6 skills needed to write your own success story

Malaysian graduates are encouraged to create own career opportunities. Minister of Education II Datuk Seri Idris Jusof said that the government wishes to bear graduates brave enough to be creative and independent in coming up with their own field of work.

"At the same time, universities should also think of ways on how students may learn courses or subjects that are always relevant to the demand in career opportunities," he said.

Here are 6 ways to pave your own career roadmap:

Review Career and Job Trends

Having information about career trends is vital to a long-term career planning success.A career path that is expanding today could easily shrink tomorrow -- or next year, so it's important to see where job growth is expected, especially in the career fields that most interest you.

Explore New Education/Training Opportunities

It's somewhat of a cliche, but information really does lead to power and success. Never pass up chances to learn and grow more as a person and as a worker; part of career planning is going beyond passive acceptance of training opportunities to finding new ones that will help enhance or further your career.

Get to Know People

Network, make friends and find people who can be your mentors. Trust them, and make them trust you. Be very real and candid with them. Form alliances with them. Ideas grow better when shared.

Get to Know Yourself

What are your strengths and weaknesses? What makes you happy? What do you want? Make a two-column list of your major likes and dislikes. Then use this list to examine your current job and career path. Many times your hobbies and leisurely pursuits can give you great insight into future career paths.

The great painter Paul Gauguin was a successful business person who painted on the side. It actually wasn't until he was encouraged by an artist he admired to continue painting that he finally took a serious look at his hobby and decided he should change careers. He was good at business, but his love was painting.

Embrace change

Change is a factor of life; everybody changes, as do our likes and dislikes. Something we loved doing two years ago may now give us displeasure. So always take time to reflect on the things in your life -- not just in your job -- that you feel most strongly about.

Review and Record Past Achievements

It's great to be critical but sometimes reviewing your past accomplishments will reveal forgotten successes, one or more which may trigger researching and planning a career shift so that you can be in a job that allows you to accomplish the types of things that make you most happy and proud.