PREFACE At every stage of transition in students academics, choosing a right path is like nightmare for both student and parents. Which field is best in the market, what career path my friends are selecting, what school/ college/ university should I select, what my parents want to become? Many of such question arises at this stage adding up to it, current global market trend of emergence of new fields and fading away old fields is very short span of time, selection of career path is now became a never ending puzzle. Simple answer to this question lies is PLANNING. However planning your career goals one should be well aware of their interest, skills, ability, values and a clear picture of possible career options. This handbook is the first step of my project ―Inspire the Learning Minds‖ towards career guidance, focused on a) To inform readers about the basic step for identifying there interest, skills, ability and values to make right career choice b) To give readers an overall picture of fields and possible careers I wish all my readers all the very best in choosing the right career path!! Start of a career is the beginning of a new life; it could be very fruitful, you may find absolutely unexpected yet amazing opportunities. And it could be as frustrating as hell. Sohail Merchant SOHAIL MERCHANT’S WORKSHOP SERIES WORKSHOPS: 1. Creativity & Innovation 2. Problem Solving & Decision Making 3. Examination Techniques 4. Interviewing Skills 5. Negotiation Skills 6. How to finance short term needs of your business 7. Presentation Skills 8. Improving Personal Effectiveness 9. Leadership traits The above series of workshop has been design according to the needs and requirement of the market for the competent students. For details Contact: Sohail Merchant Cell No. 03452622846 Let’s enlighten & enhance our Intellectual capabilities continuously From the desk of SOHAIL MERCHANT ` CAREER ASSESSMENT: FINDING YOUR SUCCESS Finding the career that is perfect for you is not as easy or simple as most of us expect it to be. Some have to switch from one career to another in search of the profession of their choice. A person can only perform his tasks well if he is good at the job, which means possessing the skills and natural inclination towards that job. The dilemma in Pakistan is that students are not provided any proper counseling which can help them in finding which career will be right for them. Most youngsters get enrolled into Medical and Engineering because their parents want them to enter the specific field and others get enrolled wherever they can. But, it is never too late to get on the right track and Assessment is the most important tool that can help in getting this done. What Is Assessment? Assessment is the first step in anyone‘s professional career as one cannot lead a successful professional life without choosing the career path in reviewing his capabilities and skills. Focus Areas: Assessment basically focuses on certain aspects which reveal a lot about the person‘s orientation in professional life. These aspects include: Goals: What you want from your professional life both in the long term and the short term. Interests: Interest and hobbies are important in selecting a professional field as you can work much better if you have an interest in what you are doing. Personal Traits: Your personality such as what you like, what motivates you, etc. are also important in determining what profession is good for you. Skills: During the course of education, the skills that one has acquired such as writing, computer programming, organizing, managing etc., help in choosing a specialized field. Effective Steps for Assessment: By following some basic steps, you can carry out the much needed assessment. These steps are: For complete and thorough coaching of Accounting and Business From the desk of SOHAIL MERCHANT ` Preparation: Preparation is the key to success in every sphere of life. Preparation includes having a list of your priorities, job choices, skills and other important factors that can affect your professional life and making a long term career plan as well. Make A List: This will give you a general sphere of interest as you can highlight the jobs that you liked best. If you are a fresh graduate, you can make a list of the major subject, project completed, achievements and the internships you have done. Set Your Goal: Make a list of your short term and long term goals. The best way to go about it is to think of your long term goal and then make a list of the short term goals. Skills & Achievements: The next you need to focus on your additional skills and academic achievements which can help in a specific field or at any job in general. Screen & Select: Now, you need to evaluate the three lists made under these directions and see which skills match your choice. By a careful evaluation process you can narrow down the ideal career which is suitable according to your skills and your interests. Remember, assessment can help you in finding the right career path. For complete and thorough coaching of Accounting and Business From the desk of SOHAIL MERCHANT ` Important Aspects of a Career Shift Many people realize that they have chosen the wrong career in their life and as soon as they are aware of their mistake, they want to change their career. A career change is not only a big change in your professional life; it also requires you to make some changes in your lifestyle to adjust to the new career. There are many people who are too scared to change their career paths and never try but there are also those who change the career but then revert back after a few months. PLAN CAREFULLY AND METICULOUSLY: The most important aspect of a career change is to make sure that you are taking the right step. Of course there might be some reservations and fears but you need to be sure that you have done all that was possible to make it successful. Decide whether you want an entire career change or a minor career shift, or maybe you need to change the industry or sector you are currently working in. Further, you also need a kind of special training that you‘ll need to excel in that field etc. DISCUSS YOUR PLANS WITH OTHERS: It always helps to talk to someone who has gone through a similar phase in his or her life and by sharing experiences you can learn a lot. Moreover you can learn from the mistakes they made and make sure that you avoid them when you make a career shift. KNOW WHAT YOU WANT: One thing you need to know is that changing your career is not a simple task. You cannot change your entire career path every few years so it is important to make sure that you are choosing a career where your heart lies. Think about what you want from life, what you want to do in life and how you want your professional career to evolve. Finding an answer to all these questions will help you in making the right decision. GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR NETWORK: Networking is one of the most important tools when you are looking for a job and especially when you have made a career shift. Over the years, we make many contacts working at different places and hence the bigger the network gets, the higher are the chances that you will get a job successfully. But make sure you don’t waste your all the hours and minutes spending on social network like facebook, twitter etc. Therefore, social networking can be good or bad, depending upon the way you use it. For complete and thorough coaching of Accounting and Business From the desk of SOHAIL MERCHANT ` LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE: When you make a career change it is extremely important to see the long term effects of the move and evaluate how it will affect your professional/ personal life. Your career shift should help you in achieving your professional goals and evolve into a much better professional in the long run. Just looking to the short term benefits can hinder your growth and result in frustrations as well. Remember, always learn about your life most important question; Your ‘C A R E E R ’ For complete and thorough coaching of Accounting and Business From the desk of SOHAIL MERCHANT ` Career in Accountancy Accountancy profession in Pakistan and elsewhere is generally considered to be monotonous, time consuming as compared to other professions like Engineering, Arts etc. Accountants are often projected as boring people with nothing to do except for talking in terms of numbers, facts and figures. This may however, be true in some circumstances, but may not hold true in totality. Accounting and finance are not one and the same thing. Book keeping is a different thing and financial analysis is another. When we talk about accounting, there are various levels of accounting, namely Operational Accounting which includes book keeping, day to day transaction tracking etc. Then we have Financial Management which is a higher level. In it, we learn about sources of funds, managing funds, manipulating funds and giving all stakeholders the maximum which could be earned out of their wealth. Investment accounting in itself is a whole world. Chartered Accountancy What are the areas which relate to accounting and you may study? The highest level of accounting degree in Pakistan is Chartered Accountancy or CA which has a combination of studies with four years of hands-on training in a Chartered Accountant firm.