It’s common for young people to feel uncertain about their career path, especially as they transition from school to the workforce or higher education.
If your child has no idea what they want to do, it’s essential to provide them with support, guidance, and encouragement as they explore their options and discover their interests and passions. Encourage your child to be curious and work with them to research their options even if you don’t know the answers yourself.
In this section we explore ways in which your child can use self reflections exercises to discover more about their preferences and how this can lead to exploring certain careers that may best match their personality and interests.
Here are some tips to help you navigate this journey together in 4 Steps:
Step 1 - Exploring Strengths
Encouraging your child to reflect on their strengths is a crucial first step in understanding their potential career paths. By helping them complete this worksheet you can delve deeper. You can also use the information gathered to help with interview answers and creating a CV.
Encourage your child to note down their strengths and give a real life example to support this. Try to get your child to be really honest and discuss what you have seen at home.
For example; if they are a great communicator and find it easy to talk to new people and make new friends, encourage them to recognise this as a real strength and come up with examples of this.
You can download this worksheet to aid exploration – Self Reflection Worksheet
Step 2 - Recognising Academic Capabilities
Support your child to evaluate their academic capabilities and to identify which school subjects they enjoy the most. Explore why your child excels in certain subjects or activities at school and struggles with others.
Are there specific teaching styles or learning environments that work best for them? Encourage them to reflect on their study habits, time management skills, and any external factors that may impact their academic performance.
Try and find at least 3 subjects your child likes and could explore careers in that area.
You can download this worksheet to aid exploration – Academic Interests Worksheet
Step 3 - Discuss Personality Traits
Helping your child to be aware of their personality traits can help narrow down potential career options that align with their natural personality. Here’s how to delve deeper into this section:
Download the Personality Traits Worksheet and explore what it means to be more introverted or extroverted and how these personality traits influence career choices.
Talk through the information below with your child and help them identify parts of their personality which may help them make a career choice that aligns with their preferences.
For example, introverts may thrive in careers that allow for independent work and deep focus, such as writing or research, while extroverts may prefer roles that involve interacting with others, such as sales or customer service.
It’s important to note that individuals may exhibit a combination of introverted and extroverted traits, known as ambiversion, and may thrive in a variety of career paths based on their unique personality characteristics.
This exercise will help your child self reflect on their personality and will hopefully help eliminate some career choices that they would most likely not feel the most comfortable in and hopefully lead them to seek out opportunities that would best suit them.
Download: Personality Traits Worksheet
Introversion:
Introverts tend to be more reserved and introspective, preferring solitude and quiet environments for deep thinking and reflection. Introverts typically feel more comfortable in small group settings or one-on-one interactions rather than large social gatherings or crowds. Introverts thrive when working independently and often prefer tasks that allow them to focus deeply and work at their own pace. Introverts are often thoughtful and analytical, carefully considering their thoughts and ideas before expressing them to others. Introverts are skilled listeners, paying close attention to others’ perspectives and insights during conversations and discussions.
Examples of Introverted Careers:
- Writer or Author
- IT Technician
- Graphic Designer
- Software /Web Developer
- Librarian
- Accountant
- Artist or Illustrator
- Administrator
- Photographer
- Scientist
Extroversion
Extroverts are typically outgoing and sociable, enjoying interactions with others and thriving in social settings. Extroverts feel energised and stimulated by large group settings, enjoying the excitement and energy of social gatherings and events. Extroverts excel in collaborative environments and enjoy working closely with others as part of a team. Extroverts tend to be quick thinkers and talkers, often expressing their thoughts and ideas verbally and engaging in lively conversations. Extroverts are often comfortable with taking risks and seeking out new experiences and opportunities.
Examples of Extroverted Careers:
- Sales Representative
- Event Planner
- Public Relations Specialist
- Teacher or Educator
- Marketing Manager
- Actor or Performer
- Human Resources Manager
- Estate Agent
- Customer Services
- Retail Manager
Which of the above careers is your child more interested in? Could you continue to explore some of these areas?
Discuss your child’s preferred working style—whether they enjoy working independently, collaborating with others, or taking on leadership roles.
Help them identify career paths that match their working preferences and provide opportunities for growth and fulfilment. Can they see themselves indoors or outdoors all day, or perhaps a mixture of both?
Further In Depth Insights
If you or your child want to explore personality assessment tools further, you will find a free test here which takes only 10 minutes to get an accurate description of who you are and why you do things the way you do. The report produced is very detailed and includes a Career Paths and Workplace Habits section which is really useful for the exploration of future careers – https://www.16personalities.com/
Step 4 - Explore Interests & hobbies
Young people’s brains are wired for reward, and often end-up doing great things if the payoff is worth it in their minds. So, to engage them on what their future career options could be, focus on identifying what they are most passionate about and what truly makes them tick.
