Opportunity-Awareness: Discover career options and what’s possible in life, learning, and work

Opportunity-awareness—the ability to notice and explore career, education, and life pathways—is just as important as knowing yourself. In a world that’s constantly changing, staying open and informed helps you discover what’s out there, what’s emerging, and what could be a great fit for you.

What Is Opportunity-Awareness?

Opportunity-awareness means knowing how to explore your career options and spot potential pathways. It includes understanding industries, roles, qualifications, skills, work conditions, and the future of work.

People who are more opportunity-aware, see more career choices. They know where to look, what questions to ask, and how to evaluate options. When people combine opportunity-awareness with self-awareness and insight they are better placed to identify which opportunities will be a good fit for them.

Why Exploring Career Options Matters 

Being opportunity-aware helps you identify a study, training, or career pathway that is a good fit for you and your future. It can help you plan your next steps and answer important questions such as: 

• What types of work and learning opportunities are out there? 

• How do my strengths and interests line up with what the world needs? 

• How are different careers and industries evolving? 

3 Easy Ways to Build Opportunity-Awareness 

You don’t need to have it all figured out. Focus on being curious and open to exploring possibilities. 

1. Explore What’s Out There

Most people only know a small slice of jobs available in the world—and it often depends on who they know. To expand your knowledge of what roles exist you need to grow your opportunity-awareness. 

Try this: Spend 10 minutes exploring different interest categories listed on the Tahatū career navigator website that you don’t know much about. What surprised you? Note down roles that sound interesting and ask yourself ‘What else would I like to know about this role?’ 

Take it further: Sign up to job websites such as Seek or Trademe jobs, or professional platforms like Linkedin to gain greater exposure to real-world roles.

Bonus tip: Job titles often hide what the role is like so make sure to read the job descriptions. 

2. Ask Interesting Questions

When you ask someone about their job ask more interesting questions than “What do you do?” 

Try this: Reach out to someone (a teacher, whānau, coach, or online contact) and say: “I’m exploring career ideas and curious about what you do. Can I ask a few questions?” Some interesting starter questions: What do you wish you’d known when you started? What surprised you about your job? How did you get into this line of work? What’s changing in your industry? 

Other questions: What can you tell me about your daily tasks you perform? What do you enjoy or find challenging? How has the role changed? What skills are most important in your job?

Bonus tip: Turn their answers into a reflection question: Have you found the job to be a good fit for you?

3. Connect the Dots: You + the World of Work

Opportunity-awareness isn’t just about collecting options—it’s about connecting you to those options. Your values, strengths, and preferences are clues that help you narrow things down.

Try this: Choose 2–3 careers that interest you. For each one, ask: What skills does this job require? What are the working conditions (indoors, outdoors, team-based, remote, hands-on)? Does it match any of my values, strengths, or preferences? 

Bonus Tip: Income matters—but it’s just one part. Think about lifestyle, wellbeing, and long-term growth too.

What If It Feels Overwhelming? 

Feeling uncertain is normal. The world of work is huge—and changing. Opportunity-awareness isn’t about having a perfect plan. It’s about building your awareness through small steps, questions, and experiences. 

Here’s what you can do:

• Pinpoint any opportunity-awareness quiz questions that were hard to answer—these can help you identify what insights you may need to gather. 

• Pick one career area to explore each week. 

• Look for patterns between what excites you and what the world needs.

• Follow and connect with Trajectories as you explore what’s possible.

In Summary: What’s important to remember? 

Opportunity-awareness helps you spot possibilities you might have missed. It’s about knowing where to look, what to ask, and how to evaluate what fits. Building opportunity-awareness improves career adaptability, confidence, and decision-making.