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Interests, Values & Personality Traits
1. What are my interests?
The activities you enjoy doing in your free time can give you insights into the careers that would be satisfying and fulfilling for you. To figure out your interests, ask yourself:
- What hobbies do I enjoy?
- Do I prefer spending time indoors or outdoors?
- Do I enjoy working with people, animals, data or books?
- What activities would I miss the most if I could no longer do them?
2. What are my values?
Everyone has values or things that are important to them, such as financial security, social justice or work-life balance. These values can help you decide what type of career to pursue. Here for instance, consider a job that pays well if you value financial security, and consider the type of hours you’d like to work to achieve work-life balance and what career may offer that to you.
3. What is my personality?
Skills, Attributes & Education
4. What are my skills?
Remember, skills can be developed and new skills can be learned at any stage of life, so don’t let a lack of skills put you off a certain career path. Let the existing skills you have guide you. Whether you require further skill development or not will be the next challenge.
5. What are my talents and strengths?
From the time you were little, you demonstrated talents and strengths that make you unique; these qualities can help you succeed in your chosen career. In fact, Sir Ken Robinson, author of The Element, Out of Our Minds, says that:
If you don’t know your talents and strengths, make a list of everything you’re good at doing. Your family members, friends, teachers, boss and mentors can help you write this list that you will use to narrow down potential careers.
6. What education or training do I need?
Certain careers require advanced education and financial investment. For example, you may need eight to 12 years of education and training to be a doctor, but you could earn a hospitality management bachelor in four years. Think about the time and money required to pursue a career as you make your decision.
If you already have these hard skills but feel as though you a missing a piece of the puzzle, soft skills such as effective communication, are highly sought after in leadership positions in the hospitality industry. Skills such as c ommunication, leadership, critical thinking, organization, follow through, cultural competency, flexibility, and customer service, just to name a few.
As a general rule, although there are exceptions, the higher the salary bracket, the higher the education level is required. However, any career path is worthy of such time and financial investment, but you have to decide whether it is worth it to you.
Make a List of Occupations to Explore
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You probably have multiple lists of occupations in front of you at this point—one generated by each of the self-assessment tools you used. To keep yourself organized, you should combine them into one master list.
First, look for careers that appear on multiple lists and copy them onto a blank page. Title it “Occupations to Explore.” Your self-assessments indicated they are a good fit for you based on several of your traits, so they’re definitely worth exploring.
Next, find any occupations on your lists that appeal to you. They may be careers you know a bit about and want to explore further. Also, include professions about which you don’t know much. You might learn something unexpected.
Create a “Short List”
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Now you have more information, start to narrow down your list even further. Based on what you learned from your research so far, begin eliminating the careers you don’t want to pursue any further. You should end up with two to five occupations on your “short list.”
If your reasons for finding a career unacceptable are non-negotiable, cross it off your list. Remove everything with duties that don’t appeal to you. Eliminate careers that have weak job outlooks. Get rid of any occupation if you are unable or unwilling to fulfill the educational or other requirements, or if you lack some of the soft skills necessary to succeed in it.
Researching career options
You’ve likely gathered a lot of information by now. Once you have a bigger picture about yourself, start to conduct research on various career possibilities. You can use the list you made regarding your interests, values, and traits, combined with your top motivations, to begin looking for careers or industries that might be a good fit.
For example, do you really like drawing? Look at careers or industries requiring that talent to some extent. Are you interested in the issue of income inequality? Research organizations that work to improve that issue and browse their job openings site. Is one of your biggest strengths creative problem solving? Look for careers and industries that need your skill set.
Write down each option that sounds interesting, and pay attention to the results that will help you achieve your biggest priorities. For example, if flexibility is important to you then focus on remote roles rather than ones that require you to be in an office.
Explore career options on your list
1. Use job search sites. LinkedIn, Indeed, and Monster are just a few sites dedicated to posting job openings. As you peruse roles available in your area, read more about the responsibilities for each one. Highlight the job titles that sound like a good fit.
2. Cross-reference company reviews. Use Glassdoor or other sites to learn more about a particular company you’re considering, or conduct more general research on the industry in which they’re situated. Pay attention to any current issues being discussed in that industry.
3. Set up informational interviews. If you’ve found a role at a specific company that sounds interesting, look to see if you have any connections you can ask for an informational interview. If you want to find more general information about a role, look for any connections you have—or connections of connections—who are currently doing that work. Asking about a career before you pursue one can help you gather useful information.
Explore further
Choosing a career is a process that unfolds over time. You can discover more with the Career Discovery specialization from the University System of Georgia. Over three classes, you’ll learn about exploring different career paths and planning your career. If you’d like to strengthen many transferable skills that can feed a successful career, try the specialization Career Success from UCI Division of Continuing Education, which covers project management, finance, and communication, among other subjects.
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Source:
https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/questions-choosing-career
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/steps-to-choosing-career-525506
https://www.coursera.org/articles/how-to-choose-a-career
10 essential questions to ask yourself when choosing a career

Interview Question: ‘Why Did You Choose This Job?’
