Interests

What are your interests? Stop for a minute and think about these questions:

• Where do you most enjoy directing your energy, time and talents?
• Is there some activity you take part in that makes you lose track of time?
• What would your ideal job be?
• What kind of games or activities do you most enjoy being involved in?.

Think about things you’ve achieved in the past, for example:

• you volunteered at a community event
• you wrote a poem or story that was published
• you designed a computer program.

Understanding the common features of your different interests can help you choose an occupation or a course of study. For example, do your interests all involve:

• the outdoors? You like working and moving about outside. You might, for example, like caring for animals and growing things.
• people contact? You like to work with people, helping, advising, teaching, caring and nurturing, or leading a team in getting something done. Do you like meeting new people? Do you enjoy talking issues through, challenging or influencing others.
• being creative? You like to express yourself artistically, through music, words, visuals, or just in innovative and expressive ways.
• office work? You like working indoors on clerical and administrative tasks, getting things organised, being accurate, and planning and managing information and data.
• science? You like to think about new ideas and possibilities, to observe, investigate and experiment.
• mechanical things? You like to work with tools, equipment and machines, making and fixing things.

Use the My Profile - Interests activity in My Guide to find out which groups you relate to and which occupations or career fields match your interests.