How to Find Your Career Path If You Don't Have a Dream Job

Upskill and find your passion.

This post is presented in partnership with Monash Business School.

Picture this: you’ve reached the end of Year 12. Exams are almost done and you are nearly set to enter the real world. Only problem is, you’re still stuck trying to figure out what you want to do with your life.

Graduating high school with no dream job in mind can be really daunting, but it’s totally normal (and way more common than you might think).

To make the transition a little easier (and maybe help you figure out what you wanna do) we spoke to Monash Business School alumna Manisha Maligaspe—Oceania Strategy and Transaction Recruitment Leader at Ernst & Young—to find out exactly what students can do to discover their passion and chase it at uni.

(Image: Supplied)

Manisha explains that not knowing what you want your career to look like or even changing your mind after starting a job is super normal—especially for Gen Z.

“It’s absolutely normal. A career change is always possible, and I think this generation, Gen Z, they are always changing. Around 60 per cent of them want to change jobs all the time,” she says.

To start with, Manisha says you should evaluate what you’re good at and what you like doing, both in school and at other jobs you’ve had before.

“My advice would be to lead with your strengths. So, know what you’re good at, make a list of those strengths and do a bit of a self-analysis or even a bit of a personality questionnaire like a Myers-Briggs online,” she says.

“I’d also encourage you to evaluate your past. So in your previous jobs for example, what did you like? What did you not like? What type of culture did you like working in? What type of [subject] really got you working hard? When were you the happiest?"

Manisha also suggests reaching out to other professionals who work in the field you're interested in for advice.

"Ask your networks for their advice as well as their own personal career stories, to help you assess what your dream job would be like. So, people in fields that you might think you’re interested in," she says

"I would also encourage students to network at conferences, workshops, on LinkedIn, do some online courses to find out what they’re good at and find a mentor.”

Once you’ve figured out what you’re good at and what you enjoy, the next best thing you can do is try out some online courses, quizzes, questionnaires or watch videos that will help you extend on those skills and gain more experience.

"Take online classes, attend workshops that are related to your areas of interest, read books and journals, even watch related videos on YouTube and other online videos to learn new skills,” Manisha suggests.

If you’re already at university or thinking about heading to uni, you can try out a broad course that will allow you to test several units before deciding on a specialisation.

“I did a Bachelor of Management [at Monash Business School] because I knew I wanted to be in business management, but until I got to university, and until I established a relationship with external mentors… only then did I realise I actually wanted to be in a human resources related field,” Manisha explains.

“Take those electives to better understand what really interests you.”

Of course, it's also totally fine to change courses if you find that the degree you chose just isn’t for you.

"I’m all about changing degrees if you’re not enjoying it. You’d rather spend that extra time now studying something you really want to as opposed to finding out at the end of a degree that you really don’t want to pursue that field,” Manisha says.

“Speak to your course coordinators; there’s a lot of resources at universities that students may not know.

“Every university has course coordinators, and course advisors who can steer students in the right direction or help students make that decision for themselves.”

The great thing about Monash Business School is the flexibility of their degrees, the wide choices on offer, and all the opportunities available to students who are unsure about which pathway they want to take.

They offer heaps of internships and employability skills courses, study tours and programs, and have heaps of course advice and planning solutions on hand to help you out. You also have the flexibility of changing, switching or trying out different course loads or units to suit your path or lifestyle.

Finally, trying out whatever extracurriculars you can get your hands on will help you get a taste of what you could be interested in. Try out school clubs, associations, teams or join a group in your local community.

“I think we dismiss student societies a lot but they’re super helpful in terms of how you can change your degree, what you can do, and what skills you need to go into the external world as well,” Manisha says.

All in all, figuring out where you want to go career wise is totally up to you. It's a tough decision, so it’s okay if it takes you a little while to get there. Focus on what you love and what you’re good at and you’ll figure it out.

“Changing careers is totally normal… career change is always possible, and no one really sticks to their ‘first job post-Uni’ in this day and age,” Manisha says.

“Lead with your strengths, evaluate your past, talk to people, network, take some online classes, attend some workshops, attend some free courses and at the end of the day, do what makes you happy.”