Exploring your child’s hobbies, interests, and passions can uncover potential career paths that align with their personal passions and values. Here’s how to delve deeper into this section:
Encourage your child to think beyond traditional career paths and explore how their passions and interests can translate into fulfilling careers. For example, if they’re passionate about environmental conservation, discuss potential career paths in sustainability, wildlife conservation, or renewable energy.
Help your child identify the skills and experiences they gain from their hobbies and how these skills can be applied to different career fields. For instance, if they enjoy playing musical instruments, discuss potential career paths in music production, teaching, or performance.
Explore how your child’s interests and passions align with their values and priorities in life. Encourage them to consider careers that not only provide financial stability but also allow them to make a positive impact and pursue their passions.
Following their passions as they grow up, means that you can keep regular conversations going.
Good conversation starters for this section include:
- What subject are you most enjoying?
- What project were you most excited about doing at school?
- Are there careers you feel really passionate about?
- When you think about a career, what captures your interest?
- What sorts of things do you most love doing in your spare time?
- What kind of people do you want to work with?
Skills Health Check – The skills health check is a set of quizzes and activities designed to help you explore your skills, interests and motivations. https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/skills-health-check/home
Now Move on to Explore different career options
Once you and your child have explored the above topics you will hopefully have more information, they can use this information to explore careers that interest them in more detail. Expose your child to the diverse and rich careers options across many industries by visiting the links below to National Careers Service. You can then help them narrow down their search into a selection of top jobs they like the sound of and begin to further explore each one.
Find out what a job involves and if it’s right for you. Explore 1000’ of jobs titles across 23 core industries. https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/explore-careers
Need more Inspiration?
Why not take this test to discover more about your skills – https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/discover-your-skills-and-careers/
After you answer the questions, you’ll see a list of categories that may interest you based on your answers. You can answer more questions to see more specific roles that may suit you.
Other Topics to Consider as a Parent or Carer
Lifestyle Consideration
Discuss the kind of lifestyle your child envisions for themselves in the future, including factors such as work-life balance, location, and financial stability. Encourage them to consider how different career paths align with their lifestyle preferences and long-term goals. What are the salaries and benefits associated with their lifestyle goals?
Being Realistic
As parents, it’s natural to want the best for our children and to support them in reaching their full potential. However, it’s essential to be realistic about our child’s capabilities and to help them set goals that are achievable and aligned with their strengths, interests, and aspirations. Being realistic about your child’s capabilities doesn’t mean limiting their potential; rather, it means providing them with the support, guidance, and encouragement they need to thrive and succeed on their own terms.
Expectations
Avoid placing unrealistic expectations on your child or pressuring them to meet standards that may be beyond their capabilities. Instead, set realistic and attainable goals that challenge them without overwhelming them. For example, if your child has zero interest in continuing to study for A levels and is more practical than academic, don’t push 6th form study on to them for the sake of it. In this situation it is best to consider an apprenticeship or practical vocational full time study in a field that interests them.
Ownership
Encourage your child to take ownership of their actions and decisions and to be accountable for their choices. Provide them with opportunities to develop independence and resilience, allowing them to learn from their experiences and take responsibility for their own development.
Seek Help if needed
If you’re unsure about your child’s capabilities or how best to support them, don’t hesitate to seek advice from teachers, counsellors, or other professionals who can provide expert guidance and resources.
Recognition
Above all, embrace your child’s uniqueness and individuality. Recognise that every child has their own strengths, interests, and talents, and support them in pursuing paths that are authentic to who they are. Encourage your child to strive for progress rather than perfection. Celebrate their achievements and milestones, no matter how small, and acknowledge their efforts and improvements along the way.
Self-Discovery
Support your child but try to steer rather than drive the exploration. Encourage them to engage in the self-assessment tools and career quizzes on this site to identify potential career options based on their skills and preferences. Ask them what teachers have said in school about their abilities and what they are good at.
Provide Supportive Guidance
Be a supportive listener and sounding board for your child as they explore their career options, offering guidance and encouragement without pressure or judgement. This can be frustrating when every idea or thought is met with indifference but perseverance will lead to an answer eventually.
Try not to push your career or popular family career choices onto your child unless they have a genuine interest.
Promote Open-Mindedness
Remember to remind your child that it’s okay not to have everything figured out right away and that career paths often evolve over time. Encourage them to keep an open mind and be flexible in their career exploration, remaining open to new opportunities and possibilities that may arise.
Many people have numerous careers in a lifetime and retrain later in life to try completely new avenues so it’s not essential that they need to decide exactly what they want to do for the rest of their life right now!
Offer guidance and reassurance that you’re there to support them, no matter what career path they ultimately choose.