Learn About Yourself
The more you know about yourself, the better you’ll be able to choose those careers that suit you best. And since the U.S. Department of Labor predicts that most of us spend at least half of our life working, the time you invest in exploring your career options now is likely to pay off in the long run.
So you might be wondering - how do I learn about myself and what I want in a career?
We encourage you to consider four aspects of yourself. We call them your VIPS, which stand for:
- Values (e.g. job security, location, money)
- Interests (e.g. fashion, environmentalism, history)
- Personality (e.g. organized, spontaneous, extroverted)
- Skills (e.g. writing, public speaking, math)
For help with identifying your VIPS or what you are looking for in a career, consider making a counseling appointment. If you’d rather research on your own, our list of VIPS or some of the CEC handouts might help.
"Often people attempt to live their lives backwards: they try to have more things, more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happy. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do, in order to have what you want." – Margaret Young