The dawn of the New Year instils a refreshed sense of motivation for many. Whether your objective is to become healthier or to kick off the search for new career opportunities in Malta, the New Year gives individuals another chance to hop on the path to successfully reach their goals.

It is also a time of reflection which may raise questions about our life choices and decisions. Career choices often come into this debate, especially if we are feeling “stuck in a rut” in our current role. However, before we blindly rush into launching the search for our next career move, it’s worthwhile to take a step back and understand the elements that have led to this discontent. Doing this will help us avoid the pitfalls that have contributed to our current dissatisfaction and lead us to a happier work life.

Career theorists such as Holland have established that there is a close relationship between our personality and our happiness (or otherwise) at work. Therefore, understanding our personality is a vital step to finding a job that will bring out the best in us. In a nutshell, matching our personality to our work environment is essential in our success at our workplace.

An online search for “personality tests” will yield a large number of questionnaires that offer insight into personality type and corresponding career matches. Admittedly, these tests can be fun to take and taking some quiet time to honestly answer some questions about our personalities may prove to be a useful exercise towards self-discovery.

Career counselling can also be used whenever individuals are at a turning point in their career or require assistance in clarifying their thoughts to crystallise and implement changes. Career counselling creates a space where individuals of any age, can openly discuss issues such as career crisis or indecisiveness, difficulty in taking certain decisions, managing stress and pressure, coping with disappointments, enhancing self-esteem and other life areas, as well as managing change.

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