career conversations
When you were a little kid, I am sure someone asked you the million dollar question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” If you search YouTube, there are plenty of videos of cute kids saying probably what I said: an astronaut, a fireman, just like my mum, a hotdog (yep, there is always a random!). Now that you are a little older, this question might terrify you. If you are an adult, what you are doing now may bear no resemblance to what you said when you were a kid, a teenager or even a university graduate. Here’s a hint to the teens reading this - when the adults in your life were your age, they probably had no idea they would end up where they are now. Go on, ask them!
A quality career conversation should never be about a destination. Like all good conversations, questions need to be asked, dreams and goals ascertained and the things we don’t value or want in life need to expressed with courage and clarity. This type of conversation gives you career awareness. You become aware of what you do and don’t want to persue in your life - the type of jobs, skills, experiences and people that you think should be part (or not) of your life. A good conversation is a journey, and so is your career pathway. A conversation with a career counsellor can help you map that journey.
If you’re ready to start mapping your career, but not yet ready to talk to anyone about it, here are some questions for you to ponder:
what changes would you make in the world if you were in charge?
what injustice would you immediately fix?
What jobs would you never want to do?
what subjects would you never want to study in school or university?
Who inspires you and why? ( there might be more than one person in this list)
If there was no more internet and no mobile phones, how would you spend the hours of your day?
You might notice that these questions have nothing to do with want you want to do when you grow up - and that’s the point. You’ve only just started the journey and these questions are for you to start a conversation with yourself about the things you like and don’t like - in your world and in the global community.