Help Your Child Find The Right Career

Most of us strive hard to reach our career goals and we wish that our children can be saved from going through all the hurdles. There are some basic tips that can guide our children and help them to thrive and grow in this chaotic world.

- From the first school day, encourage your child to build on his strengths, and not focus on weakness.

- Always encourage your child to choose a field of his choice, so that he can enhance his natural abilities and passion without being bored.

- Teach your child that some mistakes in life can be fatal, but with proper care, these mistakes can be prevented. This will encourage your child to rebound more quickly from mistakes.

- Encourage your child to strive for success in life. Once a child tastes the fruit of success, he knows how it feels and will want to try to duplicate the effort.

- Gaining admission to top universities or colleges does not guarantee success. There are many school dropouts who have reached the zenith of success - one such example is Bill Gates. You should educate your child that success does not depend on the college degree, but rather on sheer hard work and determination.

- As a parent, you can provide information, support and feedback about new interests and goals. Encourage and initiate open conversations with your child about your work, employer and industry. Talk about different business cultures and show expose your child to various experiences at different workplaces. Do not be afraid to discuss openly about your failures. Respect your child's interests specially, especially when they differ from yours.

- Encourage your child to maintain a strong positive self-image, as self-confidence is very important to the job search process.

- Help your child identify and establish personal contacts with successful neighbors, relatives and friends, who are great sources of information.

- Encourage your child to obtain 2-3 marketable skills in addition to his/her academic major, such as computer skills, quantitative skills, communication skills, marketing skills, scientific skills, foreign language skills and leadership skills.

- Always advise your child to take advantage of internship and externship, as these programs can give them a taste of the real world.

- Ask your child to participate in extracurricular activities, as these activities encourage the leadership qualities and also help broaden and define career and leisure interests. By participating in such activities, a child learns to balance his academics and opportunities available.

Make sure that your child considers different possible career options based on his interests and follow an educational plan to help them take the necessary high school courses.