Career Options Magazine

However, for students launching their careers, and attempting to make sense of the many options available, having enough relevant and timely information to make informed decisions is a key part of the process… but it isn’t everything.

Current labour market statistics and information? Check.
Lists of possible occupational titles? Check.
Interest inventories and personality tests? Check.
Salary scales? Check.
Grad school admission stats? Check.
Company/organization information? Check.

Personally satisfying and fulfilling career path? Uh… not so sure.

Astonishingly, despite the depth and prevalence of career-related information currently available, survey data reported in a recent Globe and Mail article (“Did you make the right career choice?” June 11, 2025) indicates that many North Americans report feeling unsure as to whether their chosen career path was the best one for them. An earlier article in The Vancouver Sun (“Dream job may only be a dream,” August 29, 2025) went even further in noting that a substantial majority (82%) of Canadians have not entered their ideal career path.

The fact is that information may not be enough, in and of itself, for you to choose that ideal career—at a certain point you also need to indulge your imagination. For all that you benefit from knowing the concrete facts and parameters influencing your career decisions, allowing yourself the time and space to dream and to wonder, to imagine change and possibilities, is absolutely essential.

Effective career planning is about getting a job, yes, but it can also be about so much more: honouring your beliefs and values; getting back to the essence of who you are and what you care about; deciding on the kind of life you want to lead and the kind of world you want to help build. In short, imagining the possibilities from the personal all the way to the global.

At the recent Canadian Association of College and University Student Services Conference in Kitchener-Waterloo, I was enthralled by the final keynote speaker, Lisa Glithero, a committed environmental educator who spoke passionately about the need to inspire students to effect meaningful change. It is clear to Glithero that our planet simply cannot afford to continue on its current unsustainable course. Now more than ever, the world needs the energy, optimism and idealism of young people who can both envision and then work towards change. Environmental or social, cultural or political, the change will likely look very different to each one of us, but we need to start imagining it!

Just as there is no one right way to effect change and build a more sustainable world, there is also no one right way to plan your career.
The key to both lies in channelling your imagination, energy and sense of responsibility—in being true to who you are, who you want to become, and how you want to be in the world.

This is a big task and the answers are far from straightforward, but taking a close look at your personal and professional values is a good place to start. Values are the beliefs and ideas you consider most important, the ones that ultimately motivate you to get up in the morning and make life worth living! Unfortunately, they are frequently overlooked in career planning,
as most people tend to focus instead on their skills, talents, achievements and interests. All of the above also play a role, of course, but research consistently shows that finding a position that fits with your values is key
to your long-term career satisfaction.

Allow yourself for the moment to put aside the values of your family, friends and others, and ask yourself what truly matters to you, what motivates you in your life. Is it the respect of your peers? Earning a comfortable income? Developing and using expertise? Making a difference in the world? Being at peace with yourself? Having a happy family? What are the themes that consistently resonate with you? Helping others? Adventure and travel? The outdoors? Community and relationships? Competition? Creativity? Intellectual stimulation? Environmental sustainability?

Get back to basics by quickly jotting down on paper all of the things you wanted to be “when you grew up,” from as far back as you can first remember right up until the present day. Yes, even those embarrassing and seemingly irrelevant ideas from your kindergarten and grade school years!

When I and my colleagues at the McGill University Career Planning Service (CaPS) ask students to do this activity, some come up with a handful of titles, others with close to 20. But in every list I have seen so far—even those that at first appear somewhat “random”—we are able to find some common threads, consistent values and themes that provide clues as to what is really essential and meaningful to each individual.

Below, by way of illustration, is my personal list, in roughly chronological order:

• Figure skater
• Gymnast
• Teacher
• Journalist
• Librarian
• Orchestral musician
• Doctor
• Audiologist
• University professor
• English teacher
• Travel writer/editor
• Career counsellor/Psychologist

Which consistent themes and values do you identify in this list? Here are a few that stand out for me:

• Performance: a musician since the age of four, I have always loved to perform, be it in a musical/artistic capacity or a more educational capacity (e.g., putting on a workshop or moderating a panel of speakers)
• Working directly with people in a helping capacity
• Writing/reading/language
• Knowledge of and interaction with the wider world
• Involvement with the arts
• Connecting people with information and services
• Helping others to reach their potential
• Education: obtaining it myself, working in an educational setting and facilitating learning for others

I am fortunate that a great deal of what I value and care about comes together in my current professional role as a Music and Arts Career Advisor at McGill, a position I had no idea existed just two years ago. Even as early as childhood, however, the kinds of careers I dreamed about, and the things that mattered and continue to matter to me, all subtly pointed me in this direction.

So by all means, be sure to avail yourself of the myriad career-related resources out there, and stay up-to-date and informed on labour market trends. But don’t forget to give your imagination free rein occasionally as well, and to stay in touch with your personal values, your optimism and your ideals. As a great thinker, Mahatma Gandhi, once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world,” while investing in your own personal and career satisfaction at the same time. Enjoy the ride! CO

Jan Bottomer is the Music and Arts Career Advisor, McGill Career Planning Service (CaPS).