Many college students would like to get a job as soon as they graduate from college. However, this is not always the case for many of them mainly because they had not decided on which career path to take before college. Unfortunately, this situation is replayed in the lives of many graduates making it clear that the decision on which career path to take should be made before applications to colleges are sent out.  Here are some tips to ensure that you do not fall in the same trap of selecting a college before deciding on the best career for you.

• Work backwards

After high school many students typically start looking for colleges that they would want to attend, then select a major and finally decide on the career they would like to pursue. However, this is not right and things should actually be done the other way round, with the choice of a career path being decided on first and then the rest follow. You should picture yourself filling in application forms for a job that you are passionate about many years after college.

• Choose  a career you love

Do you know what you enjoy doing? In most cases, the answer to this question will make it easier to choose a career that you are passionate about. Always look into career possibilities that match your personality and in the long run will satisfy your needs for years to come. If your interests seem to be all over the place consider narrowing them down to at least three areas and choose a career that will march them perfectly. Also you can try out online tests that help people find a career path that go with their personality.  

• Take a career test

The goal of a good career test is to match you to a group of careers based on certain parameters.  Career tests are typically multiple choice and take under 30 minutes to complete. They match you based on your personality.  For example, they could match you to specific careers based on your skills, interests, abilities, etc. A good career test will not give you absolute confidence in choosing a specific career.  However, they certainly can help you develop or narrow down a specific group of careers and that is half the battle in making your career plan. Here is a free career test that takes a few minutes to complete and custom matches you to over 1000 well paying careers. 

• Select the right college

When you have settled on the career path you would like to pursue in the future, it is time to choose a major and a corresponding college. Although colleges to choose from are many, research on the best ones in the field that want to pursue so that you get the best education possible in the area. These colleges are also likely to offer several options in terms of majors that you can selecting according to your interests.

Overall, having an idea of the career you want to have in the future as you select colleges will keep you focused and motivated to work towards your dream profession.

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Today’s guest post is from Aaron Ramsey, the owner and writer for Eapplicants.com, an online resource for job seekers to find all the information they need on today’s largest companies.