Category Archives: Career Insider

Picking out your career will always be a difficult thing to do. No career starts off smooth sailing. When we decide to take that first step into actually planning our lives out, we can’t help but think about the career path ahead of us.

A career is very important not just when it comes to finances but also other aspects of your life because let’s face it, your career will become half of your life. All those office hours spent shouldn’t be wasted on something that eats you up inside, they should be spent on something that not only makes you satisfied but also helps you grow.

Taking that plunge into a certain career may be a tough choice to make, here are some tips for you to pick a career:

1. Know your strengths. Your strengths are always something you should be aware of. The problem with this though is that some people tend to become over confident in their strengths when they are but a small needle in a hay stack compared to others. This shouldn’t discourage you though. Know your strengths and know how strong your strengths actually are.

2. Know your weaknesses. Don’t hide your weaknesses and don’t hide your insecurities, acknowledge them! One of the best ways to improve yourself is to work on your weaknesses. Face them head on. Your weaknesses do not have to drag you down at all, instead, they can motivate you to work harder!

3. Know what makes you different. Everyone has something different than others. We don’t mean to say better or worse, we mean different. Get to know what makes you unique and stand out and use that to your advantage! Don’t settle for just being good, you should strive to become incomparable in a good way.

These three steps might help you build yourself up but they don’t necessarily help you pick a career. Here are four steps that will:

1. Who: Who do you want to become? Is it a great leader? A skilled professional? A powerful connection? Or maybe even a humble genuine person? That is entirely up to you. Find out who you want to become as a person

2. What: What do you see yourself doing? This is the most common question asked around but this does not mean that it isn’t important. Check with yourself and find out what you want to do.

3. When: Or easier asked, what is your timeline? Do you want to be working for the rest of your life or do you have a specific age where you want to retire?

4. Where: Where do you see yourself? In an office? On the field? In a kitchen? This is something that is easy to answer so you shouldn’t over think this one.

There is sadness in your eyes. That is not a surprise because it dawned on you that you are merely dragging yourself to work every day. Gone are the days when you look forward to every mornings and work as if it is the end of the world. Suddenly your candle burned out and it is hard to find meaning again.

Every day, you constantly think whether you are in the right job or company. If you have these unpleasant thoughts lately, you are not alone. Many Singaporeans these days have the same thoughts. There is a study made by Tempe, Ariz in United States. The study revealed that about 95% of American workers say that they are in the wrong job.

Considering an average of 8 hours of work every day, there is no wonder why many people are quite discouraged to jump out of their beds every morning. It is important that you re-ignite your passion so you will find joy even in your workplace. Here are the reasons why you cannot find the job that you love according to Louis Efron, a Forbes contributor:

• Hard work: Your parents and probably grandparents always remind you (since childhood) that if you work hard, you will be successful. That is correct but only partially. Long hours of work are not synonymous to success and happiness. Happy and successful people spend their hard work in the right roles and the right things.

• Sheer passion: The advice that you get most is finding the things that you are passionate about and work your way up. According to Tom McDermott, the founder of Ignite, this belief is faulty. For example, you may be passionate about singing but you are not a gifted singer. Instead of relying on your sheer passion, be curious about it. If you are passionately curious, you will discover your right direction. Remember that when your talent, curiosity, strengths and passion are in complete sync, you can do great things in life.

• Money: Money makes the world go round. You are getting paid to do your job whether you like it or not. Money is in fact the ultimate disturbance. Money will determine if you want to move forward but it does not necessarily mean that you will be happy. At first you may be happy of the pay but as you go along and begin to understand yourself, you will realize that money is not everything and it keeps you from having the job that you love.

These are just some of the factors that are keeping you from having the job that you love here in Singapore.