Advice to parents regarding their children`s career choices

There are many psychological methods to help your child effectively choose their future profession and plan their career, deciding what steps to take to move forward. Psychologists at the Abai KazNPU offer three simple steps to help you decide.

Step 1: When choosing an occupation, learn about your child`s characteristics.

You should know more about your child`s interests, sympathies and dislikes. What are your child`s interests? What does he like to do at school or in his spare time? For example, music, art, history or computer, sports or household chores.

What are his skills? What school did he go to? Was there a desire to do creative work in his spare time and to acquire skills in developing his project? What are his personal qualities? What was he like, as a person? For example, he may have such good qualities as the ability to manage his time and do everything in a timely manner. The ability to work with others and listen to others` opinions, to communicate with a large group of people, to participate in discussions and other similar activities.

All these questions will help you learn your child`s flexibility in choosing an occupation. In general, information about your child, as much as possible, is crucial for making the right career choice for your child.

Step 2: Analyse your child`s career chart.

The world of work is constantly changing. To help children plan their profession, they should know more about what jobs are available now, and what may be incredible in the future. To get inspiration, they can browse websites that offer images and case studies of people from different occupations.

Talk to your child about her/his hobbies. Ask your child to talk about her/his favorite subject at school. Talk about your child`s hobbies and extra curricular activities. Pay attention to your child`s progress and praise more often. During the discussions, listen and support what your child has a special interest in.

Do not ask for your choice and decide what your child should do. It is better to explain what special needs to be done now. The results of a test or questionnaire that is presented in a magazine are not by scores, but by the professions your child is interested in. Give as much information as possible about the different specialties. To show unclear solutions. Do not be forced to study for a diploma. Studying this topic with your child helps you make the right career choice.

Step 3. Career planning.

Once you have found an interesting career, ask your child the following questions: What exactly does the chosen institution of higher education offer? How can I reconsider the career of this profession? What qualifications will I get once I graduate from this profession? By analyzing these questions, your child can give a voice to the future of the profession. The number of people who enjoy the profession is growing and society is moving forward. Remember that many jobs these days require certain qualifications. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly improve knowledge within your profession.