So you’ve done a few career tests and a good amount of research to arrive at a nice short-list of ideal career options, which (you think) match your personality, interests, values, people preferences, working condition preferences and so on. However, you’re still not entirely sure what career is right for you?
One of the best ways to get more clarity and do additional career research, is to speak with people who have first-hand experience in the field i.e. people who are currently working in the field, or have worked in the field previously. A good and quick way to find a lot of such people for your career research, is through online networking on LinkedIn. This involves setting-up a profile on LinkedIn, joining relevant groups and then contacting relevant people to ask for a brief meeting/phone call for information & guidance.
This will help answer the questions and concerns which you might have, such as:
Does the career really match my personality, interests, values, people preferences, working condition preferences?
How does someone with my background enter the field?
How much does a person earn at XYZ level earn?
What is the typical career progression and growth?
What is the market outlook and what are some of the key trends for my career options?
What education/training do I need to get? How much time and money will I need to invest?
Are the career options suitable for someone with my personality, skills, values and other preferences and characteristics?
Is there a match between the lifestyle I want and what the career options offer?
And so on….
This process for career research is something that I always recommend to my clients and I have also written about it quite a bit. However, whenever I first propose it for researching careers, clients are always sceptical 
- They wonder if the process works and whether people will actually respond to their requests to spend time providing information. Once they kick-off the career research and start getting in touch with people, they quickly see how easy it is and also how valuable it is. To help drive the point home, I wanted to share an example of one of my clients who witnessed this recently and also came-up with a great idea to use surveys for the career research, to help with the information gathering and analysis process. In his own words - “You’re right. I’m really enjoying this process! It’s so good for networking as well and I’ve got some good feedback on my use of a survey to collate this information ”.
He was kind enough to agree to share the career research survey he used, for one of his career options (Organisational Psychologist). Here is an extract:
Survey Questions Relating to Find Out What Career Is Right For Me?
Thank you all very much in advance.
1. To what extent do you find your work environment competitive?
| Perfectly Harmonious | Generally Harmonious | Balanced | Generally Competitive | Extremely Competitive | |
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| Work Environment Competitiveness |
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2. In your role, to what extent do you feel that you are able to help people or have an impact on people’s lives?
| Not at all | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Mostly | |
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| Helping People |
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| Not at all | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Mostly | |
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| Speaking to Groups |
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4. In your role, to what extent do you exercise persuasion? (i.e., convincing others of your points of view)
| Not at all | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Mostly | |
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| Persuasion at Work |
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5. In your role, to what extent do you enjoy freedom in how you structure or go about your work?
| Not at all | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Mostly | |
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| Freedom at Work |
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6. In your role, to what extent do you spend time working independently as opposed to working in teams/groups?
| Mostly Independently | Often Independently | Balanced | Often in Teams/Groups | Mostly in Teams/Groups | |
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| Independent Work vs. Teamwork |
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7. To what extent do you have to deal with change in your work environment? (i.e., change in physical work environment, working with different colleagues, working with different customers/clients, etc.)
| Not at all | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Mostly | |
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| Change in Work Environment |
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8. To what extent does your work allow you to exercise creative and/or innovative thinking?
| Not at all | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Mostly | |
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| Creative/Innovative Thinking |
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9. To what extent does your role require the use of written communication skills? (i.e., e-mails, reports, etc.)
| Not at all | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Mostly | |
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| Use of Written Communication Skills |
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10. To what extent does your role require the use of statistical analysis and reporting skills?
| Not at all | Rarely | Sometimes | Often | Mostly | |
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| Statistical Analysis and Reporting Skills |
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