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中国的年轻职业人士要想在职业发展问题上听从内心的声音并做出自己认为最好的选择并非易事。他们要承受方方面面的压力，总有各种声音告诉他们什么才是正确的决定，什么才是最好的选择。我从事猎头行业多年，我敢说，那些从事自己喜欢且认为有价值的工作的人，一直都更为成功。他们是根据什么对他们最重要来做出职业决定，因而可以更好地决策。我有幸在职业早起就意识到追求自己来说最重要的事至关重要。

 职业早期我的明智决定

那年我26岁，我从公司礼品清单上面挑了一个啤酒杯，作为公司给我的入职5年纪念品。那时候，我的事业发展顺利，五年内得到了三次升职机会。公司和同事都很好，工作环境很轻松，我做的项目很有趣又富有挑战。然而，我却并不开心。这主要是因为我当时担任的事一名机械工程师，但我对这一行一点兴趣都没有了。

机械工程师是我在读大学时做出的顺理成章的职业选择。我擅长数学和科学，清楚一个工程学学位可以帮我找到一个稳定的工作。至于我对这一行有没有兴趣，喜不喜欢，则没那么重要。这个学位可以给我一个稳定的未来，结果也确实如此。

然而，我做了几年设计工程师之后，内心深知自己在这一领域并非十分出色。这让我十分困扰。尽管我做的也很好，但很明显，很多人如果有机会都可以比我做的好得多。

 我对工作毫无激情，还缺乏天分

主要原因有两点。其一，我一点也不想成为一名优秀的工程师。我的同事的兴趣爱好让他们对设计和工程充满激情，比如喜欢玩车，搭飞机模型，搞音响设备，我却对这些东西一点都没有兴趣。最明显的标志是我总是在工作的时候看表。我度过的最漫长的日子，就是在我做工程师的那几年。

第二个原因是我觉得自己在工作中没有发挥所长。我很喜欢和人打交道，愿意和别人交流。我擅长阅读，在各种情况下可以一眼辨别主要问题。我很有创意，喜欢原创性的主意。我相信，我的这些才能如果不是用于每天对着电脑，而是用于在商业场合和别人交流，一定非常合适。尽管我不确定什么样的职业可以最好地让我发挥所长，但我想做点可以让个人有点和兴趣有最大用武之地的事。

热爱造就更大的成功

想当年，很多人问我为什么要放弃这么好的工作，离开这家公司。他们不知道我在寻找什么。我离开是因为我很清楚，真正的自己与现在偶然从事的工作迥然不同。我选择了工程学，是因为我有从事这个领域的能力，学了它我就能有一个稳定的职业发展道路。但我并不那么喜欢它，不愿意用这么多大好光阴从事这项工作。所以从那时起，我决定将自己热爱的事放在首位，坚定地追求所爱。我知道，如果我喜欢做一件事，那我成功的可能性就更大了。

从那以后，我所做的职业决定就都顺理成章了。我学会在喜好问题上相信自己的直觉。所以，对我而言，什么能让我开心也就更加显而易见了。我不那么担忧机会或钱财，而是集中精力找到我喜欢的事，然后努力在这些领域表现出色。

 听从自己的内心，我不后悔

实事求是地说，我现在比当年做工程师的时候要快乐得多，尽管当时我的生活更舒适，前景也更稳妥。现在我每天都能够用到我的全部才能，相信我追求的事业是有意义、有价值的。此外，我为自己创造了机会，努力成为最好的自己。

回顾过去，我很高兴我在有机会做出重大职业转变时听从了自己内心的声音。年龄越大，人也就开始越在乎能让自己满意的有意义的事。我相信，所有追求这些的人都不会遗憾。至少，这么做我不后悔。

Follow Your Heart When Making Key Career Decisions

As a young professional in China, it’s not easy to follow your heart and do what you believe is best for you when it comes to your career.  There’s pressure from many sources that are telling you what’s the right decision or what’s the best thing for you to do.  From my many years as a talent industry professional, however, I can tell you that the more successful people I’ve seen are consistently the ones who are in situations that are in line with what they enjoy and value.  They tend to make better career choices based on what’s most important to them.  Early in my career, I was also fortunate to recognize how important it is to pursue what matters to you most.

A Logical Decision For My Career Early On

When I was 26, I remember receiving a corporate gift for my 5-year anniversary with the company I worked for then, a beer mug that I picked from the company gift catalog.  At the time, I was on a good career track, having received three promotions in five years.  The company and people were great, the work environment was fun, and the projects I worked on were interesting and challenging.  Yet, I was unhappy.  Mainly, I was a mechanical engineer who was no longer interested in being one.

Becoming a mechanical engineer was a logical decision I made while in university.  I was good at math and science and knew an engineering degree would provide a stable job for me.  It didn’t matter that I didn’t enjoy or even have an interest in the field.  The degree would secure my future, which is exactly what it did.

After working as a design engineer for several years though, I knew in my heart that I wasn’t an outstanding one.  That bothered me a lot.  Although I performed well enough, it was very apparent to me that there were many others who could do what I did much better than me if given the chance.

No Passion And Little True Talent For What I Was Doing

There were two main reasons.  The first was I had no real desire to be an excellent engineer.  While my peers had hobbies that matched their passion for designing and engineering things, like working on cars, building model airplanes, and playing with stereo systems, I had no interest in these things at all.  The most telling sign, however, was that I was always watching the clock at work.  Some of the longest days I’ve ever experienced were during my engineering days.

The second reason is I knew I wasn’t doing what I felt I did best.  I’m a people person who enjoys communicating with others.  I’m good at reading and identifying the main point of situations.  I’m creative and have original ideas.  I believed my talents would be best applied interacting with others in business situations, instead of mainly sitting at a computer all day.  Although I wasn’t sure what kind of career could best use these capabilities of mine, I wanted to do something where I could better apply my personal strengths and interests.

Greater Success Pursuing What I Enjoy

Back then, many people questioned why I left such a great job and company.  They wondered what I was looking for.  I left because I knew I was someone different than what I happened to be doing then.  I chose engineering because I had the aptitude for it and it provided a secure career track.  But I didn’t enjoy it in the way a person should enjoy something they spend a big part of their life doing.  So from then on, I decided to pursue things I enjoyed, above all else.  If I enjoyed it then I knew there was a much greater chance that I could become really great at it.

The career choices I’ve made since then have all come naturally.  I learned to trust my instincts about what I like and dislike.  As a result, it’s become much clearer to me what will make me happy.  I don’t worry about opportunities or money so much.  Instead, I focus on identifying those things I like doing and then trying to become great at them.

Glad To Follow My Heart

Today, I can honestly say I’m much happier than I ever was as an engineer, even though my situation then was comfortable and my future more predictable.  I’m able to use my greatest strengths every day, and believe in the purpose and value of what I pursue.  In addition, I’ve given myself the chance to become the best at what I do.

Looking back, I’m glad I followed my heart at a time when I could still make a major change in my career.  As you get older, you start caring more about what’s satisfying and meaningful to you.  If you pursue those things, then I don’t believe you’ll have regrets.  At least, that’s how it’s worked out for me.

（责任编辑：职场达人）