Stuck for career ideas? Inspiration may be only a piece of paper away.
Sometimes careers are seen as an extension of the subjects you like at school. There’s nothing wrong with this approach but it doesn’t work for everyone. What if you don’t have a favourite subject? Or don’t enjoy your studies?
In reality, careers draw different aspects of ourselves together, including ability, skills and personality. Subject knowledge, for example, may come second to softer skills, such as problem solving or team work. And many people work in jobs which have no clear link to school subjects at all.
With this in mind, it makes sense to look for career inspiration across all parts of life. Try this task to start thinking about careers in a much wider way.
Create a Me Map
1. Take a blank sheet of paper and jot down the things you like
You may want to divide the page into columns, create a spider diagram, draw pictures or make a collage – just choose a format that suits.
You could even create a board on Pinterest or make a digital scrapbook.
Include anything that appeals to you such as school subjects, hobbies or interests, issues, TV programmes, companies, organisations, products, and people you admire.
You may also want to include your character traits – what are your top three qualities?
2. Start to look for patterns and themes
What connections are there between the items on your map? Does anything spark ideas? And can you see any links with possible job areas?
3. Think about next steps
Is there a particular job type you can research? Try:
- exploring icould career videos by job type or school subject
- browsing websites of trade or professional associations and employers
- following a job type or area in the media – what issues is it facing?
4. Continue to add your Me Map
Or after a period of time create a new one.
Repeat the steps above and see where your ideas lead…
Find out more
See our Start thinking about careers section.
