USEFUL TIPS ON CAREER GUIDANCE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
I have come to discover that one of the major challenges confronting students in senior secondary schools and those who have not yet gained admission into the university is the appropriate career that is suitable for them and how to know the right career. I will be sharing below some useful tips that can help us guide such persons, it could be our siblings, relations or others.

1. Subject consideration
Ask the person, what subject are you good in? What subjects do you do very well in? What are your best subjects or which do you understand the most? Now, every career has its foundation in certain subjects and if the person is good in these subjects, it is an indication that the person will do very well in that career and it becomes the person’s asset for succeeding in that career. However, this on its own, is not the only thing to consider. Please ask the person concerning his or her personality.

2. Personality questions
Every career has its characteristics, so a suitable career for anyone will be one that matches the person’s personality. If the two don’t agree, then the person will most likely not be fulfilled in that career. Personality here involves who the person is, his/her likes and dislikes, values, temperaments etc. For example, a student who wants to be a medical doctor or wants to study medicine and surgery should be asked if he or she can stand the sight of blood, have the patience to study for long and research including other things. A student who wants to study law should be asked, if he or she can speak in public, or address a crowd not excluding other things.


3. Skill considerations
Most people ignore the immediate resource(s) within them that God has endowed them with for a successful career and choose to follow the wrong path because of salary, the prestige of the occupation, employability and the rest. While these are not wrong, one of the right indices to use or consider when making your career choice should be the skills you have because this is an asset and your potential to succeed in that career. For instance, you do very well in drawing, you are imaginative and creative, and you are also good in physics, chemistry and biology. Preferring a career in medicine and surgery may not help you express yourself as choosing a career in maybe Architecture, Town Planning or even Fine Arts. J. M. Clarl said and I quote “Let your career be your self-expression”


4. Refer the person to a professional career counsellor or career coach for further help
Most young persons do not take advantage of the presence of guidance counsellors in the school system. It is sad that most young persons come out of secondary school and are yet to be clear on what to study in the university let alone have adequate information on that career. All these are the duties of a career counsellor or career coach. Although such decisions cannot and should not be made in a single day or week. Consulting a career counsellor or coach from time to time will help such student in the end come up with the right career and adequate information that will guide him or her in the next phase of life.

Thank you
Edet Ufere