150
Part Three Making Plans for Career Success
Your self-concept becomes more complete as you learn
more about yourself. New experiences and interactions with
a variety of people can help you develop a more complete and
healthy self-concept.
Your self-concept can affect your chances of getting
and keeping a job. Self-confident employees have a positive
attitude. They are able to accept new challenges and
responsibilities. People with a healthy self-concept tend to do
well in the workplace so employers try to hire them.
Forming and Changing Your Self-Concept
A good self-concept doesn’t just happen. What you have
learned to believe about yourself forms your self-concept. If
you have a good self-concept, you can strengthen it. If you
have a poor self-concept, you can change it.
To change your self-concept, you must first be honest with
yourself. Often people who brag about what they can do have
a poor self-concept. They brag because they want others to
think they are able to do more than they really can.
How you feel about yourself also affects how others
see you. If you feel good about yourself, others will see you
in a positive way. If you know your strengths and your
weaknesses, and are honest with yourself, others will respect
you. Knowing your strengths does not mean always knowing
the answer. It means that when you are unsure of something,
you aren’t afraid to ask. You aren’t afraid to make a mistake.
You know that you can succeed only by trying.
Your Interests
Everyone has a unique set of interests. Interests are the
ideas, subjects, or activities a person enjoys. Right now, you
may be interested in music and singing. Some of your friends
may be interested in the computer, while others enjoy sports
and hobbies. No person’s interests are better or worse than
another’s. They simply are different.
Interests play a key role in your career. People who find
their work interesting are usually successful and happy. If you
like your job, work can be fun and exciting.
Your
Reading
How do you develop a
realistic self-concept?
interests
The ideas, subjects, or
activities a person enjoys.