Some people are lucky to know who they are and they just get on with it, and some people are explorers trying to explore who they are for a long time in their lives, and some people are seekers constantly seeking knowledge in every field. Our system asks young people to make decisions on careers at a stage when they are not really sure of who they are. Therefore, it is important for students to build an understanding of who they are. At UnicMinds, we are going to help you and your child on this journey.
When I was in my third year of engineering, one of my friend’s father said to me that I’d be an excellent researcher and told me to pursue Ph.D. Was he right? I don’t know. But, over the years I realized that I had a tremendous passion for knowledge, I gathered knowledge from all aspects of the world from computer-science to psychology and from branding to supply-chains. I am naturally inclined to learning about multiple fields and being good at multiple fields. Maybe he saw that passion for knowledge in me then and suggested that I become a researcher. The lesson is: you need other people to see a child and understand their behavior, strengths, and weaknesses, and help them develop interest in majors and careers. Below are a few strategies that may assist your child in developing interest in careers.
- Stay calm and open-minded
Even though our children come from us, their lives truly don’t belong to us. They have their own paths and their own behavior and idiosyncrasies. Beyond all of it, I am also a huge believer in karma. I believe things take you places in crucial times of life. So, be calm about children’s future and be open-minded about their choices.
- Teach what you learnt
Talk about your own careers, and make them meet other people who have done so and so thing in their careers to help build the diversity of options in careers. For example, when you go scuba diving with your family, your child is automatically learning that teaching scuba diving is an adventurous career option. Similarly, when you make your child meet your childhood friend who is playing in Ranji Trophy, you will teach him about the career-path of cricketers who don’t play for their country.
- Discuss careers of protagonists in movies
In many documentaries and movies, protagonists have specific careers in movies that you can discuss with your child in detail. That banker or lawyer working in New York to that hacker working in the Pentagon, you can discuss the various work profiles.
- Bhakti Maha Shakti
There is a saying in Hinduism saying “Bhakti Maha Shakti”. Worshiping your profession is the biggest source of energy and positivism. If you do worship your job and do things properly, you will succeed. You’ve to teach your child that you cannot do everything, and hence you’ve to pick and succeed in that place and profession.
- Do personality tests
Personality tests like the Big 5 are very accurate in determining the personality of an individual. They also provide an extensive analysis of what kind of careers will be good for you in terms of focus, discipline, people-skills, extrovertedness, introvertedness, conscientiousness, and more. At UnicMinds, we provide free personality profile tests for kids and help them understand themselves better and provide them a range of career options that they can look forward to. Believe it or not, we all are not the same. Some people are naturally disciplined and some people are naturally gifted in food and some people are naturally gifted in math. So, it is important to also play your career with your natural instincts.
- Look back at their achievements
While it is not always true, they say that your past is a decent indicator of your future. So, it is important to make your child reflect on their achievements from the past and take note of their strengths and weaknesses. It is primarily to be aware of who they are and take confidence to aspire for bigger goals.
At UnicMinds, we do student psychographic and behavioral profiling to understand strengths and weaknesses using questions that are similar to those of Big 5 and HEXACO, and suggest them a range of options and observations about themselves. If you’re interested in a free career consultation for your kid from our experts at UnicMinds, Please drop your details here.
Hope this is useful, thank you.
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