BEFORE YOU START THAT CAREER: 9 THINGS YOU MUST DO

Deciding on a career to pursue can be quite challenging, especially if and when you're surrounded by people who have a strong say in the career you must pursue and what you must become.

Imagine being told and pressured to pursue a career that in your entire life time, you would never have thought about.?

This challenge to a large extent can be overcome if and when you've discovered yourself, figured out what you really want and take deliberate and practical steps in making it a reality.

I faced this challenge after I graduated from secondary school. I graduated from two (2) schools with three (3) certificates and I'm not practicing any of them. I wasted more than 9 years of my life pursuing different careers I wasn't meant to pursue. When I think of the resources, time and energy that went into these years, I shudder. I will talk about this someday.?

Discovering yourself at an early age is the best gift you can give yourself. It saves you from a whole lot of things like taking a wrong path, depression, lost years, low self-esteem, etc.?

I understand that you're excited about that new career and you've been fed with lots of stories on the prestige and possibilities it will bring. But you need to understand that with that excitement comes confusion and uncertainties that will make you start questioning your decisions.?

I understand, I've been there before. Most of us have been there too. So, you're definitely not the only one in this boat.?

But you can fix all of the confusion and uncertainty by taking the necessary steps to ascertain that you're making the right decision.?

Starting a career in any field can be difficult especially if and when you don't know the proper steps to take.

In this article, I've listed 8 practical steps that you must take before you start any career.?

• Find Yourself?

Who are you? What's your purpose in life? What are your abilities? What brings you happiness and joy? What can you naturally do without stress? What can keep you going all day? What inspires you?

These and more are questions you'll need to ask yourself and provide sincere answers to on your journey to self discovery.?

Getting in touch with yourself through self-discovery and self-awareness is essential to your career satisfaction and success.?

Identifying the right career path and options requires you to reflect on your values, interests, vision, skills and personality and discover how they fit into your career choice.

It is advisable that you know who you are before you start any career. What this does is that it helps you to know who you are, your interests, your passion, what drives you, your natural abilities and helps you streamline it to a career of your choice.

• Figure Out What You Want?

After self discovery, the next step is to figure out what you want, that is finding clarity.

Of course you now know who you are, your values, abilities, skills, etc. But you need to take it a step further by figuring out what you actually want - not what you think you want. There is a huge difference between the two.

The danger of not being able to figure out what you want is that it will slow you down and you might eventually find yourself jumping from one career to another.?

• Be Decisive

There are individuals who start a journey in a particular career and in the process of building the career, they become discouraged and back out. This is because they didn't figure out what they wanted.?

Perhaps, they pursued the career because of their parent's or friend's influence or because of the prestige they thought they would get from it.

This will help you scale through the hurdles that you will encounter on the way. It'll get you prepared for the journey ahead. Despite the challenges, you will keep pushing because you know that it is what you want.

• Write It Down

Pen down what you've figured out. Don't just get it stored in your mental storage bank, ensure that you pen down everything.?

Writing down all that you've figured out helps you to reaffirm what you want. It also helps in bringing more ideas to your mind that you left off during the brooding period.?

Have a dedicated journal, diary or note pad for this.?

For me, what I did was to create a folder on my Google drive for everything that concerns my career choice, plans, path and journey.?

• Research?

Research gives you a clearer view of what lies ahead and in depth knowledge of what is required. It also prevents you from walking blindly into a path you literally know nothing about.?

Don't just assume you have it all figured out. Carry out a thorough research on the career path you want to take.?

Carrying out a thorough research will help you to know what is obtainable, the skills, experiences and certificates needed.?

There are lots of resources online and offline available for you to carry out intensive research.?

• Set Goals

The benefit of setting clear and specific goals is that it gives you a framework to achieve Milestones. It also creates a path to improve your career and achieve certain accomplishments.

Your goals must be as clear and detailed as possible. They must be relevant to your choice of career and also achievable.?

Also, you must make sure to set timelines for your goals as this will put you on your toes to avoid laying around.?

• Connect With People in the Same Career Field

Apparently you don't have any or much knowledge about the career you're about pursuing, so leverage on the knowledge of others.?

Connecting with people in the same career field will grant you access to information, resources (material and human), platforms, communities, groups and forums that you can't have access to by being on your own.

The goal isn't to connect with every Tom, Dick and Harry. Connect with those you know that can help you achieve the career goals you've set out for yourself.

• Get A Mentor

Get a mentor in the career path you're pursuing, one who has climbed up the ladder and is successful.?

Your mentor should be someone who will show you the ropes, teach you secrets and be responsible for your choices, decisions, growth and development.?

Get attached to a mentor who will be there to pick you up when you fail, and make costly or silly mistakes. Have a mentor who will encourage you when the going gets tough, because it'll definitely get tough.?

Note: You can't do it all alone.

• Set Aside Funds

Don't be deceived, starting a career in any field consumes money. Therefore, setting aside funds for your career journey is paramount.?

You mustn't have all the funds available (of course you can't predict how much you'll need from the onset). But you should have a stipulated amount of money set aside for your career journey and also identifying a good funding source is also a great idea.?

For you to scale heights and attain new levels in your chosen career, you must have funds kept aside. Funds for courses, acquiring of skills and knowledge, and the tools needed to make your journey easy and smooth.

It is also advisable you have a separate account solely for your career to avoid being taken unawares by new developments.?