Understanding how your interests shape your career choices helps you make confident decisions about your future. When you know what excites you, it’s easier to explore jobs that match your passions and strengths. Whether you’re into tech, helping others, or being creative, your interests can guide you toward a career that feels right. It’s all about discovering what matters to you – and building a future that fits.
Here are three easy ways to help you find out what your interests are in life.
1. The Time Flies Task
What you’ll need
What to do:
OK, are you ready to begin?
- Write at the top of the page ‘Time flies when…’
- Give yourself a minute to think about the types of activities that you enjoy doing over and over again.
This is stuff that’s pretty easy for you to concentrate on, and where you get so absorbed, time flies by. It might be exercise. Or reading. Playing an instrument. Solving maths problems. Playing netball. Making TikToks. Cooking at home…it could be anything.
- Write a list of those activities under your “Time flies when …” heading.
- Look at your list. Can you see any themes in the activities? You might try grouping the activities into themes. (For example, being outdoors, working with your hands, creative pursuits).
Now try reflecting on this for a moment. What can you see? What might these themes say about my interests? For example, do you find yourself leaning towards creative pursuits? Or things that are more practical? Or is there one activity that stands out above everything else?
Give yourself a few minutes to ponder these questions before starting the next exercise.
2. Online Interests Quiz
What you’ll need
What to do:
- Login to MyFuture using your Department for Education, Children and Young People login details.
- Click on ‘My Career Profile’ and select the ‘Interests’ activity to complete.
- Take a moment to reflect on the results of your myfuture interests quiz.
- Can you see yourself in your top 1-3 interest categories?
- When you look at the top 3 interest categories, which ones do you enjoy doing at home, at school or in groups you belong to?
- What activities in your part-time job fit in your top myfuture interest categories?
- Which of these activities do you like to do in your leisure time?
3. Connect the Dots
What you’ll need
What to do:
Take a look at what the similarities or patterns you can see with the interests you listed in the ‘Time Flies’ task. Compare this to the results of the online quiz. Reflect on this for a minute. What does this say about your interests, and how time flies when you’re doing stuff you love?
Key takeaway
Time flies when you’re doing things you love. This can mean that activities you love to do can provide clues on what options you can explore. For example when considering a course, extra curricular activity, job or occupations to pursue.