When you ask someone what the most meaningful aspects of their life are, the chances are good that their answers will include health, family, and work. Therefore, choosing what type of work you’ll be doing might just be one of the most important choices in your life.

When it comes to choosing a career, whether you are just starting on your work path or you just feel it’s time for a change, the following steps can help you pick one that’s a great fit for you.

Self-Assessment

Before making any important decision, it’s always a good idea to take a bit of time and self-reflect. When it comes to choosing your career, there’s no difference. In the self-assessment step, think about what type of environment you’d like to work in, be it indoors or out, helping people or selling something; what you’d enjoy doing, being a product designer or a lawyer, etc.; who you’d like to have as coworkers, and more. As you’re considering these things, you may want to jot down a few notes. These can help you evaluate various job descriptions further down the road.

Determine Your Must-Haves

Next, you might want to take a bit of time to identify those things you have to have in a job. These might range from your benefits and salary to whether or not you want to travel and the workplace location. It can be helpful to employ a question-and-answer session with yourself to find out what areas you can be flexible in and what you can’t with your career.  Is there a certain salary you need to make, or do you require certain benefits such as time off or healthcare? Are you willing and able to travel on a regular basis? How long of a commute are you comfortable making each day?

Create a List

Once you understand a little more about yourself and what you need in your career, you can begin looking for jobs that seem desirable or interesting to you. You can do this by utilizing your network, finding industries that interest you, identifying things you enjoy doing, and more. If you come across a job you don’t know too much about, make a note of it so that you can research it. You might just end up finding the right one that way. Also, keep in mind that job titles don’t always convey everything the job entails. While a specific title may not seem desirable, the actual job description may be a perfect fit. 

Training and Resume

Once you’ve narrowed your list down to a couple of possible careers, you’ll need to determine whether or not you need any additional credentials or training. Some employers may be willing to provide training on the job, but others will be in search of candidates who already fit their needs. 

Once you’ve determined your career path and are qualified for it, you should update your resume to show your relevant skills and strengths. It might be helpful to explore some job postings to understand what the employers in your preferred industry are looking for. 

Last Step

Once you’ve done all of the above, it’s time to begin looking for job openings. There are many places to do this – on job boards, in the newspaper, online, and more. Depending on where you look online, you can apply various filters like distance, experience level, job type, etc. 

As with any change, it might take time to adjust to your new career. During your transition, make sure to pay close attention to which parts of the job you enjoy. You’ll continue to learn, grow, and change as you begin to understand more about your job, yourself, and what works the best for you.