Ask yourself: what do I enjoy doing the most? This simple yet important question sets the path for the kind of career you end up choosing.

Sadly many people in the world especially those who live in the so called Third World countries don’t have the many career options and support available to our students and young people in New Zealand. Yet ironically many of our students here don’t see a clear pathway for their future despite the support available to them either through their schools or the New Zealand Career Services etc.

Many careers specialists will tell you that the earlier you start thinking about a career choice the better. For some the choice is really simple, they just follow their curiosity/interest from their early years and pursue a career from those childhood passion and imaginations. However there are many young people and students who need a lot of support in figuring out what interests them and hence developing their awareness of the different career options around.

What can the young person/student do to unlock their potentials?

Following these simple steps may help:

• Be aware of your inner feelings in terms of what you like doing, what captivates your imagination.
• Know your strengths and keep honing them. 
• Talk to people in those professions you are interested in or read about those careers.
• Make sure you are linking your subject choices to your career choice (if you are studying)
• Experiment or at least develop your understanding of at least three different career areas that you may be interested in. This is in case one career choice does not work out for you for whatever reason.
• Just remember while our career choices may be linked to our inner feelings, one can always develop a liking for a new career if you keep an open mind.
•  Take advantage of every opportunity offered to help you realise your potential.

For more information on career options and professional advice visit the New Zealand Careers Services website. http://www.careers.govt.nz/

Abdirizak Abdi

(SGJ Editor)