Sometimes it can feel like your career has been chosen for you, and that you’re stuck doing something you don’t really like. But that may be because you never really considered all of your interests.
Photo by Robert Couse-Baker.
When it comes to choosing a career, a lot of people get caught up in the “follow your passion” versus “take what you can get” mentalities. But it doesn’t have to be so black and white. Ramit Sethi at I Will Teach You To Be Rich suggests that following your passion may not be the best advice, but investigating your potential interests can help point you in the right direction. Sethi recommends you get the ball rolling with the “cloud technique”:
Just start by listing ALL the careers and job titles you might be interested in.
Anything you want to explore, just write it down. Think copywriting sounds fun? Add it to your list. You can imagine yourself as a marketing director? List it out. Know someone that does inside sales and what they do sounds cool? Put it on the page. Toyed with the idea of being a baker? Nothing is too left field. Write it down.
I call this the Cloud Technique because your options are as open as the sky.
It’s a simple exercise, but you might be surprised at what you put down. Once you’ve got a good cloud going, start doing some serious research on each career and see if it’s something worth looking further into.
Choosing a career: 2 underused techniques [I Will Teach You To Be Rich]
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