Finding a career isn’t always easy. It can be especially difficult when looking for the right career that you are passionate about and plan on staying with well into the future. Life can go by and before you know it, you may find yourself stuck in a not so great job, left wondering how you got there. To avoid this feeling of uncertainty and replace it with passion, chose a career that you’ll be more likely to stay with comfortably.

It is not uncommon for people to leave college and jump right into the first career that is available. It is also not uncommon for those individuals to find themselves in that same dead end job ten or fifteen years down the road. Several tips on how to search for that career that you’ll be more likely to stay with for a while are deciding what it is you are passionate about, researching jobs that match your likes, applying to more than one job, improving your resume, and making networking an important aspect in your job search.

Decisions, Decisions

It is important that before you start your job search to take time to reflect on your strengths and weakness. Your goal should be to decide what type of work you would be more passionate about and more likely to accomplish willingly, instead of just because you “have to”. For instance, you don’t want to be stuck teaching sixth grade English when you’d rather be taking some medical assistant programs in preparation for a medical career. The better you know yourself and what you like to do, the more likely you will be able to find a job that becomes a career you find worth doing.

There are many ways you can go about a self-assessment. For example, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of online quizzes that can give you new ideas and insights of what you might be good at. There are also job fairs you can attend where you will have the opportunity to sit down with people in those jobs and discuss what is to be expected and what they do on a day-to-day basis. A useful thing to do is to make a list of what you hope to accomplish through work within the next twenty-or-so years. Make another list of activities or projects that you enjoy and are easily able to get passionate about. With these two lists, it can be easier to narrow down the search and find your dream job.

Research Makes Perfect

Once you have your lists of desired traits of new jobs, the next step is to crack open your computer and start your research. Information is the true secret of a successful job-search. When you gather information on types of jobs, available job openings, and prospective employers, this research provides critical information for tracking down actualy job leads. When you take time to research a job, it helps you tailor your resume to fit the job, as well as helps you prepare for that specific job interview.

Apply to More Than One Job

Probability and quantity come into play a lot when looking for a job. When finding work, it is important to apply to more than one job. When you apply to more than one job, it gives you a better chance at being hired for one. With each resume sent out, it puts your name into more hats for a chance be selected for a job.

Resume Improvements

Your resume is the most critical tool of your search for your ideal job. The resume, if done incorrectly or not completely, can easily derail an otherwise smart job-search and turn it into a heartbreaking event. Your resume tells possible employers what you are capable of and what experiences you have had. A resume should be creative, but it should also focus on your big accomplishments, skills, experience, education, and training. Once you have a top-notch resume, the key is editing it to fit the job you are going for by using keywords and phrases specific to the opportunity or job-offer you seek.

Networking is Key

With all the technological improvements the world is facing, job-searching is trying to keep up. One thing to help keep up with the changes in technology is networking. Networking is the construction, design and use of a network. It is also the use of telecommunication protocol and computer software for using and managing the network, and the establishment of operation policies and procedures related to the network. There is a lot of research that shows networks lead to more job and business opportunities, a better knowledge, improved capacity to innovate, better and faster advancement, and a greater status and authority.

As you search for jobs, edit your resume and prepare for the interview, the most important aspect is to be aware of what kind of person you are. Finding a career that you’ll stick with can be easy as long as you know what you are good at and what you will be passionate about. Instead of applying for every job available, make sure to ask, “is this job really me?” before putting your name into the hat for consideration. No one wants to be stuck at a boring, dead-end job for the rest of their life.