you are responsible and will look good in a letter of recommendation.

Take a personality or career test

Try one of the many online personality and career tests available. One example is the Jung Typology Test (www.humanmetrics.com), which includes 72 "yes-no" questions that will help you get a general idea of some of your career options. It only takes about 15 minutes, and it might introduce you to some careers you'd never even thought about. Any Myers-Briggs personality test is also always a good option to give you more ideas about possible career paths.

Keep your options open

Don't limit yourself by shutting doors on opportunities. Remember to stay flexible- it's always possible that you might choose a different career in the future. People's interests tend to change over time, especially as they meet new people and are exposed to new ideas.

Finding the perfect career isn't always going to be based on what you like, it also depends on the work you do to get there. Most importantly, have fun and enjoy your high-school experiences, as you'll have many years in a career.