“Everyone goes through their own path.”
With the UK’s lockdown measures in place, many of us have had to resort to learning and working from home. In this period of uncertainty, many are left wondering what the return to normal life will look like and how career paths may change. In this video, Eve Bennett helps us through this struggle and gives us her tips and tricks on coming to realise what you want to do with your life.
Eve begins the video by prefacing that you most certainly do not need to know what you want to do, but to use her video as a helpful guide in beginning to figure things out.
Kicking off with the first step, she took in realising her dream career. Eve says that she looked at what she was already good at when deciding this. “Not just academically, but socially,” she explains. “I wrote down a list of the things that I think I’m good at, both academically and socially. I said that I think I’m quite good at talking to people; I’m quite open.” She then mentions that she found this to be a good starting place, as you can really see “what you’re working with”.
“Then, I would write down what qualifications you have, like GCSE’s, A-Levels, an apprenticeship, a diploma in something,” Eve continues. She then notes that it’s important to remember that the specific subjects you may have previously taken do not necessarily define your future career path. “Obviously, it’s worth remembering that you can get more qualifications, so if you’re going into journalism you can get a specific qualification, or if you’re going into law you can do a law conversion course,” she says.
Alongside this, she recommends creating a list of passions. “Really dig deep,” she explains. “Think about trivial things you do everyday, things that you might not think are a passion. The best career to have is one that gets you up in the morning.
“Once you’ve got all of your academic skills, social skills, passions and qualifications, now you’ve got a bank, a little portfolio of things that you can use as a mental tick box in your head.” Eve explains that, although not everything needs to be ticked off every time, this gives you a better idea of careers that fit you as an individual.
Moving on to the more practical side of finding your ideal career, Eve talks about the vitality of work experience. “Even if it’s a job that you’re not sure on, it’s a good way of eliminating things that you don’t want to do,” she shares. “There’s no way you’re going to know what a career is like unless you actually go and try it.”
The final piece of advice she offers is to get rid of all the pre-conceptions you may have about getting into your ideal career. “It’s worth noting that some of the most prominent people in all fields came to it through really unconventional routes. Get rid of all pre-conceptions you may have about when you need to be at certain deadlines or when you need to have figured out certain things.”
Eve explains that “it’s okay to do different jobs until you find one that really makes you tick”.
Want More?
Bertie Gilbert recently reviewed his old short films. Alternatively, you could check out Dina Torkia‘s discussion of self-care during isolation.
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