You are in : Jobs > Career Articles

Career Development Strategies

Career self-exploration workshop improves career decisions

Mon, 05 May 2008 10:58

Many students and adults are confused about the career choices they need to make. They are sometimes unsure of their career interests, their own abilities and often have limited knowledge of the world of work and the different career fields available. This is unfortunate as the result of this confusion is often incorrect career choice decisions which can lead to job dissatisfaction and an unfulfilled life.

Heather Jones, a career counsellor, says that “doing the wrong type of work for a sustained amount of time can lead to a deterioration in the quality of your life. Career related research makes a link between career choice, job satisfaction and mental health.”

In her own career Jones found herself in numerous work positions to which she was unsuited. “I could never work out why I was unhappy in the jobs I had, but even more importantly, I was never sure of what I really wanted to do,” she says. “There were times when I felt I would never find my niche.”

Today, Jones runs a career consulting business offering career counselling and career education to both adults and students. Jones is passionate about people development and helping others to improve the quality of their lives by the career choices they make. “I am also very interested in the patterns and meanings of lives that you find embedded in the life career history,” says Jones.

Jones has recently launched a Career Self-Exploration Workshop that focuses specifically on exploration – exploration of the self and different career fields. The workshop helps people to identify their career interests, abilities, values and the meanings embedded in their life career histories. “We also focus on assessing levels of career maturity and the influence that family and culture has on career decision making,” she says.

Our workshops includes a theoretical component which is used to explain the various career related concepts used. It also focuses on work environment and career field exploration, career decision-making, goal setting and how to create a new reality for yourself.

These research assignments include interviewing someone in a career field you have a particular interest in, obtaining information on specific careers and researching the world of work. “The workshop is fun, interactive and includes exercises, questionnaires and individual and group work, ” says Jones.

“From the response I have already received, it is clear there is a big need out there for this type of career workshop and individual career counselling. Adults and students alike are seeking help for the important career choices we all need to make,” says Jones.