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-Article about english careerChoosing a Career Path

by Beverly Baskin, Ed.S, MA, NCCC
Director and Career Counselor, Baskin Business and Career Services
Marlboro, Princeton, and Woodbridge, New Jersey
How do I choose a career?
Since a persons career is a very personal choice and reflects his or her personality,
creativity, interests, and goals, it is sometimes beneficial if one begins by choosing a
career path, instead of a career.
Often career counselors conduct career pathing sessions with their clients to assist in
matching innate skills and abilities with short and long-term goals. For example, if a
person demonstrates an interest in the field of biology and also enjoys dealing with
people, the following is an example of a sample career path he or she might consider: If
the person wanted to enter the workforce immediately upon graduating from college, he
or she may explore the areas of pharmaceutical or medical sales, working for a medical
or scientific publishing company in which there are research, copywriting, or editing
positions, or he/she may seek an alternate route as a biology teacher. All of these
positions would serve as rungs on his/her career ladder.
As the person continues to climb the ladder to a successful career, the prospect of
additional promotions within or outside his company, continued educational
opportunities, and the eventual possibility of starting his or her own business are also
career pathing options.
Now, for another scenario. If the same person who demonstrated an interest in biology
decides to become a medical doctor or research biologist immediately after graduation,
that person will need to obtain an advanced degree in order to complete his or her
chosen career path. After the required post graduate education is completed, there are a
number of options within the specialty for the person to climb the ladder of success. He
or she can go into private practice as a physician, become a senior research biologist, a
professional manager within a research or scientific environment, or work for a state or
federal government. These are only a few examples of career pathing. With the help of a
career counselor, one can explore many more career paths.
The career counselor often talks with the person at length to explore the subjects the
individual liked in school, what he or she considers to be personal strengths and
abilities, as well as what other people have said through evaluations at work or
volunteer activities. The counselor will ask about the persons daydreams, his or her
ideal job, and aspirations. Clients often feel that the time spent with the counselor leads
to more insight and investigation regarding several possible career paths.
Matching Interests with Careers

There are several instruments that counselors utilize to match interests with careers. One
of the most popular career/interest inventories is the Self-Directed Search by Dr. John
Holland, a noted psychologist and career theorist. His research concludes that people
with the same interests often seek similar work environments. One can think of the
metaphor "birds of a feather flock together" and how it applies to different work
environments. If we think of employees working in a particular occupation, they usually
have similar vocational and outside interests.
Dr. Holland says that people can be loosely classified into six different groups or
personality types labeled Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising and
Conventional. After a client completes the Self Directed Search inventory (it takes
approximately 30 minutes), he or she will have a three letter code corresponding to the
three highest interests. For instance, if a person receives a score with the code SAE, his
or her strongest vocational personality type is Social (S), then Artistic(A) and then
Enterprising (E). The counselor and client then review the code and its variations in the
Holland Occupations Finder for the purpose of investigating careers that correspond
with the clients interests.
If a person has a strong R (Realistic) type, he or she may like to work with his/her hands
and use physical skills. The person may like to use tools, repair things, work outdoors,
and have a desire for adventure. Possible career paths include Engineer, Military,
Mechanic, or Skilled Trades Person.
The Investigative personality (I) tends to focus on ideas, investigation, research, and
technical activities. Occupations such as Physician, Analyst, Technical Writer and
Medical Technologist are found in this code.
The Artistic Type (A) person is usually creative, intuitive, expressive and a nonconformist. Typical occupations include Musician, Writer, Interior Decorator,
Photographer, or Actor/Actress. Artistic people are the most creative of the six
personality types.
People who are a strong Social Type (S) like to engage in Care-Giving activities, Group
Activities and Social Events, Teaching, and Leadership. Career paths include
preparation as a Counselor, Teacher, Religious Worker, Psychologist or Speech
Therapist.
If a client thinks he/she would like an enterprising job, such as a Salesperson, Manager,
Business Executive, Television Producer, or Buyer, the client will probably score with a
high Enterprising (E) type. E types are found in the business world and include jobs in
corporations and small businesses.
The Conventional (C) vocational personality likes conventional jobs such as
Bookkeeper, Financial Analyst, Banker, Accountant, or Tax Expert. They have
arithmetic abilities are organized and efficient.
Codes can vary over the years. Very often a recent college grad will have an
Enterprising (E) code at the end of his or her score, but when the person gains a few
years experience , the Enterprising code may become the highest letter which means the
person might be ready for a career in management or possibly starting his or her own
business. The opposite can happen to an executive in mid life who wants to become
involved in more altruistic activities. If the Social code (S) is very high, the individual
may want to change his or her career path towards teaching or counseling for the

purpose of helping others.

