People often ask me what I think they would be good at as a career. Whilst I'm always happy to give them suggestions or ideas, I'm reluctant to be specific. That's partly because it's important they go through the motions of figuring it out and partly because it is their decision and I wouldn't want to put them off any job on the off chance it could be the wrong choice.

I think one of the hardest decisions we face as we develop is figuring exactly what to do as a career. When you think about it, unless you are incredibly lucky, you are going to spend more time in your job then what you will at home or playing around with your hobbies. You will also spend more time with your work colleagues than anyone else - so it pays to get things right.

There's a famous quote that goes something like this:

'Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life'

Brilliant if you can figure out what you love in the first place.

Figuring out what you love lies in figuring out what really makes you tick. What is going to get you up in the morning and early into work. What is going to have you thinking about work for at least 7 hours a day. And what is going to make you happy that Mondays aren't the most depressing days of the week and Fridays the best ?! Every day should be fun - and the key to that is finding the job of your dreams.

Now there's a few ways you can start to figure out what you want although I will warn you - this is not easy. You will change and 5 years down the line you could have a completely different idea about what you want to do so don't think today's decision is set in stone. But it's worth a shot.

Personality Test

Sometimes an employer will use a personality test to figure out what type of person they are assessing. You can also use the same test so that you know what kind of person you are - it may help put some job ideas into prospective. No point working in admin if you're an outdoors sort of person etc etc.

Personal Attributes Test

These sorts of tests can help you hone in on your best (and worst) skills so that you know where your strengths are. By figuring out what you are good at you might also be able to narrow down the search. My high school bus driver said to me on my last day of school, that the key to finding something you enjoy is figuring out what you're good at. I've never forgotten that and would give the same advice to anyone.

Aptitude Tests

We all hate them but there is so much to learn about yourself from these little gems. Are you a creative person or more mathematical? Can you determine logic or do you have different skills? What are your verbal skills like?

A few uncomfortable minutes of your time can really help you narrow down what kind of industry you would be suited to.

----

If you'd prefer not to take a test then you could always sit down and work it out with a pen and some scrap paper. Think about what you enjoyed as a youngster. What were you good at in school and what lessons did you really look forward to? What would you wake up for everyday? Take a look at some career guides and talk to people in your local job centre.

All of these should put you in a good position to work out what you'd really like to do as a career. It's a long path but once you figure it out it's well worth it. It could take a few days, weeks or years. Some people don't figure out what they want to do until a little later in life and that works for them. Others figure it out much younger. There is no set time so don't get discouraged if it takes a while - you can't really rush these sorts of things.

Good luck and stick with it. Your perfect job is out there and one day you'll find it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Don't know where to do a personality test ? Try here -

Prospects personality and aptitude tests

Or do a search in Google - there are plenty of them out there.