A few lucky people know from an early age what they want to spend their life doing. The rest of us fit somewhere between having some idea and no idea about it.
Young people can be unclear about their direction in life. It’s often not until their early twenties that they gain a good sense of who they are.
Our system, however, asks much younger people to make decisions based on knowing who they are and what they want to achieve in life. They have to select subjects, elective choices and vocational study opportunities. There is a wealth of information about possible choices. People can feel overwhelmed, unable to decide or lose interest in the whole ‘careers thing’.
Finding out who you are and what you want to do is a process that depends on many factors. Below are 11 strategies that may assist you and your child.
Stay calm and open-minded
Remember, it’s your child’s life and they are your child’s choices to make, not yours. Many parents believe that they must insist on certain directions for their child. There is a difference between guidance and bossiness. Children appreciate guidance (where you explore and talk respectfully). They usually don’t appreciate control (where you focus on what you want).
Be a positive influence
Talk about your career. Tell your child how you arrived where you are today. Perhaps as you talk you could draw your ‘path’. Highlight events and experiences that influenced your goals and how you did or didn’t realise them. Focus on your hopes and dreams, how you managed change, what external factors affected your decisions. Talk about how comfortable you felt at various stages, as well as how you feel now. Share any plans and goals you might have and how you see your future panning out.
Encourage your child to talk to other adults about their careers
Hearing about careers from adults young and old will help your child think about their place in society at different life stages. They could talk to their grandparents, aunts, uncles, their friends’ parents or other family, friends or people they know.
Many of the occupation profiles on myfuture have accompanying videos. These provide insights into the occupations and their education and training requirements.
You can also find the occupation videos on the myfuture YouTube channel. There is a playlist containing 60 videos which you can skip through or run continuously.
Your child may also enjoy exploring the myfuture Career stories.
Watch movies and television together
Most characters in movies, television dramas, and novels have, will have, or did have some kind of work. Discuss the characters and what they do. Think about how satisfying their lives are and how work contributes to their happiness.
Talk about the people you know or those you meet in your day-to-day activities
Ask questions like, ‘Do you think Sally likes being a nurse?’ or ‘Do you think the dentist is good at her job?’ You can discuss the benefits or challenges of certain jobs, and consider why people work.
Do things together
Baking a cake, planting a vegie garden, making a website – whatever the activity, do it together. Compliment your child on their skills. Keep it simple: ‘You’re very organised when you cook, I see: turning on the oven, preparing the tin, assembling all the ingredients before you start’. Wait for a response. In time, you can discuss these skills further and link them to the workforce. For example, you could say ‘Plumbers need to be organised, otherwise they miss out on making money because they’re too slow and people don’t use them again’. These chats highlight the importance of recognising one’s own skills and how such skills are valued in the workplace.
Perhaps start exploring career pathways by selecting a learning area they enjoy or show some interest in.
Ask your child what would they choose if they could be or do anything in the whole world
Your job here is to listen and remember. You can revisit the responses when a career-related discussion arises or a decision needs to be made. ‘Would you consider drama as an elective? You said once you wanted to be a famous actor.’ Your child may then open up about the benefits of drama. On the other hand, they may look at you with disdain and offer a correction. In any event, there is an invitation to continue talking about their current dreams and aspirations. People are usually happier and more satisfied if they can turn their dreams into reality. You can help your child by showing how that works in practice.
Make it easy for your child to participate in work experience programs
This may include formal work experience or other school-organised fieldwork that has a focus on the workforce. Knowing what does not appeal is just as important as knowing what does. Wide experience can open eyes and change views. The Tips for finding work experience article has more information.
Encourage your child to participate in activities at school or in the community
Your child could help out at a sports club, join their school fete committee or get involved in the school production. They could do ‘special’ jobs around the house such as painting or serious spring cleaning. Such activities count as work. They develop work skills, which are valuable to learn and practice. Your child will learn that work can be routine, fun and dull on occasions. They will feel prepared for thinking about and making career decisions.
If your child is ready, encourage them to seek a part-time job
Help them to write their resume, and be there when they deliver resumes in person. Support your child if they don’t get the job. When they do, there are forms to fill out, tax file numbers to obtain, bank accounts to set up and superannuation choices to make. Knowing how to do these things is important and can change a person’s view of themselves. Once at work there will be highs and lows, perhaps shift work, conflict, and customer issues to deal with. Again, these experiences can and do influence career decisions.
Start to build your career profile
Your child can start to develop ideas by completing My career profile. My career profile generates a personalised list of suggested occupations based on your activity responses. Together, you can explore suggested occupations further in myfuture’s Occupations section.
Source: myfuture