The point is that change is a constant, and people are always forming career paths. What
they really do is they take some aspects of the job that they presently hold or some
aspects of their college coursework and parlay those favorite work functions into their
new or anticipated job. Some people can market themselves to employers and
communicate their skills and abilities so effectively they eventually wind up creating
their "ultimate job."
Career Paths
Now, getting back to the question of "How do I choose a career? The answer is -- today,
people do not choose one career. They choose career paths that can twist and turn to
meet the changing economy. Statistics show that in recent years people change careers
at least three to four times in their lifetimes, and they hold an average of seven jobs.
Remember, when we say average, that also means that 50 per cent of the people hold
more than seven jobs.
Building career paths and practicing the art of personal marketing will be an invaluable
tool in choosing flexible career options in the 21st Century. In addition, becoming a
generalist in ones field, keeping a flexible outlook regarding the workplace, and taking
advantage of the continuing learning opportunities will be critical to ones survival in
the workforce.
Marketing Transferable Skills
A common barrier facing the recent high school or college graduate is that many times
the person is not aware of his or her own strengths and abilities that translate into
marketable skills. The key to a successful job search is marketing transferable skills to
prospective employers and contacts. A wide variety of jobs do exist in todays
marketplace for general and liberal arts graduates in such fields as sales, management,
and government. In order to be hired into these positions, recent graduates must be able
to communicate their transferable skills developed through college courses, internships,
professional organizations, work study programs, and part-time jobs.
If the job seeker expresses his or her skills in terms of specific achievements, he or she
becomes more credible in the eyes of an employer, and it will make a significant
difference in procuring employment.
The key transferable skill for the 21st Century is the ability to work as part of a team.
There will be cross-functional teams and flexible work centers organized around
projects and processes. The United States has become a service economy with emphasis
on quality customer service. Those graduates seeking professional employment will
need the ability to work in a variety of organizations with many types of employees.
American industry is outsourcing many of its services that were previously performed
internally, so flexibility in work styles will be important for recent college graduates.
New work styles include telecommuting (working out of ones home) and serving as a
temporary and contingency employee.
Thinking creatively and globally, as well as demonstrating the value of the experiences
gained in studying abroad are definite advantages in securing employment. Other
transferable skills cited by human resource professionals as being highly desirable

include:
Budget Management: Managing how funds are dispersed.
Supervising: Taking responsibility for the work of others.
Public Relations: Meeting or relating to the public.
Coping with Deadline Pressure: Producing work under external deadlines
Negotiating/Arbitrating: Dealing effectively with people in ambiguous situations.
Speaking: Speaking publicly to get your ideas across to others.
Writing: Experience with newsletters, class term papers, yearbook copyrighting,
writing school newspaper articles.
Organizing/Managing/Coordinating: Taking charge of an event or project.
Interviewing: Acquiring information from other people by asking appropriate
questions.
Teaching/Instruction: Explaining things to others in an accurate and easily understood
way.
Computers: Word Processing, Spread Sheets, Data Bases.
Planning Ahead
As Microsofts Bill Gates says, "Employers want trainable, not trained workers. Jobs
are, after all, fixed solutions to changing problems. Society needs college graduates who
have the knowledge, skills, abilities and values necessary for continuous problem
solving and lifelong learning, not people trained for a particular job."
Planning ahead is advisable while one is still in college. Even if a person is an
accounting major, he or she may find it advisable to take various electives in liberal arts
in order to be viewed as a well rounded and a trainable employee. One can investigate
internships and foreign study programs offered by the college. Look for creative college
courses that partner actual business people with students, either inside or outside the
classroom.
Albert Bandura, a noted behavioral psychologist talks about the concept of self efficacy.
Setting high expectations for oneself yields high results. Playing it safe and setting low
expectations often leads to discouragement and low self esteem. Hands-on learning and
on-the-job training are the best ways to try out the skills related to a particular
occupation, build valuable self esteem, and obtain a sense of professional identity.
Sometimes it is just as valuable to find out what one dislikes in terms of a job or career
as it is to find something that one loves. Knowing what a person doesnt like to do
actually brings to the surface the skills that really interest him or her . It becomes a
process of elimination.
The Concept of "Shadowing"
The best way to prepare for a career is to talk to as many people as one can in the
profession. In career counseling, this process is called "shadowing." When a prospective
job seeker shadows a person in the field of computer programming, he or she spends an
entire day or more with that person at the work site, and observes the day to day

