10 minute read
Love What You Do and Call It Work
Choices, choices,
Find what you love, love what you do… and let the money find you
Advertisement
Your career defines what you do and, to some extent, who you are. Ideally, your job should be financially and emotionally rewarding and make your life more meaningful. In essence, career decisions matter, writes Margarethe Booysen.
Steve Jobs – former chairman, CEO and co-founder of Apple Inc – said: “You’ve got to find what you love. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
An inspirational and moving sentiment, but how realistic and attainable is Jobs’ view in a country with a staggering unemployment rate? Between the idealistic view that anything is possible and the pessimistic view that nothing matters, there might just be an attainable middle ground. Finding this point of agreement starts with the way we think about careers.
Raj Naran, a career development educator at Wits’ Counselling and Careers Development Unit, says: “It would be useful to come to some understanding that careers are usually developed rather than chosen. When looking at career development this way, it would usually be good practice to think of career development as a series of goals that one sets throughout life.”
As such, career decisionmaking is an ongoing process. The first goal is to decide what to do after completing your secondary education.
How do I go about choosing a career?
1. Know yourself
The starting point of choosing a career is YOU. When considering your career
options, it is important to know who you are. What are the things you need to know about yourself?
Your values: What is important to me? The answer to this question is probably the most important and complex. Renowned occupational psychologist Edgar Schein referred to ‘career anchors’ as those things in life that motivate you and that you value. When we understand what our career anchors are, we have an internal compass that can assist us in making important decisions that will be aligned with our values. This is because our values are the driving force behind our actions and motivations, and help us to achieve our goals.
Our goals are what we want to be, where we want to be, and what we want to achieve in the future. Knowing this helps you to make decisions and set your priorities.
Other important factors you should consider: Your interests: What do I enjoy doing? Your skills and abilities: What am I good at? Your strengths: What comes easily to me?*
Raj Naran
Your motivators: What am I passionate about? Your assets: What experience or qualifications do I have? What languages do I speak?
*Psychometric tests conducted by a psychometrist will also give you an idea of your personality type and your aptitude.
2. Know your options
In the past, career expos were popular go-to places to explore potential career paths and get to know the companies who were hiring. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however, many of these events have been cancelled, or are not being held on the scale they used to be. Some have moved online. Luckily, there are many other avenues you can follow, says Lungi Langa, organisational psychologist and experienced career counsellor.
Lungi says that one of your first stops is your school career guidance counsellor. If this is not offered by your school, you can also make an appointment with a counsellor at a university’s career guidance centre.
Raj suggests visiting organisations’ websites, which provide useful information about the fields in which they operate and the opportunities they offer. In organisations that permit this under Covid-19 regulations, you can also job-shadow someone to see what their job entails. Virtual internships also open up a new spectrum of opportunities.
What remain key is that you continue to learn. LinkedIn Learning, for example, offers more than 16 000 free, up-to-date and expert-led online courses.
3. Which occupations are in high demand?
Your third step is to research what occupations are in high demand. You can consult
To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.” – Socrates
the National List of Occupations in High Demand in South Africa, which is available online.
Here are a few links to explore:
Department of Higher Education and Training: tinyurl.com/zyzpfv3s or tinyurl. com/eamcbewa Skills Portal: tinyurl.com/458266pe GCIS: tinyurl.com/3ub8eaks Green Gazette: tinyurl.com/3jnckmjn
Bear in mind that these demands change continuously and that you need to be able to adapt and retrain to stay relevant in today’s workplace.
Raj’s advice to young people entering the workplace is to develop career resilience. This entails being comfortable with taking risks and understanding that it is necessary to be adaptable and flexible in this rapidly changing world. Learning and training should further be seen as something you would usually need to engage with throughout your life.
4. Find the overlap
Ideally, you should find the overlap between who you are, your personality, your attributes, the type of job that suits you best, and a job for which there is (or will) be a demand. It is helpful to develop a scorecard of the various factors that will influence your career decisionmaking process.
Who are you? The job market of the future will require four key work skills:
1Digital tool savvy and technological skills – the ability to learn new systems and to configure and customise these tools.
2Comfort with analytics and data – including interpretation, visualisation and communication of data analytics.
3Business, leadership and management skills – will be required irrespective of the position or field of expertise.
