With so many options available today, Choosing a career that best matches your skills and interests might be challenging. Many college students know nothing about what they want to pursue after graduation.
So, to solve this problem, Shivangi from CodeQuotient brings an exciting and informative conversation with the Dean of Corporate and Industrial Relations at the United Group of Institutions, Dr. Divya Bertaria, in the eighth episode of “Fixing the Bug.”
In this episode, Dr. Divya discusses:
- The steps to take while choosing your career options.
- Why should you consider counselling before applying to a college?
- Also, some good tips for managing stress during a job interview.
Let’s dive into the discussion.
Understand Yourself
Many students and their parents consider only the highest paying branch while taking admission. They do not consider various other important factors while paving their career path, which leaves students confused in their journey. Dr. Divya says,
“The counselling process varies from person to person; in the same manner, the personality of one person is different from the other person. So, it becomes crucial to monitor the student right from the beginning. What kinds of activities are they involved in? What kinds of professional interests do they have?”
So, having a career counselling session is beneficial for students as it helps them take the right steps towards their career. It also helps to identify various opportunities that are present on that path.
Identify your skills and abilities
In discussion with Dr. Divya, she shed light on the steps she takes to help the students identify their abilities, skills, strengths, and interests. First, she uses various tools and tests, like skill assessment or psychometric tests, to determine the student’s personality type.
Second, she advises the students to explore their career options based on their skills and interests. Also, she focuses on the multidisciplinary and transferable skills of the students to help them find more appropriate options.
Finally, after bucketing the students according to their skills, she assigns them career mentors who guide them through their path and help them build their resumes according to their chosen profiles.
These are the steps she takes to help her student’s career development. You can do the same thing with the assistance of your teachers and mentors to find the best path for you.
Choosing from the options
While exploring your career field, you’ll find various career options to choose from. For example, in the IT industry, you will find an opportunity as a full stack developer, an app developer, a back-end developer, etc., which may confuse you.
Dr. Divya advises narrowing down the options and choosing the one that suits your skills and interests the best. This will help you focus on building your profile for that particular role. She says,
“We will suggest options based on your skill report and personality report. But it’s you who will choose the best path for yourself.”
Focus more on profile than salary
Most students prioritise salary over job profile and interests, which often leads to them being stuck with a job that does not satisfy them.
She suggests that when choosing a career, you should consider your interests and profile above the salary offered. In the initial stages of your career, learning valuable lessons and skills is more important than earning crores.
So, focus on how the job profile and the company will add value to your skill-set rather than solely focusing on the salary package.
Participate in extracurriculars
In addition to building your profile and upskilling yourself, she also discussed the importance of participating in extracurriculars and how it helps one to differentiate themselves from the competition.
So, while in college, participate in extracurricular activities and competitions as they add valuable points to your CV.
Final thoughts
In the podcast, Dr. Divya shares various career-building insights. Also, she talks about how to manage stress during interviews. Here are the key takeaways from the episode:
- Understand your requirements
- Identify your skills
- Identify opportunities based on your skills
- Narrow down your options
- Find a mentor
- Build your CV according to your chosen role
Overall, focus on which field interests you the most and how you can gain expertise. Rest assured that if you work smart, you’ll succeed.
If you want to make a successful career in coding, you should consider CodeQuotient’s SuperCoders Program. The program features various industrial and live projects to help you build your profile for the software developer role. Also, the charges are minimal to negligible fees. Hence, as a learner, you can learn and earn without investing much in training.
If you love coding, then CodeQuotient is waiting for you.