When you are interviewing for a role, hiring managers ask you questions regarding your qualifications and what makes you a unique hire. They may also enquire about your reasons for choosing to interview with their company. Learning about why a potential manager may ask you this can help you create a carefully planned answer. In this article, we discuss why interviewers ask “Why did you choose this job?” during an interview, including how to answer this question in four steps and some example answers for you to use as a reference.
Interviewers may ask, “Why did you choose this job?” because they want to see that you have researched the company prior to the interview. This demonstrates to the hiring managers your interest in the establishment and the position that you are applying for. When answering the question, you can talk about what you like about the business, which may include the information you found in your research, and what attracted you to that position.
Another reason they might ask this question is that they may wish to understand how professionals choose between roles and companies. Additionally, your answer can help them determine what inspires you in the workplace and if you are seeking progression within the company.
Skills, Attributes & Education
4. What are my skills?
Remember, skills can be developed and new skills can be learned at any stage of life, so don’t let a lack of skills put you off a certain career path. Let the existing skills you have guide you. Whether you require further skill development or not will be the next challenge.
5. What are my talents and strengths?
From the time you were little, you demonstrated talents and strengths that make you unique; these qualities can help you succeed in your chosen career. In fact, Sir Ken Robinson, author of The Element, Out of Our Minds, says that:
If you don’t know your talents and strengths, make a list of everything you’re good at doing. Your family members, friends, teachers, boss and mentors can help you write this list that you will use to narrow down potential careers.
6. What education or training do I need?
Certain careers require advanced education and financial investment. For example, you may need eight to 12 years of education and training to be a doctor, but you could earn a hospitality management bachelor in four years. Think about the time and money required to pursue a career as you make your decision.
If you already have these hard skills but feel as though you a missing a piece of the puzzle, soft skills such as effective communication, are highly sought after in leadership positions in the hospitality industry. Skills such as c ommunication, leadership, critical thinking, organization, follow through, cultural competency, flexibility, and customer service, just to name a few.
As a general rule, although there are exceptions, the higher the salary bracket, the higher the education level is required. However, any career path is worthy of such time and financial investment, but you have to decide whether it is worth it to you.
Jacinda Ardern | Prime Minister of New Zealand
Have you heard of Jacinda Ardern? New Zealand’s youngest Prime Minister in more than 150 years. Moreover, the world’s second elected head of government to give birth while in office. However, never, ever call her Cindy.
Her first steps in politics were made during New Plymouth MP Harry Duynhoven’s re-election campaign. After college, she tried her hand as a researcher in the office of Prime Minister Helen Elizabeth Clark and later as a senior policy adviser to then-British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Soon she was selected as the Labour Party candidate for MP of the Waikato district. Even though she failed to secure the Party’s win, Jacinda entered parliament as a list candidate.
Thanks to her dedication to her nation, Jacinda was elected Prime Minister in a coalition government with the Greens and the New Zealand First Party. Her election campaign was held in the company of such positive press coverage, that it was called the “Jacinda effect” or “Jacinda mania”.
Her most significant struggles while in the position? March 2019 mosque attacks in Greater Christchurch, volcanic explosion on remote Whakaari/White Island, and the coronavirus pandemic. And she managed all of them with aplomb, strengthening her positive, almost iconic image.
Jacinda Ardern’s Path to Power
The educational pathways of world leaders
Let’s face facts. Not all politicians are educated to be politicians. You’ve met Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a law graduate, and a former actor, now serving as the President of Ukraine. You also came across Joe Biden, a lawyer, now known as POTUS.
Finland’s prime minister started in a bakery and as a cashier. Any degree? Yes, in Administrative Science. Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s PM and holder of a PR and Political Science degree, not only helped out at one of New York’s soup kitchens but also proved herself as a DJ.
They are far from a political-related education background. But what are the best degrees for a career in politics? In theory, that would be political science, public administration, internal and international relations, or public policy.
But in practice, it turns out that any degree is good. Does this mean that our politicians don’t have the right background, experience, and knowledge to be a politician? No, or even if so, only at the beginning of their political careers. Does that mean they are doing their job poorly? Not at all.
The Congressional Research Service, a public policy research institute, revealed the educational background of Congress members in a 2020 study. The report provides some interesting facts.
“Most leaders have degrees in social sciences and humanities, with over half holding an advanced degree. The prevalence of social sciences continues into post-graduate education with half of the leaders holding advanced-level degrees. In the 30-country sample, the number of leaders with undergraduate degrees in social sciences (44%) is at least three times as large as any other course of study (e.g. business 14%; engineering 12%; humanities 11%).”
Also, when it comes to the world’s regions, social sciences are the most prevalent of all disciplines. However, of course, there are small differences between social science participation in each country. For example, they are more prevalent among leaders in Nordic Countries (53%) and Latin Europe (54%), while they are less prevalent among leaders in Confucian Asia (35%) and Middle Eastern Countries (35%).
The British Council’s study only reinforces the idea that great world leaders come from a variety of higher education backgrounds. University simply doesn’t define a person’s future career. You don’t need to graduate in business or management, physics, or mathematics. When it comes to politics, social sciences and humanities still allow you to reach the top.
Resource:
https://in.indeed.com/career-advice/interviewing/why-did-you-choose-this-job
https://hospitalityinsights.ehl.edu/questions-choosing-career
https://zety.com/blog/world-leaders-careers