activities associated with the job. The person might ask questions about what the
employee likes about the job and some of the things that the employee dislikes.
Shadowing is also helpful to explore salary ranges and the potential for growth and
advancement.
Networking
Studies show that 65 to 75 percent of jobs come through network development. The
cardinal rule of networking is "never ask for a job." The best way to network is to ask
people for advice and suggestions. The contact person will not be put on the spot and
very often desires to help the career seeker with job search information and career
marketing strategies. After the person communicates some advice and suggestions to the
job seeker, then it is time to ask for two other names of people the contact person knows
who might be able to help the job seeker with information. These two names become
referred leads, and the same networking process is repeated again. Eventually, the job
seeker will talk with someone who is looking to hire a new employee. This is what
networking is all about. One uses the advice and suggestions of friends, family, and
business acquaintances as "safety nets" to assist in obtaining meetings with influential
decision makers.
Once a person networks with contacts and obtains results, it becomes a valuable skill-but it must be practiced and refined to be effective. As mentioned, the best way to
network is to ask for information about the particular field because the proper
information will get the person closer to the goal of securing employment. It is not
advisable to ask for a job because the contact will usually state if he or she knows of an
opening.
Another productive networking activity is talking with college alumni. An individual
can obtain an alumni list from his or her college career placement office. Alumni want
to help fellow graduates and can be a source of many referrals.
Shotgun Approach
I often tell my clients to use the "shotgun approach" for securing a job. This includes
performing networking activities, sending targeted resumes and cover letters to
classified advertisements, and utilizing the services of employment agencies. Names of
employment agencies can be found in the local Yellow Pages and many career
counselors have extensive data bases of recruiters in specific fields with corresponding
salary ranges. Research indicates that 25-30 percent of jobs are found through
employment agencies and newspaper advertisements as opposed to 65-70 percent of
jobs found through networking.
The third way of finding a job is by soliciting ones resume and targeted cover letter to
specific companies of interest. This takes research on the job seekers part but it is
worth it. Even though there is only a 2 percent return on this type of career marketing,
targeting specific industries, timing, and good karma may be on ones side, and a
company receiving the resume packet may be planning to hire a new employee.
A Nationally Certified Career Counselor (NCCC) or a Certified Professional Resume
Writers (CPRW) can assist clients in writing and developing professional resumes and
cover letters. It is a wise investment in ones career.

Formal and Informal Job Market

The Formal Job Market consists of classified advertisements in the newspapers, job
listings and announcements, and job orders from employment agencies. Richard Bolles
says that the Formal Market is the preferred method of searching for employment for
the average job seeker. Unfortunately, it is not the preferred method of the manager who
is looking to fill a position. The last thing a company usually does is put an
advertisement in the newspaper. That is done only after other methods are exhausted
using the Informal Job Market. The Informal Job Market consists of jobs that are not yet
advertised and usually found through informal networking procedures. First, the
employer asks other employees if they know anyone who can fill the particular job
opening. If that does not produce a candidate, then he or she goes to Human Resources
to see if there are any applications on file or if there are any other referred leads through
industry contacts, salespeople in the field, or distributors. It can be very advantageous to
secure employment through the Informal Job Market because there is very little
competition; the job opening has just been created. The job seeker can even create his or
her own job title if there is a need for a particular service. Employers are always willing
to listen to ideas regarding new or proposed positions that will increase profits and
productivity.
Job Search Planning
Planning a job search will soon become a full-time job! The quickest way to find a job
is to devote at least 25 hours a week to an individual search and to obtain two interviews
per week. The word interview can mean an informal informational meeting or a formal
job interview for a particular job. A contact is also a person who can refer you to more
resources, not necessarily the one who has a job available.
Job Search Research
Conducting research in the library and utilizing the services of the librarian can be very
helpful. Basic reference books related to specific careers include MacRAEs Industrial
Directory (individual states), Directory of Corporate Affiliations, Dun and Bradstreet
Million Dollar Directory, National Directory of Addresses and Telephone Numbers, and
the National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States and Canada
Labor Unions.
Helpful books include What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles, The 100 Best
Companies to Work for in America Robert Levering, and The American Almanac of
Jobs and Salaries by John Wight. There are numerous other reference books and every
year the list is updated.
Going for the Gold--Choosing the Right Career
When looking into career choices, a person must realize that he or she spends more time
at work than at home. Personal identity, competency, status, and self esteem are all tied
into the type of work a person does. An individuals career is the totality of his or her
lifes work. If one chooses the right career path, it can be creative, fun, challenging,
lucrative, and a source of great pleasure and accomplishment.
Robert F. Kennedy said in Promises to Keep "....if this is the vision of the future---if this
is the direction in which we want to move---the next thing we must consider is how we

want to get there, and what obstacles lie in our path. For such a vision is never selffulfilling. We cannot stand idly by and expect our dreams to come true under their own
power. The future is not a gift, it is an achievement." Good Luck!
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