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Careers, Trends and Timelines

I started the month by talking about the importance of students paying attention while they are in middle school and high school to the occupations that currently exist. Family discussions might initiate from careers in the news or people around you in daily life that spark an interest with the student.  I also talk frequently about the importance of career exploration, career shadow experiences and internships.

This week, I want you to take action!  Click here to follow the link to the Bureau of Labor Statistics interactive website for students and career exploration.  You’ll find information that is organized by subject areas associated with school curriculum as well as descriptions of career paths, occupational outlooks through 2018 and careers related to those you originally selected but perhaps hadn’t given consideration.  It’s a great tool and one I hope you will bookmark!

Remember, it is never too early to start exploring.  The more you do, the better equipped you will be to make decisions about your own career path and create an opportunity for increased satisfaction and success.

 

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Exploring Career Tracks

So frequently when I do presentations for schools or organizations, I get asked, “When should we start thinking about careers?”  My answer is always, “The sooner the better.”  You see, it’s not that you have to decide what you want to do “when you grow up” but rather you need to explore the possibilities and experience the things you want to learn more about or discover things you really hope you never have to do again in your life!  How can you use your natural abilities, passions, interests and skills now to set yourself up for success?

One of my messages is get out there and get those internship/externship experiences.  Click here to check out just one example of some terrific high school students getting great experiences through a wonderful program.  These guys are going to be prepared for college admissions, to declare a major and to make dreams happen!  There is an old saying, ” There are three kinds of people, those who watch what happens, those who make things happen, and those who wonder what happened.”  Which one are you?

If you are a high school student, what have you done to explore your possibilities?  Need help?      Contact me.

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Quality Decision Making or False Fronts

How does making the right career choice affect the rest of your life?  When you decide to go to work or attend class are you going based on need or desire?  Do you want to be one of the 40% of the population who enjoy their work or the 60% who are unhappy with their career choice?

Making decisions about your career direction can be connected to your passions and the things that drive you internally in order to get the greatest satisfaction or they can be driven by something altogether different.  A colleague and specialist in the area of connecting high school student athletes with college sports opportunities, Hans Hanson of College Sports Track, often talks about “false fronts” in the recruiting process.  “False fronts” are statements and actions that do not reflect the true picture of a situation.  So in making decisions about your career path, are you being influenced by “false fronts” or sound data and information about you?

How important is it to you that your career outcome be satisfying, financially rewarding, and aligned with your goals?  Are you ready to start the process of identifying an effective career direction and plan for achievement?  Click here to get started now with a complimentary consultation.  The choice is yours!

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Career Decisions – 3 Family Dynamic Issues

Making career decisions is never easy and especially when it involves and affects other people.  High school students are influenced by parents, extended family, friends, teachers and coaches, and media.  College students continue to be influenced by similar factors and by the growing need to become financially independent.  So what family dynamics influence decision making and how much should they weigh in on the final decision for a career path?

Issue #1 – Time Frame- Every individual manages decision making about a career choice with a different level of intensity and time frame for making their decision.  Within a family, there are no exceptions.  The dynamics can create great tension when the expectations of time frame for making a decision differ among the family members.  Parents get anxious when students appear to fail to get engaged in the process.  Students get frustrated and avoid parent confrontations when pressed too hard.  The gap can grow and communications get stressed.  To reduce the potential of a family melt down, understand the time frame needs of each person involved in the decision.

Issue #2 – Values – Recognizing and respecting the values of each person in the process can lead toward a smoother transition to a decision about a career path.  For some, career decisions and ideas about future success are made on the basis of monetary reward while others place greater value on helping others or protecting the environment.  Legacies within families may influence decisions to pursue medicine, law, education or entrepreneurship.  Each family approaches the process differently, but the stress is common and the need to communicate openly remains the same.

Issue #3 – Finances – Paying for college, a trade school or starting a business all require tremendous investments of time and money.  Expectations within families regarding who pays and how much can create a whole separate set of issues and communication breakdowns.  As a part of the on-going family discussions, talk openly about affordability, scholarships, work study programs and student loans.  Understand the expectations of each person involved in making the decisions.  While finances should not be one of the first decision making hurdles crossed when thinking about a career path and school applications, it should be part of the conversation along the way.  The cost of college tuition, trade school tuition, or starting a business impacts an entire family.

Ultimately, the career path chosen by an individual has to come down to their values, interests, abilities, skills and passions in life.  But the impact on others is far reaching within families and the dynamics in making that decision can create situations that feed effective decision making or paralyze the process.  According to Napoleon Bonaparte, “Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.”

Where are you in your decision-making process?  What made the difference for you?  If you need help with the process or determining career direction, contact me.

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Values in Decision Making

Whether you are a high school student making a decision about your college selection, a college student interviewing for that first post-college job, or a member of the workforce trying to determine your next directional move, Values need to be a part of your thought and decision-making process.  Values play an important part in our work life satisfaction and they can shift at various points in our lives causing increased joy in our work or “values disconnects.”

