Statement

Answer

1. The earlier a person selects a steady career, the better.

This is a myth.

The idea of a steady career for life has changed as each person is likely to have several careers in a lifetime. The key is to learn how to change, master career transition skills, and maximise the learning you gain from all of your life experiences.

2. There are many ways to find out if a person might enjoy working in a particular occupation besides taking a job in that field.

This is a reality.

Job shadowing, research, reading, volunteer work and interviewing those in the field are some other ways. These methods will save you time and money and enable you to make changes to your career direction before you are committed to a job.

3. Somewhere there is a test that can tell me what to do for the rest of my career.

This is a myth.

There are no tests, inventories or career assessment instruments that will tell you your perfect career. These assessment tools help you assemble your motivations, interests, skills and values as they are at the point in your life when you complete them.

YOU then take these “jigsaw pieces” and match them with career alternatives. Career assessment is useful to do in an informal and ongoing way throughout your career, as your internal and external influences change.

4. During his/her lifetime, a person is likely to work in several different occupations.

This is a reality.

It is now estimated that most adults will work in five to seven occupations during their lifetime. Often people will work in a combination of more than one occupation at any one time.

This combination could include a part-time job with regular hours, part-time self-employment where hours and income may fluctuate, and part-time creative practice/voluntary/hobby work. For most people, there is no “one job or career for life” anymore.

5. The current job market determines what career a person should choose.

This is a myth.

Individual interests, preferred skills and values and a passion for what you have chosen determine the occupations in which you are most likely to be successful and find personally satisfying.

6. The majority of job seekers find jobs through word of mouth.

This is a reality.

It is estimated that 80% of those currently employed found out about their jobs through networking, including information interviewing and maintaining mentoring relationships. Employment advertisements in newspapers are only one small component of available opportunities at any given time.

7. Changing careers indicates there is something “wrong” with a person.

This is a myth.

There are many reasons that career change makes sense: desired new learning and personal growth; monetary; labour market demand; and a reassessment of “who I am and want to be”. In a rapidly changing world, career and occupation change is common and does not indicate that there is something “wrong” with a person.

8. There is no job security anymore.

This is a reality.

There is no longer an expectation that employers or organisations will take responsibility for an individual.