After your daughter completes class 12, there are some tough yet vital decisions you need to help them make concerning the trajectory of their life. One of those is determining the right career path, because, after all, this is something that will affect not just her own future but that of your daughter’s family as well. Many children end up pursuing occupations they are the least interested in and thus end up dropping out or switching to other ventures after wasting so much time and money getting the qualifications for a different occupation. For parents and daughters, it can also be quite a confusing period with so many options to consider. If you’ve ever wondered how I can help my child make a career choice, our article today explores the most important aspects of career guidance after 12th.
- Allow your daughter to be her own person
For some parents, their children are an extension of themselves. They want their kids to pursue jobs they are passionate about or believe to be more prestigious without taking into account their child’s actual interests, passions, and skill sets. This is a grave mistake.
So do not force your alma mater or line of work on your daughter, unless they’ve expressively shown interest in following your footsteps. Taking into account your daughter’s skill sets and passions is important for it will:
- Determine job fulfillment
- Dictate whether or not she’ll complete her studies
- Influence her well-being later on in life
Of course, this doesn’t mean you should step aside completely. But take more of a guide or advisory role, but let your daughter have the final say on the matter.
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Assess for passions and strengths
To get to the bottom of your child’s strong suits and likes, you want to test out a variety of options via different activities. From travel and animals to science and the arts, you want to test out different niches to see which one your child best responds to. For example, if they can’t stop talking about a certain subject in school, then both of you could look into more options in the same field. If certain hobbies pique her curiosity more than most, then you could be onto something.
It must be said though that your child’s interests and talents may not be apparent at first. Most recommendations on career guidance for students advise waiting it out, as these may gradually develop as her interests shift during these formative years of her life. Therefore, it’s important to be patient to determine if certain habits truly come from the heart or if they are only a phase.
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Seek out career counselling
Sometimes, choosing a career path can be a tough nut to crack for both you and your daughter. If you haven’t the slightest clue even where to even start, this is the first sign that you may benefit from professional help from an expert.
Career counselling for students becomes especially ideal in the following circumstances:
- Your daughter can’t narrow down or focus despite being talented
- You can’t seem to find a career choice your daughter likes
- You want to fulfill your child’s passion but still get lucrative career options
Aside from helping determine career options based on your child’s personality, a career counselor can also improve your daughter’s confidence and all-around development. Moreover, these experts will also point you in the right direction in terms of sources of information and other important resources that will help your family come to a decision.
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Encourage as much as possible
Some parents outrightly ridicule their children’s potential career choices, when they hear it. But putting your child down is no way to show your disapproval of their career choices. You can and should make your reservations about a career choice clear, no doubt. But do so in a way that acknowledges your child’s passion, and makes them think about the potential obstacles or downsides but without belittling her dream.
Of course, your daughter may suggest something that sounds silly or out of the box, but it’s important to listen rather than judge. Try to understand where they are coming from as this could be a reflection of an underlying issue that you may need to sort out first as a parent.
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Sign up for Career aptitude tests
Aptitude tests are also a reliable best practice when it comes to career guidance for the students of the Girls Schools in Madurai. They will help you assess your daughter’s mastery over a certain niche or figure out her interests, which is the first step in figuring out this career puzzle.
Career aptitude tests are particularly necessary if your daughter is struggling to figure out what she’s passionate about. It is also beneficial if your child is a fan of many different fields and has trouble narrowing down to just one.
The good news is that you can take career aptitude tests online for free, and some of the best ones we recommend include:
- Career Fitter
- Truity
- Career Hunter
- MAPP
- Career Explorer
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Explore beyond comfort zones
Sometimes, children tend to make career choices after their Higher Secondary School studies from the knowledge of things that are familiar or seem easy or conventional. Your daughter may want to be an engineer or lawyer because it runs in her family, yet her calling and talent may lie elsewhere.
Sticking to comfort zones sees to it that career opportunities can remain untapped because they were never given a chance to take root in the first place. To that end, you want to help your child to expand her horizon and think about career options that they wouldn’t normally consider. Encourage them to meet new people, try out new hobbies and even find mentors in lesser-known career options to pick their brains about their industry.
The mistakes to avoid
As a parent, you want the best for your child. While most parents have the best intentions at heart, they often make mistakes when it comes to their child’s education and career guidance. One of the gravest ones includes outrightly deciding for your child as opposed to doing it collaboratively. Another includes choosing a learning institution’s geographical convenience or popularity over the actual course reputation, and not having someone to mentor your daughter according to the line of work she aspires to venture into. Rectifying these will further help your family come to a fulfilling career decision for your daughter.