Embarking on a fulfilling career starts with knowing how to choose one. Making an informed decision involves matching your skills, experience, interests, and personality with the requirements for the career you’re considering. As you’re narrowing down which jobs might make a good fit, you’re going to get lots of different advice based on conventional wisdom. As you’ll likely discover, the hard and fast rules from the past don’t necessarily apply today. What’s more, some of the guidance you get may actually be based on myths, so be careful. Here, we list down some of those myths – be sure to identify them – if you come across them.
- How Much You Make Should Dictate the Path You Take
Although the salary for a position is important, it isn’t the main thing you should consider when choosing a career path. An entry-level position will definitely help you get to where you want – ultimately.
- You Should Have Your Path Completely Mapped Out
While plenty of people place a premium on knowing exactly what you want to do from a career standpoint, you can figure that all out as you go along and try out different things. Many successful entrepreneurs usually encourage students to take advantage of their youth and try out different courses and even to fail. The learning experience while you’re getting established can be
invaluable.
- You Should Meet All the Requirements Before Applying
Although your core skills should fit the fundamental job description, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a perfect fit for you to be considered for a position. Plenty of people have been hired on potential despite not meeting every single prerequisite.
- You Have to Have a Mentor to Be Successful
Having a mentor is not essential – though it may help. But also look at it this way – any guidance that a mentor gives you is shaped by their individual outlook and experiences and won’t necessarily apply or translate to your situation or vision. It’s far more fruitful surround yourself with as many successful people in your career field as you can.
- Everything is Online Now, Including All the Jobs
Although it is vital to have a strong online presence, you shouldn’t limit your search strictly to the digital realm. There are still some employers who don’t post their positions online and find employees with ads in newspapers or through word-of-mouth recommendations. In addition to being digitally-minded, it
also doesn’t hurt to network with friends and associates.
- You Should Rely on “Best Careers” Lists
Every year, especially during milestone years—at the beginning of a new decade, for instance—numerous publications publish lists of hot jobs. While it can’t hurt to look at them to see if any of the careers appeal to you, you shouldn’t use the list to dictate your final decision. Although the predictions
are usually based on valid data, things often change. What is hot this year may not be in a few years from now.
- A Career Counsellor Can Tell You Which Job to Pick
Although a career counsellor can advise you on what careers might be suitable for you based on your experience and disposition, you’re the one that has to figure out what’s right for you. Once you have pinpointed that, a counsellor may be able to point you in the right direction, in terms of what training you will need to reach your goals and then show you how to embark on a successful job search.
- You Have to Work in the Field to Know About a Career
While it’s true that you can’t know all there is to know about a career field until you hold down a position, you can learn enough about it to make an informed decision about whether a role is right for you without being employed – articles and published resources, in addition to speaking with professionals in the field are all helpful.
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