How do you figure out what sort of career to work towards? How do you know what to study to get there? And what if you choose a course or job you don't like? Self-knowledge is the best prerequisite for figuring out a career path, says professional advisor Caroline Sandford.

How do you figure out what sort of career to work towards? How do you know what to study to get there? And what if you choose a course or job you don't like?

Self-knowledge is the best prerequisite for figuring out a career path, says professional advisor Caroline Sandford.

She's written a practical book to help 15 to 25 year old New Zealanders and their parents explore these questions - Love Your Career From the Start.

Listen to Caroline Sandford on Nine to Noon

The first step is for young people to get to know themselves - understand what's important to them and the environments in which they seem to work best, she tells Kathryn Ryan.

"There are particular roles they will naturally gravitate to - leadership roles, being a good supporter, whether they thrive in a group situation or are better by themselves. All those things are part of who they are. So when they tune into that and get an understanding of where they are the best ... they can make better decisions for themselves."

Very few people of any age can actually make a list of their own values, but identifying your own will help you direct you towards a career, she says.

Besides understanding who you are, the next big step is what Sanford calls 'reality testing'.

This is something parents can help their kids with - but she wants them not to stamp on their kid's dreams.

"It's hugely important not to be judgmental and say 'don't be stupid, everyone wants to do that, let's get real' because what you're going to do is close down that conversation... you want to keep that open. 'Tell me what you know about it, tell me what you need to do to get into that, how can we find out more?'"

It's helpful to find someone doing the job you think you might like to do and find out about their reality. Ask them about their industry and the training people usually do to get into it.

"As a parent, if you can expose your children to as many opportunities, as many real-life situations as possible to open up their eyes to the reality of work... then you're giving them a real gift. Because they then have some understanding of what it really looks like ."

Keep the big picture in mind, too…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details