- Career Hub
- Future Skills
- Academic planning
- Planning further studies
- Planning your studies
- How to manage your studies?
- How to plan for your studies?
- How much freedom do you have to modify your studies?
- When to make learning choices within the curriculum?
- How little or how much can you study?
- How can you concentrate on and manage the time of studies?
- How to change specialisations?
- How to study well?
- Internship
- International experience
- Work-life development
- Act and grow
What kind of job suits you best?
Have you ever stopped to think about what the modern workplace looks like? Today’s jobs are full of variety — people from different cultures, fast-changing environments, and new challenges all the time. That’s why it’s important to be flexible, open-minded, and ready to understand others.
| Take a moment to reflect: What kind of life and job would make you feel happy and motivated? Picture the perfect place to live and work — where you feel inspired and can do your best. What does that look like for you? Give it some real thought! |
Understanding what matters to you is key when thinking about your future career. Think about if the job you want match the life you imagine for yourself? Will it give you the freedom and sense of purpose you’re looking for?
Remember, people choose careers not just for the money, but to use their skills, knowledge, and personal strengths. Work has a big impact on how we see ourselves and how we feel overall. So before making a big decisions, take some time to think things through. The Career Hub is a great place to reflect on what really matters to you.
Consider the following questions to guide your thoughts:
- What kind of work environment feels right for you? What values matter most in a job?
- What gets you interested and makes your day more exciting?
- What skills do you already have, and which ones would you like to develop?
- How do your personal qualities influence the way you work?
- How are your work and your health connected?
Feel free to discuss these issues with the university career counsellor. They’re here to support you on your exciting journey!
The way we think about work has changed a lot over time, so it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on what really drives you. Since we spend such a big part of our lives working, it makes sense to ask: What’s all this really for? Figuring out what you value in a job can help you build a career that actually feels meaningful and rewarding.
Values are the ideas, relationships, and beliefs that matter to you. They guide your choices — even if you’re not always fully aware of them. While values can feel a bit abstract at times, they’re actually a key part of how we make decisions, especially when it comes to our careers.
Recognising your values is a process, and it’s completely normal for them to change over time. What feels important in your 20s might look very different later on. If you’re just starting out, take some time to think about what really matters to you — the kind of work you enjoy, the environment that helps you do your best, the working conditions you prefer, and the relationships you want with the people around you. And if you’re already further along in your career, try reflecting on what parts of your current job bring you energy — and which ones leave you feeling drained or unmotivated.
Thinking about it can help you better understand your work values and figure out what really matters to you. Of course, no job is perfect — it’s rare to find one that ticks every single box. But knowing what motivates you and what you care about most can guide you toward work that feels meaningful. When you feel genuinely connected to what you do, that sense of purpose can be one of the most rewarding parts of your career. Values drive our joy of work. The pleasure of work comes when you are so committed to what you do that nothing else matters to you at that time.
The word cloud on the right highlights different work values that might help you think about what matters most to you — both in your career and in your personal decision-making.
Let´s do a quick activity: My work values
Map your work-related values on the career wheel
In short, the more your job reflects your values and suits the environment you thrive in, the more likely you are to feel happy and fulfilled at work. So take a little time to explore what really matters to you. You can also think about your interests, strengths, personal qualities, and how your work affects your well-being — all of these are key to understanding yourself better. This kind of reflection can help guide you toward a career that feels meaningful and rewarding. Take the opportunity — your ideal job might be closer than you think.
Alongside values, you can also explore topics like interests, skills, personal qualities, and how work and well-being are connected — all right here on this website. Each of these areas plays an important role in building self-awareness and finding a job that truly fits you.
Hobbies and activities you enjoy don’t just make life more fun — they can also help you figure out what to study, what skills to build, and even what kind of job might suit you best.
That said, not every interest will turn into a job or career — and that’s perfectly okay. Life isn’t just about work, and following your passions helps keep a healthy balance. It’s normal for your interests to change over time — some may fade away, while new ones appear.
Knowing which activities truly excite you can help you build a life that feels right for you.
| Take a moment to reflect: What topics do you find yourself drawn to day after day? |
Notice what captures your attention and what you’re curious to explore more deeply. Try diving into activities that interest you, and don’t be afraid to try new hobbies! This kind of exploration not only helps you learn more about yourself, but it might also lead you to an exciting new field or career path you hadn’t considered before.
Now, let´s do a quick exercise: My interests
Write down your favourite activities on the career wheel
Knowing what interests you and including them in your career plans is key to living a fulfilling life. Your current or future job should fit with your skills, knowledge, interests, and values. The better the match, the more satisfied and happier you’re likely to be. Enjoy this journey of self-discovery — it’s an exciting step toward a future that really reflects who you are!
Everyone has used and developed specific skills since childhood. There are no people without skills, there may be just people ignorant of their abilities. A skills analysis helps you understand your skill set and potential more clearly. It will also help you think about what aspects you would like to develop further and make suitable choices in education and in the labour market. Learning is a lifelong process in the rapidly changing world and evolving technologies. Adapting to new circumstances is the norm.
By being aware of what you can do, you can find
- a suitable job in which your skills are needed or
- a training to help you acquire the skills you do not have yet so that you can find a suitable job.
Job advertisements list the knowledge, skills and qualities the employer expects from an applicant. This is why awareness of your skills is essential when looking for and changing jobs. University studies, including traineeships and mobility, support the development of professional knowledge and related technical and academic skills (foreign language and programming skills, using statistics software and laboratory equipment, proper referencing skills, etc.). This will also develop generic skills: communication, negotiation, teamwork, problem-solving, etc.
