Ways to Find Your Purpose and Plan Your Career

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plan your career and find purpose

Studies show that lifelong careers are not the norm anymore and statistics prove that an individual is expected to change careers three times during their professional lives.If you are not satisfied with your current career, below are four tips to help you find your career purpose and plan your career.

Find What Makes You Happy

Nobody can do something that they don’t enjoy for at least 40 hours a week for 25-30 years. Therefore, the first thing you should do is finding out what you truly enjoy doing. Maybe you started your current career thinking that this is what you are going to do for the rest of your life but as you get into the details of the job or as you have worked throughout the years, you’ve lost your passion and interest. Therefore, you are no longer enjoying what you are doing. These things can happen. The best way in this situation is to identify your new passion and take steps towards changing your career.

Don’t Make Money Your First Priority

While everybody wants to earn money, this should not be your first priority. At first, earning money from your current career may seem attractive, but as time passes, you may feel that making more money doesn’t satisfy you anymore, and you want to do something more meaningful. Then, try to choose a job based on your abilities and interests. Don’t limit your options because of the paycheck. Even if you need to start over and accept a job for less money, do it because you can make up for it in a few years as you progress and get promoted later on.

Keep in Mind What You are Good At

Maybe you don’t have a passion for any type of career. In this case, think about what you are good at. For example, if you are good with numbers, then you can work in finance. If you are good at using computers, then you can think of a career in information technology. Think about your skills and abilities, then identify your strengths. Try to match these with job descriptions so you can figure out what you want to do. You can even try to take a career test from BrainManager to help you figure out your possible careers.

Make a Plan for the Rest of Your Career

Think of your career as a marathon, it will be long and challenging. Also, it won’t be linear. There will always be ups and downs to it. If you see your career as stepping stones, it will be easier for you to identify your next steps and as a result, make a plan for your future.

Picture of Ceren Cubukcu

Ceren Cubukcu

Ceren Cubukcu is a top 5 bestselling author of Make Your American Dream A Reality: How to Find a Job as an International Student in the United States. She recently founded her consulting business to help more international students find jobs in the US in addition to her self-service digital event ticketing platform, Etkinlik Fabrikam (My Event Factory), to offer her webinars. 

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