How About Your Own Team of Career Counselors?
They're Closer Than You Think!
by Barbara Reinhold

On every message board I've ever responded to, in every career counseling session I've ever had, in almost every seminar I've ever led, the same question has surfaced: How can I tell what I'd be really good at?

It's a little ironic, but when it comes to career possibilities (your first, your next or your last) sometimes the very last person to have a clear view of yourself is none other than you. And a positive, realistic picture of your strengths, talents, temperament and less-developed places is exactly what you need to make your next career move.

Here's the good news: You probably have a cadre of free career counselors within earshot or calling range, anytime you want to listen to what they have to say. Your friends, selected family members, co-workers, coaches, clerics and supervisors have seen you in action enough to have some ideas about how and where you might do really good work. So make a list of at least 10 people you think you could approach, and set to work asking them the following simple questions:

If I could magically have whatever skills, experience or training I would need, what kinds of work could you see me doing well and enjoying?
Why? What about me would make me good at those things?
Do you know anybody else doing that work?
If yes, would you be willing to set me up with an information interview with that person?
As you can imagine, this is a terrific way to begin making a list of possible fields or jobs for you, and, in many cases, a chance to build a list of contacts for eventual information interviews. Once you have some leads-and these leads are based on the best data in the world: what people think of you-then you're set to begin doing your research. You can research various fields and organizations on the web, of course, so you haven't paid a penny yet for career counselors or career libraries.

For a quick path to information about various careers, you can go to the Smith College Career Development Office page and then click on the Research button. That will take you to links with information about a wide variety of career fields and training opportunities.

So start here. Let the people who know you best give you some leads tailored to what they know about you. Then take your questions about those fields to your favorite career expert here on Monster.com. That will give them and you something concrete to work with. Happy exploring!

About Barbara Reinhold | Publications/Products | Articles/Tips | Counseling | Coaching |
Organizational Services | Links | Contact Information