Think about your skills and interests. If a teacher or a friend asks you what kind of job you want, can you come up with an answer?

Here are some questions to get you thinking about the type of job you want and what you’re good at. If someone is helping you find a job, you can share these questions with them. This person might be a teacher, a service coordinator, a parent or another family member, a neighbor, or a job coach.

If you’re talking with your friends about what kinds of jobs you would all like, you can share these questions with them.

What am I interested in?

  • What are/were my favorite classes in school?
  • What do I like to do in my free time?
  • What things am I good at? These are also called “skills.”

Is any of this related to what you wanted to do for work as a kid?! Maybe!

What are my skills?

Look back at your list of things you are good at: your skills. These skills can help you decide what a good job might be. For instance, if you are very organized, you might want to work in a library or an office. If you’re friendly, you might want to work at the check-in desk at a gym. If you know a lot about music, maybe you could work in a music store.

List 3 jobs that might need your skills.

How can I learn about jobs?

What are three things I could do to learn about jobs I might like? For example: Ask questions about how to apply to a job in store that I like to shop at. Ask for an informal “meet and greet” chat with a person who has a job like one of the ones you listed above.

            1st thing I could do: ________________________________

             I will do this by (date) ______________________________

            2nd thing I could do: _______________________________

            I will do this by (date) ______________________________

            3rd thing I could do:  _______________________________

            I will do this by (date) ______________________________

OK. You’ve decided on a few jobs that you might like. Now let’s think about one job you’d like to do the most. This job is at the top of your list. What do you not know about the job, but need to know? For example, if you want to be a librarian, you’ll need to know: What are a librarian’s tasks? What happens on a typical day working in a library? Will you work long hours? Will you be on your feet all day? What will you need to do on a computer?

List three things you need to know about this job before you decide whether it’s the right one for you.

For each of those questions, think about one step you can take to find out the answer. For example, you might:

  • Ask someone about the job.
  • Read an article or book about the job.
  • Go on an informational interview. This means that you go and ask someone questions about what it’s like to work where they work. For instance, if you want to work at a museum, you can ask someone who already works at a museum if you can plan a time to sit down and talk with this person and ask questions about their job.
  • Take a class or training.
  • What other ideas do you have?

Which one will you do?  ______________________________________

By what date will you do it? ______________________________________