8 Ways To Guide Your Child To His/Her Favorite Career

When your child is in the senior years of school, the foremost concern on your mind is "what next?" Some children show high levels of interest in specific areas, whereas others prefer to either go with popular choice, or take it as it comes. As a parent, though, it is easy to fall into the trap of extremes – thrusting an option on your child because you perceive that it is the best way forward, or leaving it entirely in your child’s hands without the required guidance. Read on to find out how you can help your child pursue his career of choice.

8 Tips To Guide Your Child To His Favorite Career

Gone are the days when the number of professions that parents encouraged their children to take up could be counted on one hand. In addition to the more conventional routes of being an engineer, a doctor or a lawyer, there are so many options that your child has. Here are some tips to guide your child to his favorite career.

1. Gauge interest: If your child is a tween or a teen, chances are he has already developed a pet subject. He could be displaying a keenness related to this subject even outside academics. Keep an eye out for this, and have meaningful conversations with him. Chances are he’s already got his career path chalked out in his mind!
2. Involve teachers: It’s a great idea to have discussions with his teachers at school. They spend so many hours with your child, and they have a knack for identifying a child’s strengths and weaknesses
3. Do your research: When you know what your child is interested in, make sure you do your research. Find out what colleges offer related courses, what the admission procedures are, and of course, what is the nature of work that one can take up post studies. While children to should be encouraged to aim high, suitability of career with respect to his health or personality is an important factor. For e.g., being a pilot has certain physical requirements, or being a TV anchor requires good communication skills
4. Encourage social skill building: Sometimes EQ (Emotional quotient) is overshadowed by the IQ. Encourage your child to build emotional intelligence and social skills. In whatever career she chooses, she will be working with people from various backgrounds and cultures
5. Career fairs: Several universities from various parts of the world participate in career fairs in all major cities. If your child is interested in pursuing studies in a different country, it might be a good idea to attend a career fair well before he needs to actually apply. This will give him a good picture of the various types of courses available
6. Be open: There will be instances where you might want to realize your own unfulfilled career dreams through your child. Not only will this overwhelm your child and put undue pressure on him, but it might alienate him from you. If your child is a budding theater artiste but you always wished he’d be a lawyer in your family firm, take a step back. This is the time you need to give your child the space to breathe and be his own person
7. Take away the fear of failure: It helps to remove the fear of failure at this critical juncture in your child’s life. Yes, it takes a toll on one’s emotional state, possibly health and finances when a career choice goes wrong. But teach your child that it is possible to bounce back from failure, and that he has his capabilities to rely on
8. Help your child to be independent: It is easy to pamper children when they live with us, not letting them do anything on their own. However, an important life skill they need to have to build a successful career in any field is to be self-sufficient. Allow him to take up responsibilities at home. If possible, use your network to help him get a summer internship in a field of his choice. This way, he can learn on the job, and in turn build his own network

Children need to be guided, not pushed. So make sure that while you’re watching out for your child and guiding him towards a career, you also give him the wings he needs to fly.

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