4Design and creative skills – an essential part of the future of work in all areas, from business analysis to finance and manufacturing.
What occupations match who you are?
What occupations are in high demand? GO TO:
For more information to help you on your journey of career decisionmaking, have a look at Deloitte’s ‘Welcome to Generation Z’ report about the future of work: tinyurl.com/62w7vysd.
Lungi Langa
CASE STUDY
From selling burgers to CEO/PhD
Lungi Langa completed her BA Psychology degree at one of the top universities in South Africa but was unable to find a job in her field. She spent five years working for a fastfood chain as the restaurant’s admin assistant. Her shift was from 08:00 to 17:00, but she always completed her tasks by 11:00 each day. To keep busy, she would leave her tiny office and sell burgers with the rest of the staff.
Finally, in her sixth year of working this job, she got her foot in the corporate door as an HR assistant. She got this breakthrough by persistently seeking suitable opportunities in line with her career aspirations. She applied for hundreds of jobs before she finally secured an interview. While she was working, she continued to further her studies. Today, after many promotions, Lungi is a seasoned corporate executive. She owns a company with top local and international clients, and is in the process of completing her PhD in Consulting Psychology. Consulting psychology is a branch of organisational psychology that is focused on empowering clients and improving workplace functioning. Lungi’s advice to the young people of South Africa is to know yourself and what is important to you, set your goals, work hard, and take pride in any work you manage to find. The rest will follow.
Have you ever wanted to study abroad? Do you want to earn an international degree? Not sure how and what to do? Are you looking to study abroad?
Global Education:
the study abroad experts in South Africa & Zimbabwe
For over 15 years, we have been the home of overseas university applications, assisting self-funded students through the entire university application process. Our services include direct access to hundreds of our university partners, providing all the necessary information and documentation to ensure your successful application to study abroad.
Global Education is your ‘incountry admissions’ team to over 300 directly contracted world-class universities and colleges. We represent universities and colleges across the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Germany, Greece, Switzerland, Cyprus, the United States of America, Australia and New Zealand. Whether you wish to study for a diploma, undergraduate or postgraduate degree, Global Education will find the right international college or university for you.
Prospective students are empowered with all the knowledge required to begin their studies in a new country with ease and confidence. This is all part of the professional and personal service offered by the company, including individual counselling and student advice.
In short, leave the worrying, chasing and sorting out of all paperwork to us. We are your direct link to the universities worldwide and handle everything without intermediaries. We aim to ensure the application process to study abroad is as stress-free as possible.
Our services include:
Application Advice
Guiding students on exactly what documents are required to apply and how they need to be verified, and assisting with admissions and placement at international universities. We also assist high-achieving sport and academic students to connect with the top institutions and ensure you have the comprehensive support to make a successful application.
Student Visas
We assist you with your student visa by providing all the necessary information and checking through all documentation to ensure a successful study visa application.
We have a 100% track record for student visas.
Campus Accommodation
We guide and assist students with securing their on-campus accommodation.
Pre-departure & Arrival Events
We coordinate pre-departure and arrival events to help our students connect with the university and other successful applicants to ensure that they are prepared and have all the knowledge necessary to have a successful start to their new adventure.
Start your journey with us today!
Your Journey to Study Abroad Starts Here!
For over 15 years, we have been the ‘home’ of overseas university applications, assisting self-funded students through the entire university application process. We aim to ensure the application process to study abroad is as stress-free as possible.
Our team value is to expose interested students to a world of opportunity, we are here to guide and assist you through the entire process.
Global Education is your in-country admissions team to over 300 world-class universities & colleges.
Whether you wish to study for a diploma, undergraduate or postgraduate degree, Global Education will find the right international college or university for you. Prospective students are empowered with all the knowledge required to begin their studies in a new country with ease and confidence. This is all part of the professional and personal service offered by the company, including individual counselling and student advice.
Application Advice
We guide students on exactly what documents are required to apply, how they need to be verified with admissions and placement at international universities.
Student Visas
We assist you with your student visa by providing all the necessary information and checking through all documentation to ensure a successful study visa application.
HEAD OFFICE CONTACTS:
Pre-departure & Arrival Events
We coordinate pre-departure and arrival events to help our students connect with the university, ensuring you are prepared for a successful start to your new adventure.