Generic skills help you cope with new situations and environments, complex challenges and different forms of communication. Generic skills include self-management, analysis, conflict management, adaptability, creative thinking and problem-solving.
The importance of generic skills has increased over time, and employers consider them a key success factor in recruitment and performance. Generic skills also influence how successfully you develop and apply your technical skills. According to the Estonian Qualifications Authority’s labour market forecast, the ideal future employee will have in-depth knowledge of at least one field and the ability to understand and combine other fields and the people involved in them. In addition to mastering their specialisation, the future employee is expected to have a much better command of the so-called soft skills, such as communication skills, understanding different cultures and adapting to them, etc.
The international portal LinkedIn also looks at the importance of generic skills in today’s rapidly changing labour market from the employer’s perspective. The top skill of the moment is adaptability, as the impact of artificial intelligence has changed the world of work faster than previously imagined. According to LinkedIn, the most in-demand generic skills in 2024 are
- communication,
- customer service,
- leadership,
- project management,
- management,
- analytics,
- teamwork,
- sales,
- problem-solving,
- research.
| A moment of reflection: Look at LinkedIn’s list of generic skills and think about which skills you have noticed in yourself and which need developing. How can you develop them? |
Have you got any international experience? Have you completed your traineeship as a student? Have you had to step out of your comfort zone and cope with a complicated situation? The mobile app SkillMill helps you spot and make sense of the generic skills you have developed through these experiences and express them to your employer. The app is free. Download SkillMill Project from the app store.
Exercise: My positive experience
Write the list of your skills on the career wheel
Your skill set is very important in shaping your working life. Take some time to think about what skills you have. Pay attention to your generic skills, too. Think about where and how you can develop yourself. Read the Future skills part of the Career Hub. There, you can find out how you can build your generic skills. Use the SkillMill app to take a closer look at your various experiences – you have used and developed your generic skills in all of them. Employers look for generic skills when recruiting and only then for technical skills.
When planning your career and studies, it is helpful to think about what you are like – what characterises you? Your personality traits can describe your attitudes to studies and work, for example, whether you are an independent learner or analytical, creative, patient, precise, curious, reliable, etc. Think about how you act in everyday life. Think about the personal qualities that have helped you achieve your goals and realise your dreams.
| A moment of reflection: Do you know your style and how others see you? |
When planning your working life, it is essential to take into account your personal qualities and the nature of your work. Think about the areas in which they overlap and where they differ. If the work is strictly controlled and demands following rules, but you are creative and free-spirited, it is worth thinking about whether this kind of work suits you. If it does not, you may end up dissatisfied and your creativity wasted.
Sometimes, for example, at a job interview or in a motivational letter, the employer may want to know explicitly how you characterise yourself. It is a good idea to have a small list of your personal traits and examples of how they manifest in everyday life and support you in your working life.
Knowing your personal qualities will help you find out
- what you do best,
- which jobs suit you better,
- what you have to offer to employers,
- what you need to develop in yourself to improve your career prospects.
Exercise: My personal qualities
Write your personal qualities on the career wheel
All people are unique. Each behaves and makes choices and decisions in their way. The more aware you are of how you make choices and decisions, the easier it will be to fit into the world of work. Take note of your style and take it into account.
When choosing the workplace, pay attention to the nature of the job and the work environment, how it is managed, and what the relationships and the organisational culture are like. All of this has an impact on your well-being and health. Note that being aware of your health helps you find a job which is more suitable for you and has a better working environment.
Learn how the nature of work, the environment or relationships at the workplace can cause health problems or occupational diseases.
| A moment of reflection: Think about the nature of your job and your working environment. Do you sit at a computer all day long? Do you have to be in a standing position for long periods or work in other forced postures? What about your relationships with your colleagues? |
Over the last few decades, the proportion of physical work has steadily declined, replaced by predominantly sedentary occupations and jobs. It can be argued that people mostly sit for 8–12 hours daily. On the one hand, sedentary work is characterised by a low level of physical activity and, on the other, by a high level of mental stress. The best solution is frequently alternating between the sitting and standing postures during work . Jobs that require a wide range of action, strength and frequent movement are generally done standing. The standing posture allows mobility but places more load on muscles, joints and ligaments than the sedentary position .
The computer is an indispensable and irreplaceable tool in many jobs. Whether it is data entry, document management, creating graphics, designing or anything else, the list of jobs you cannot imagine doing without a computer is long. Industrial machines are also automated, and their operation must be monitored from the screen. The main health problems associated with computer work are related to musculoskeletal overload caused by forced postures .
Mental well-being at work is as important as physical health. Work-related stress and burnout are no longer unfamiliar terms in today’s world of work. can be the result of long-term work stress. Work stress and burnout are not a personal problem, but depend largely on the social environment at work, organisation of work, relationships, management and organisational culture.
Be aware of your state of health and notice any changes in it. For example, if you have allergies, lab work may not be the most suitable for you, or if you have joint problems, it is worth avoiding forced postures and prolonged standing. If you consider your state of health, you can find the job that suits you best or readjust your current job as possible. Always check with your employer to see what adaptations can be made, considering your health. The Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund supports workplace adaptations.
When planning your career, considering your health is just as important as considering your values, interests, skills and personality.
