WHAT DO I WANT TO BE WHEN I GROW UP?

Being a Career Detective

STEP ONE

(one hour)

On your piece of paper, answer the questions below. The purpose of this exercise is to get your ideas and thoughts flowing, not to come up with a flawless page of work. No one else will need to see this paper (although this activity will help you be more ready for a job interview when the time comes so it may be a good page to refer to and build on). Make sure you try to answer each question in the hour of time that you have allotted for this. Some questions may be easier than others, but attempt to give some kind of answer that you feel is right for each one. And enjoy it -- this exercise will help you find out more about what you would be good at doing!

  1. List at least three activities you enjoyed doing when you were a child (define "child" however you want, just make sure it is something you liked, not just something the family made you do and you disliked). These can be school-related, sports-related, or just for fun.
  2. List at least three activities you now enjoy doing. These do not have to relate to a job. They can be hobbies, things you wish you had more time to do, or things you currently do at work.
  3. List at least three things you think you are good at. This could be things you have always been praised for at work, subjects you have always excelled at in school, or skills that you picked up fairly easily. If you are having trouble coming up with ideas, think about something that people have told you comes naturally to you or think about something you can enjoy doing for hours on end without stopping to notice the time.
  4. List at least three things you would like to make sure you have in your next job. For example, if you really enjoy the ability to work outside or if you prefer to work on a regular schedule from 9 to 5 daily, those might be two of your things.
  5. Finally, take a minute before you write and think of an accomplishment you are proud of. If possible, come up with something you have done in recent years but if you can think of a very memorable example from much earlier, that will also work. Now write a paragraph about what the accomplishment was, what steps you took to meet your goals for that project or task, and what the outcome was.

    If you finish the activity way before your hour is up, go back and add detail or select more than three things to write down. The more detailed you are in your answers to these questions, the easier it will be to use them to look for patterns like a career detective.

    Click here to go on to Step Two.

    Or, if you'd like, just go back to my main career page here.

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