So what do you want to do with your life?

As we continue our overview of the important things job seekers should think about, we get to one of the most important, yet most difficult aspects to nail down: Interests. Not surprisingly, they are a great indicator of career choice (people who enjoy building houses often go into construction). But I can’t even begin to count the number of students who sit down in my office and say, “I have no idea what I want to do.”
What should be easy for us identify (who doesn’t know what they like to do?) becomes so much harder when we associate it with deciding upon a career. All of a sudden, we’re faced with choosing something to do day-in and day-out, which scares us to death. Nobody wants to lock themselves into a career they hate.
Luckily there are numerous people and resources out there to help us get a grasp on interests. First, talk to you friends, family, professors, and supervisors. They might have some great ways to put your interests together into a job that you would enjoy. Also, consider talking with a career advisor or counselor (nothing like self-promotion, huh?). Counselors have been trained to have conversations with students and help them identify things they enjoy. They also have numerous assessments and instruments that can be very helpful to provide a little direction. And for those of you who have already graduated, check with your career services office; many provide services for graduates for a year or two. Or check with your alumni office to see whether they provide any career services.
Much of this can (and has to) be done on your own, though. A career counselor will never be able to look at you and say, “You should be a __________.” (if you get a career counselor who says that, they’re not doing their job correctly). To help you start thinking about your interests, consider some of the following questions:
What have you enjoyed learning about? Is there a way to apply that? Or study that as a career?
What experiences in the past have you enjoyed? When have you had the most fun?
Have you ever lost track of time? What were you doing?
What did you want to be when you were young? What changed?
What do you do in your spare/free time? How can you incorporate that into a job?
About what topic could you talk for a long time?
What TV shows do you like to watch? What magazines do you read? What are they about?