During these transition points in life, it is a good time to assess personal values either by making a list or completing a values survey/inventory.  That way, the values that are most important are clearly in focus and part of the consideration process or even the interviews themselves.

I frequently remind clients that when they are being interviewed at colleges or for jobs, they too should be conducting an interview.  Part of your responsibility through that interview is to determine the level at which your values will be satisfied through participation with that organization.  On a scale of 1-10, where is money on your value scale?  What about time with friends or family?  Religion?  Recognition?  Fun?  The list here could go on, but the important list is your list and the important point is that you structure questions to provide the answers you need to know in your process.  When your list does not match with the college or the job, there is a “values disconnect” and dissatisfaction sets in.  Dissatisfaction leads to diminished performance and reduced productivity.

There are no guarantees for any of the decisions we make regarding our schools of choice, the jobs we take or the directions we set for career paths.  But we can be proactive, employ good decision-making strategies, and feel confident about the choices we make when values are part of the decision-making process.

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The Biggest Bang for Your Education Bucks

The process of deciding on a college or university is a time consuming and daunting task.  From the time you begin the search to the time you walk on the campus as a freshman, the process is enormous.  But so is the responsibility of paying for college.

Students across the country are receiving their acceptance letters and making decisions on where they believe they want to spend the next 4-6 years of their lives.  That time frame is based on acquiring a bachelor degree and the national average to complete that four year degree.   But the national statistics indicate that less than forty percent will complete their degree in four years.  The average is 5.8 years.  Did you create a college savings plan that accommodates six years of tuition, room and board for that bachelor degree?

The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article wherein they addressed the issues of financing college.  In five perspectives of advice to parents from five financial advisers, the first recommendation was, “Encourage your child to select a career first, and then a school.”  One of the advisers interviewed, Greg Gilbert, a financial adviser based in Atlanta, went on to make a statement so similar to what I have blogged about over the last month when I encouraged students to seek out internships and volunteer opportunities.  He said, “The key is not just saying ‘Oh, I want to do this,’ but instead, really actively vetting out the [career] idea to see if it’s the right choice.” 

Funding a college degree is an enormous commitment.  It can become bigger than expected if it is not managed effectively.  Investing in a career professional may mean spending a little up-front, but it will be a fraction compared to the extended tuition payments made when a four year bachelor degree becomes a 6 year bachelor degree  as a result of a student trying to “find himself” in the process.  Even students who believe they know the direction they want to take can be blindsided when the courses or internships turn out to be vastly different than they expected.

The business of running colleges and universities is big business.  Part of that business is your tuition dollars.  You can choose to make it a four year plan or an extended plan.  So, before you choose that college, make sure you have a career plan and that the college you choose will provide the biggest bang for your buck!

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5 Tips for Locating or Creating Internships and Externships

Internships and externships are great experiences for learning, vetting out what career possibilities make sense to you, and establishing links for future employment.  But I get asked, “What is the difference between internship and externship?”  Typically, externships are much shorter and unpaid.  They can be a couple of days to a few weeks in length and are primarily job shadowing experiences.  The extern is an observer.  However, an internship is usually at least a semester in length and may or may not be a paid position. The intern is assigned duties that mirror what an employee in the position would be expected to do on a regular basis.

So how do you go about finding these great opportunities?  Here are 5 Tips for locating or creating an internship or externship:

#1 – Employers of your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles or any extended family member.  Activate your network!  Remember, it may mean you create the experience on paper and present the proposal.

#2 – Family friends and their businesses

#3 – Businesses you frequent and like their product or service

#4 – City or County government offices

#5 – Quintcareers is a great website with links to tons of opportunities, job skill and interview recommendations as well as a zip code activated link for locating internship opportunities in your desired hometown or college town.

Got a great internship story?  Comment here and generate ideas for others.

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Paying Attention to the Trends

Throughout history there have been individuals who proved they have a great sense of vision.  Not the 20/20 vision, but the kind that requires an ability to foresee what the future may look like in a particular frame of reference.  People who are visionaries in given fields have contributed significantly in the development of businesses and organizations in our country.

Peter Drucker was a business management visionary.  He was able to see the possibilities of individuals and organizations and lead them to greatness.  In his final book, Managing in the Next Society, he spoke about the factors that would be important in the “Information Age” as individuals considered career options.   One of those factors….look forward 50 years and imagine how your career will change.

Most of us do not possess a crystal ball nor have the capability to foresee the future.  But we do have the ability to access resources.  A great resource for keeping current on job trends is the website for the United Stated Department of Labor Statistics, http://bls.gov/home.htm.  This site provides information on the outlook of jobs and what the trends look like quarterly as well as long term.  This kind of information can assist in the process of “looking forward 50 years.”  While it shouldn’t be the only data used in decision-making about a career, it is an important factor to consider and worthy of spending some time checking out the website.