Recipe for the perfect career

What is a career? It’s the portion of a person’s life devoted to work. Now, you may view the word career to mean simply a job. Yet, it is more than just a job; it is a pathway that links education and work. It is inclusive of the efforts spent on developing yourself for the occupation.

For example, Content Writer at Company XYZ is a job, but writing as a career begins with you enrolling yourself for a foundation course in literature or writing to develop and enhance your language skills.

Therefore, the parts of your life that concerns your learning, training and experience toward the profession and as well as the profession itself, encompasses your career. Now let’s delve into the recipe for the perfect career.

Personality

One of the most important factors that determine your choice of a career is your personality. It’s a framework of how you are built as an individual, derived from a combination of genes and life experiences. A personality is mostly consistent and can determine what an individual likes, how they would react in certain situations and what they do. Hence, your personality plays a part in your career preference – through your tastes and how you view life. If you are an extroverted person, who loves to travel, you might not enjoy a 9-to-5 desk job; instead, a job that requires travel and social interaction would be better suited.

Passion

How can you invest so much of your time and effort into something you don’t like to do? It may be possible, but it definitely begs the question – is it worth it? Passion is what keeps your work life alive! It’s the light that burns at night with you as you work to achieve your dreams. We’ve all heard this quote, “Do what you love, and you never have to work a day of your life.” These ideas are also seen in Ikigai, a Japanese concept, combining the terms “life” (iki) and “worth” (gai). Put together, Ikigai means a life of worth. It is said to be a feeling of well-being that arises from engaging in activities that one enjoys.

Skills

A person’s skills are another thing that contributes to their career. Each occupation has specific skills that it requires over and above subject expertise that are crucial for doing a task efficiently and effectively. An example is that some jobs require great communication skills while others need dexterity. The 21st century skills required to be global citizen include learning and innovation skills like creativity, critical thinking, collaboration; information, media & technology skills like ICT and media literacy; and life and career skills like leadership, flexibility, initiative etc. The good news is that these are all skills that you have probably already gained even in school through various co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. Take time to know and enhance your skills! It might just lead you to your dream job.

When you begin your search for a perfect career, start by reviewing these core facets. There are many personality tests and aptitude assessments available that let you understand your key nature, areas of interests, skills and strengths.

Back to our recipe! Personality, passion and skills – are the key ingredients. Combine them all using self-reflection, and you have your career cooking!

Dr  Baby Sam Saamuel is Vice-Chairman, Knowledge Oman and is Ex-Chairman, Indian Schools in Oman.