Find Your New Career in 2010

By Kevin and Kay Marie Brennfleck, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Are you ready to find a new career, but aren't sure where to start? The number of available career options can be overwhelming, so using the right resources and career planning strategies is essential. Here are some tools and tips for getting started:

1. Use the new 2010-11 edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) to learn about careers of interest. The OOH gives detailed information about hundreds of types of jobs such as the training and education needed; earnings; expected job prospects; what workers do on the job; working conditions, and more. You can also learn about the job market in each state and gain job search tips.

You can learn inside information about familiar jobs such as teacher, lawyer and nurse as well as find out about jobs you may know less about such as computer support specialists, market and survey researchers, instructional coordinators, fashion designers, technical writers, television, video, and motion picture camera operators and editors, physician assistants, athletic trainers, nuclear medicine technologists and hundreds more!

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2. Develop a game plan for getting the career information you need to make the right career decision. Avoid making costly mistakes (like investing time and money in completing the education for the wrong career), by getting the right information about your God-given design and the right information about the world of work before you go back to school or take a job.

You can get an overview of key steps in our article How to Explore Careers That Fit Your Design and a "toolbox" of strategies for identifying and testing career options in our book, Live Your Calling: A Practical Guide to Finding and Fulfilling Your Mission in Life..

3. Take a fresh look at your God-given design if you can't name: the skills you most enjoy using; the interests you want to utilize in work; the personality traits you want to use and those you want to avoid using; the core work values that are important to you; and the work roles that you prefer.

A clear, in-depth understanding of your design is essential for identifying the best career options and making a wise decision about which to choose. If you have only a general sense of your design (such as "I want to help people" or "I want to be creative in my work"), you will most likely have difficulty exploring career options and making a good decision as there are hundreds of jobs in which one can help others or be creative. You need a much more specific understanding of the "puzzle pieces" and the themes in your design. Live Your Calling includes six self-assessments for understanding more about your design. If you are serious about finding a career option that fits your design, we invite you to look into our Professional Career Testing Package or Live Your Calling Career Program. Schedule your free consultation session today to get started!

Don't Waste Your Life

As much as 60% of your life will be spent working. Don't waste that time in the wrong job! God has designed you to enjoy and excel in certain types of occupations and work settings. He has gifted you to fulfill particular purposes with your life. It's not too late; in God's economy, nothing is wasted. If you would like professional assistance finding the right career path, schedule your free consultation session today. We are here to help you find out what God is calling you to do with your life!