By Grace Du Prie Career Development & CounsellingServices

09/04/2011 CAREER – JUST WORK OR IS THERE MORE TO IT?

When thinking about ‘career’ the term can be used to refer to a person’s whole path through life. This broad definition uses ‘career’ to include all major life experiences, such as family, education, employment, marriage, community and leisure activities etc.

Another definition of ‘career’ restricts the meaning of the word to way of making a living, profession, and also a person’s lifelong pattern of work. This could be the activities that appear under a heading of ‘Employment History’ in a person’s resume.

Everyone makes vocational decisions. These choices are crucially important, frequently difficult, and rarely ‘once-in-a-lifetime events’. That’s why it good to take some time while going through his process.

When making career decisions it is important to use a ‘holistic’ approach and focus on yourself as a whole person and not just a ‘job seeker’.

It is interesting when considering this that the Hebrew word ‘Avodah’ means both work and worship. The word vocation also has a fascinating origin. It comes from the Latin word ‘vocatio’ meaning to call (the same root as for ‘vocal’. It is based on the idea of God calling a person to do a certain work or fill a certain position.

Work is thus seen as more than a way to earn money.

Hence, in modern usage, your vocation means your occupation, business or profession, or the feeling that you are called to a certain kind of work.

Now More About Building Your Career: Your career: A lifelong journey
We often use the terms ‘career’, ‘occupation’, ‘job’ and ‘work’ as though we are talking about the same thing. But your career is something much larger than a job or an occupation.
Career: the sum total of paid and unpaid work, learning and life roles you undertake throughout your life.


Occupation: a group of similar jobs found in different industries or organisations.


Job: a position in which you perform tasks for payment.


Work: a set of activities with an intended set of outcomes (it can include parenting or volunteering as well as paid employment).
Your career is the variety of experiences of learning and work (both unpaid and paid) that you undertake throughout your lifetime. If you want to take charge of the development of your career, you will need to actively manage your learning and your work.
Developing your career is not an easy or a short process. Our careers are influenced by many things, such as our age, our gender and our ability/disability. Our careers are also influenced by our families and our cultural values.

It’s up to you to plan, build and manage your lifelong career journey. You are the person best suited to make choices on the basis of your own skills, knowledge, interests, personal circumstances and preferences.
But you won’t be alone. Be open to those who can help and support you along the way, and offer your help and support to others as well.

You will need to be flexible. In the 21st century, very few people will have a job or an occupation for life. In this ever-changing world, you will need to keep learning to keep pace. The good news is that it is very difficult to go through life without changing, growing and learning. It is important that you actively manage this process as much as possible, rather than just letting it happen. Source: www.jobguide.deewr.gov.au

Contact Grace du Prie to discuss your career options and the benefit of career counselling.

Grace Du Prie Career Development & CounsellingServices

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