Choosing a career is like anything in life. You’re more likely to succeed and get it right if you put time and effort into it.
sections within this page
Identify your goals
Research your options
Plan your approach
It’s an exciting opportunity for you to spend time exploring who you are, what suits you and what appeals to you. You should remember:
Expect to change careers several times in your working life
You may have had an after-school job or a job whilst at university or TAFE which skills you can incorporate into other jobs.
Everybody’s different
Don’t go into a job just because someone else enjoys it and has recommended it. Whatever career you choose is only a choice that you can make but to make an informed decision, listen to advice from your parents, teachers, friends, family and people you look up to.
You’re not forever locked into the choices you make now
Read through this section to get some ideas on how to narrow down your choices. Find out where to get help, how you can test out your potential career choice, and finally check out some great ideas on how to get started on your new path.
Identify your goals
A good first step in making your decision is to develop a personal profile. You can use this in the future when considering what occupations may suit you best.
The best place to start is to think about what you actually enjoy doing or what interests you the most. Grab a pen and some paper and answer these questions to help you develop your own personal profile:
- What are you good at?
- What have been your achievements in life so far?
- What it is about you that makes you good at these things?
For example, if you enjoy maths, maybe it’s because you excel in analysing and solving problems. If you enjoy woodwork, maybe it’s because you’re more hands-on and practical.
- What extra-curricular activities are you involved in?
- How do these reflect your skills and abilities?
- What skills and qualifications do you have?
- What are the main things you want to achieve from further study?
- What do you value?
Maybe helping people may be more important to you than making money.
At the same time think about your strengths and weaknesses
Maybe you’re really good at dealing with people, but hate having to work out the finances.
Take our career quiz to find out what type of career choices are suited to your personality. It only takes a couple of minutes and can give you heaps of useful occupation ideas.
Research your options
The next step is to come up with a number of options and then explore and research them to see which one best suits you. For each option, answer important questions like:
- What would I do in this job?
Draw from your personal profile to see if it matches the things you've identified, such as what you like doing, what you value and what you want in a job.
- How much will I earn?
Check out the Careers page on JobSearch for average wages for the job you’re interested in. If you’re passionate about becoming an actor, but don’t think you’ll be able to get a full-time job straight away, then consider working part-time in another field to support your passion until it takes off.
- What do I need to get this job?
Look at your personal profile to see if you have the necessary skills and experience. Otherwise identify what you need to do to get these.
- How difficult will getting the job be?
You need to consider what level of risk you are willing to take. If your dream job is in an industry that is shrinking you might prefer to consider something with better prospects. Check out the Australian Jobs publication to see the likelihood of getting that job is.
- What do you want from work?
Do you want to work outside? What hours you do you want to work? Where do you want to work?
- Where could this job lead me?
What opportunities will there be for development and career progression?
- What’s the best way to get the job?
For positions with major accountancy firms, for example, you should investigate their cut-off dates for graduate applications.
- Get experience
A great way to see if reality matches your expectations is to undertake some work experience.
Check out the Who can help? section for more great tips on finding out information on your dream job.
Plan your approach
Once you’ve done the hard yards and decided on a career direction, write out a plan of how you’re going to get there – look at the sample plan below for some ideas. This one is for a Graphic Designer but you can easily apply the same steps to any career. Then take a look at the other pages in this section for some ideas on getting started.
Be prepared to be flexible. Remember, changing your mind is perfectly OK.
Susan Jones’ plan of attack to become a Graphic Designer
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- Finish Year 12 and aim to get the minimum entry requirement of Graphic Design courses. For information on entry requirements visit the Goingtouniwebsite. |
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- Apply to study Graphic Design at the University of Western Sydney, University of Sydney and the Macquarie University. Also apply for Graphic Design courses at TAFE (in case I don’t get an offer into university). |
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- Get accepted into university or TAFE. |
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- Whilst studying get a casual job for a small graphic design firm as an assistant. If it’s difficult to find work in this field without experience, look for other jobs where customer service and working within an environment that requires skills such as attention to detail that a graphic designer needs such as an office assistant job. |
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- Try to do some work experience for a graphic design business during study, then add this experience to my resume. |
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- Join the Graphic Design Association as a Student member and build networks with my peers and professionals in the industry. |
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- Continue to build up my portfolio every six months with my best work. |
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- In the last year of uni or TAFE, start applying for full-time positions. |
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- Graduate from university/TAFE. |
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- If I haven’t found a job, keep applying, register with Job Network member or aJob Placement Organisation and tell everyone I know what type of job I’m looking for. Also, visit the Get that job section for more tips on looking for work. |
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- Find my dream job. |
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- Update my résumé so it includes my new position and the skills that I have learnt in this position.
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