I don’t know about you, but I have been thinking a lot about my future. I graduate next month, and I have been looking for long term jobs. I apply everywhere and see what comes from it.
When building my resume, I wanted to add things that I am passionate about. I want to be prepared when in interviews they ask questions like “what are your passions” because when it comes up, I never know how to answer it. What am I passionate about? Why don’t I know?
These ideas got me thinking deeper into who I am as a person and the things I like doing. For a while, I could not come up with answer. I knew what I liked doing, but was I really passionate about it? What skills do I have? What am I good at doing? These questions really got me down because I looked at everyone around me and saw everything, they are passionate about and all the skills they have. I don’t have any of that.
For example, I really like programming, but I am not good at it. Yes, I am still learning and new to this type of world of coding, but I look at my friends and they can figure out a coding problem in a few minutes. For me, it takes me a while and I can’t do it without help. So, if I am not good at it, is this really a skill I can add to my resume?
Besides programming, I don’t really have other hobbies. I do like writing but, again, is this my passion? I have been writing short stories since high school and I like writing, but I constantly compare myself to others and think their writing is so much better than mine.
I have realized that I need to stop comparing myself to others. People are always going to be better than me but what I think of my own work (and of myself) is always going to be the most important.
So, it can be really daunting at first to take that look inside yourself and figure out what you like doing. The best advice I can give is to reflect on what makes you happy and find a way to turn that into a career. The best kind of work is work that makes you happy. So go out there and explore and find your passion!