8 Questions To Help You Identify Your Career Interests

Are you struggling to pick a career path? It is understandable and completely normal!

Choosing a career is a significant life decision. You can get analysis paralysis from the overwhelming number of choices. Doing research can make you feel like the choice is even harder to make, and social media can make you feel left behind.

Maybe you’re about to graduate high school and have no idea whether or not to go to college, which degree to pick, and how to start. Or you may want to change career fields due to lost interest but have little direction on where to go next. Here are eight questions to help you identify your career interests and hopefully begin building a career you love.

What do you do in your free time?

Your hobbies often offer clues as to where your interests and strengths lie. First, list down the things you enjoy doing in your free time. Then, take your time and think about it. It's not uncommon for hobbies to blossom into full-time job opportunities.

Building a career involves constantly improving, seeking mentorship and advice, taking the initiative, and committing to growth. A keen interest in the primary subject matter of your chosen career path helps make it easier to commit and grow in it. It will take less effort to perfect hobbies than things you don’t care about.

What subjects are you curious about?

Questions are like arrows pointing us in new directions. Start by writing down all the areas you want to learn more about. Have this list on your phone, laptop, or tablet so you can easily update it. YouTube is always a great resource to start learning more about a new path.

From there, you can build on this curiosity by searching for online courses on platforms like Udemy. Most courses will provide you with a certificate that you can use as leverage and get hired faster.

Who are your favorite characters in movies?

Find the characters you like from your favorite TV shows or movies and notice their careers. Their careers may not be the same. However, they could fall in the same field, support a common lifestyle, or be based on the same degree.

Doing this is a fun way to see if there are any patterns. For instance, many of my favorite characters ended up being college professors, leading to a higher-education career. It may seem crazy, but it is an alternate way of finding career interests. Of course, I don’t recommend this if your favorite characters have mystical careers, like vampire hunter or sorceress, though we all can dream!

Who are you jealous of?

Despite what people told you as a child, jealousy doesn’t have to be all bad. You can use it as a tool for good. Are there people in your social circles who you admire? Have you looked at them and wanted their life? Consider following in their career footsteps.

A career does not have to feel like a monumental calling. You can build a career from your desire to be like someone else. Life is all about change. You can rebrand whenever you feel like it. Picking a person whose life you are jealous of is a great way to hear where your intuition may be leading.

Where are your favorite places?

Locations can be a great guide on career choice. For example, becoming a librarian could be a great job if you like libraries. Or, if you love nature, pursuing a path in sciences or park management could be the way to go.

On the other hand, you could like city life. Think of a career in finance, corporate law, tech, or design. These careers are often best practiced in cities where many large companies plant their headquarters.

If you find yourself romanticizing life in a specific country, look for a list of in-demand skills in that country. Then, get an education or work experience in those fields and apply for a job in that country (it's more doable than you think!).

What accomplishments are you most proud of?

Looking into our past can sometimes guide us toward our future. So when you think about highlights from your younger years, what stands out? And how can you use that to build a career?

You can use what you're already good at as a starting point and use your past accomplishments to help you decide what to build on. Similarly to hobbies, these are things you already have an interest in doing. They can give you a massive headstart even on a path you've never considered.

What didn't you like about previous jobs?

Were there elements of old jobs that made you cringe or want to quit? Was there a work environment you vowed never to return to? Identifying these pain points will shed light on what you don’t want going forward.

The easiest way to narrow down what to do is to find what you don’t want to do - and filter out from there. Then, with a clear vision of what you do not want, you will start to see clearly where you want to go next.

What do people ask you to help with?

Are people always coming to you for the same things? Maybe that’s financial advice, construction help, or design guidance. Make a list of these items and start doing some research on them. If you need help, ask your friends to contribute their ideas too.

When people regularly come to you for help on the same thing, they trust your knowledge of the topic. You could have near-expert knowledge on a subject and not realize it because you never considered it in that light. Building on this knowledge is a great stepping stone to a career you are genuinely good at doing.

Conclusion

You don't have to feel stuck in indecision. Picking a career is not rocket science (unless that's your passion!). Despite popular opinion, you can change your career field as often as you need to. This mindset will help you feel more free and move more quickly toward what you want.

Use these questions as a starting point. Remember, you can switch career paths at any time. So, stay open to exploring your career interests and watch the rest take care of itself.