TEXT 2. Choosing a Career

Sooner or later all of us face the problem of choosing a career when we are to decide what we are going to be in future. Choosing a career is not a simple matter — in fact, it can be one of the most important in our life. You don't need to hurry making a decision. You should examine thoroughly your abilities and character, take a realistic view of your strengths and weaknesses, pay attention to your parents' and friends' advice and take into account your own preferences. The last point in the list is particularly important because there are many examples when people make great mistakes choosing their future profession. Sometimes they either simply follow in the footsteps of their parents or relatives or just blindly follow their advice. Your choice should be mostly based on your own opinion. Family traditions are good, but your turn of mind may be quite different. So, never base only on other people's opinion.

Having thought carefully about what sort of person you are, try to work out a list of your occupation requirements. Nowadays there is a great variety of jobs to any taste. Choosing a future career, we should consider the following things.

• Pay. Is the size of your salary important? Generally speaking, it is important. Of course there may be various situations, but if you are going to be independent, successful and wealthy, you have to find a well-paid job. Moreover, if you are going to have a family, you should be ready to support it, to be a breadwinner. Naturally, you'd like to live in good conditions, and your children to study at good schools, and then to enter prestigious universities, to travel all around the world and so on. Now you understand why you should take money into consideration when choosing a job.

• Further training, promotion prospects and job conditions should also be kept in mind. Just after graduating it is very difficult to find a plum job which will respond to all your preferences. It is usually a monotonous, tedious clerical job, but if you are a capable and hard-working person, you will certainly be offered an opportunity to climb the ladder.

• Place of work. You ought to decide whether you want to work indoors (cashier, chemist, librarian, secretary, etc.) or outdoors (driver, firefighter, estate agent, etc.). Your choice may be based on your lifestyle or health condition.

• Full-time, part-time, flexitime jobs. There is no set pattern to part-time working. It may involve a later start and earlier finish time than a full-time position, working mornings or afternoons only, fewer working days in a week for less salary. It is a perfect variant for students who want to juggle their studies and work, as well as flexitime jobs. Employees decide by themselves when to begin and end their working day.

• Communication with different people. Meeting and dealing with people doesn't appeal to every person. Some people are not very sociable; on the contrary, they are timid, shy and diffident. Frankly speaking, it is a great talent to have communication skills. If you think you have it, you may choose a profession involving close contacts with people, such as a doctor, a journalist, a lawyer, a guide, a teacher.

• Business trips. You should keep in mind that some professions imply travelling all over the world, such as tour guides, scientists, actors, journalists, pilots and so on. It's not always fun. Business trips may last a week, a month and even more. You may be sent to London for a few days, then you'll spend only a few hours in Paris, and right after that, without any rest, you'll have to go to Berlin. Sometimes it turns out that you don't have even an hour for yourself just to relax and see the town you've come to. Such trips may be very exhausting and stressful. However, if you are young, ambitious and full of energy, you will be able not only to do your job successfully but also see the world.

• Aspiration for creative work. If you are a creative person, it's a must for you to find such job. It can be a job of an artist, a tailor, a designer or a stylist.

• Jobs connected with risk. Such jobs are usually well-paid, but very dangerous. A police officer, a fireman, a bodyguard, a lifeguard — these are the names of jobs which imply risk. Those, who want a rewarding but demanding job and who are ready to devote all their lives to it, may choose this kind of work.

Analyzing all these points will help you not to make a wrong choice. In case you are an aspiring, responsible, creative, optimistic, reliable person, who is ready to learn and be laborious, who is not afraid of any difficulties of the future and ready to solve any problem with a smile, the world of jobs and careers will be open to you.

Choosing a career should not only be a matter of future prestige and wealth. Work should bring real satisfaction; otherwise your whole life will become dull and monotonous.

1. Questions:

1. Have you already thought about your future career? What makes the profession chosen so attractive for you?

2. When should a person decide what he / she is going to do in life?

2. Do your parents give you a piece of advice about your future profession?

3. What are your parents? Do you like their professions?

4. Have you got any traditions in your family? (connected with jobs)

5. Try to take a realistic view of your strengths and weaknesses. Which of your qualities are worth improving?

6. What part-time jobs can students do nowadays?

7 What occupations are popular nowadays in your country? Why?

9. What is the best way of preparing for your future profession?

10. Is it easy to choose a career? What or who can help you?

11. Do you agree with the quotation: "It doesn't matter what job you do. It's how you do it"?

2. What should you do to find a job? Find the logical sequence of the steps you should take.

— get an invitation for an interview

— make an appointment with an employment agency counselor

— read the classified ads

— think what kind of job you want

— analyze your skills, personality traits and accomplishments

— get ready for the interview

— find out what employment agency you can use

— find out as much as you can about the company

3. Examining Your Skills and Abilities

There are two essential steps in the job-hunting process: research and planning. Research means examining your skills and finding out where you can apply them. Planning means deciding how you will present your skills to a prospective employer. You should go through these steps carefully whether you are looking for your first job or you are interested in changing to a better job.

1)Lookat the following examples of skills / responsibilities and personality traits and find the ones that apply to you.

2) Is your future / present profession or job suitable for these character traits and skills?

3) Are you good at what you do / are going to do?

4) What qualities do you lack at your profession? What character traits would you like to acquire or develop better?

5) What other occupations / professions could be suitable for you?

1) Skills / Responsibilities Acting, analyzing, building, things, cooking, dancing, decorating, designing, driving, growing, things, helping people, interviewing, listening, making crafts, meeting people, negotiating, bargaining, operating machine, organizing, persuading people, repairing machines, selling, sewing, making decisions, singing, solving problems, speaking, doing sports, supervising, management, teaching, caring for people.

2) Personality traits:accurate, adaptable, cooperative, creative, dependable, flexible, mature, organized, persuasive, punctual, responsible, tactful, industrious, moderate, inquisitive, patient, communicative, responsive, self-confident, sympathetic, sincere, resolute, always look on the bright side, pragmatic, good-humoured, talkative, always hope for the best, ready to help, careful, consistent, even-tempered, attentive, gifted, conscientious, easy-going.

3) My strong points are: accuracy, adaptability, explosive strength, cooperation, creativity, dependability, flexibility, maturity, punctuality, responsibility, tact, honesty, perfectionism, courage, good looks, sense of humour, ability to work for a long time without a break, politeness, rich imagination, good health, self-control, endurance, tolerance, cheerful outlook, optimism, patience, team-worker, strength, speaking skills, a skill to convince, picking up new things easily, eager to learn.

4. You are looking for a job. Analyze your interests and abilities. Answer the following questions.

1. What are my abilities? What special talents do I have?

3. What are my special interests?

4. What are my physical abilities and limitations?

5. What are my attitudes and values?

6. How do I see myself, or what is my self-concept?

7. What is my previous experience?

8. What are my educational plans for the future?

9. Am I the kind of person who works well in a large group, or do I work better with only one or two people?

10. Am I willing to accept change?

5. Topics for discussions and essays.

1. There are some individuals that "know" what they want to be from the time they are children. Have you ever known anybody like this? What about you?

2. Do you think that choosing an occupation is more difficult today than it used to be for young people 30 or 40 years ago? Who helped you to make your choice?

3. By what age (18? younger? older?) should a person "know" what he or she wants to do? Discuss your idea.

Date: 2015-12-17; view: 3787