subject: Career Planning: Exploring Your Shortlisted Career Options [print this page] The first step in career planning is having a list of careers that you are keen to pursue either because you have the skills and knowledge to do it or simply because you enjoy doing it. Once you know a few occupations that you find interesting enough, the next step is to explore these options. Make sure your list is neither too short nor too long. A list of 5 to 10 careers to explore is best.
Gather basic information
For each career on your list, gather some basic information like
1.Job description
2.Salary
3.Career path
4.Educational requirements
5.Mandatory/desired requirements
6.Employment statistics
7.Outlook of the job in the coming years
Narrow down your list
Based on the information gathered, check all careers in your list to figure out if it still appeals you. For example, lower salary or not so promising job outlook could be some of the reasons for checking a career off your list. It is also quite possible that the career that looked appealing could not be as appealing after reading the job description. Whatever you reason, shortlist your list further down to maximum three careers.
First-hand information
Once you are down to three careers at the most, the next step is to get first-hand information and experience. Check with all the contacts in your network to find out people who are into those fields that you have shortlisted. Conduct informational interviews with them to get first-hand information. Check out if you could spend a day with them so as to be able see for yourself how they spend their work day. Recently, organizations have come up that allow you to "test" a career before jumping in. Check if such options are available in your area.
