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Professional Development for High School Students

In the adult world of work we frequently talk about professional development and the associated costs, benefits or requirements for some professions.  However, I don’t think I have ever heard anyone reference high school students who prepare for college as undergoing professional development.  But that is exactly what it is!  There are costs associated and benefits to be had through professional preparation for college.

On the academic side, PSAT/SAT/ACT prep courses are all a form of professional development.  Parents invest significant dollars in order for their son or daughter to increase their score potential.  The investment is not a guarantee, but it enhances the probability.  So it is important to plan wisely and get the biggest bang for your buck.

Create a calendar that targets test dates and work backward.  Identify the necessary enrollment date and get registered on time to avoid late fees or missed application dates for colleges.  Using these dates, work backward again and identify the necessary time frame to participate in a prep course or private tutoring so that you have time to take practice tests and target areas needing improvement. That’s how to get the biggest bang for the buck!

High school athletes also invest in professional development when they employ specialized coaches for sport-specific technique or great recruiting advisement through companies like The College Sports Track or Educated Recruit.

The world of work has changed radically over the last 5 years and it is more important than ever that everyone look at ways in which they can enhance their own marketability.  In order to do that, adults, college students and high school students need to look at professional development with a new perspective.  How can you invest in yourself, your loved ones or your employees to enhance marketability or job performance?  Need help? Click here to contact me for more information regarding professional development.

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Creating the Best You

George Bernard Shaw once said, “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”  I would never argue with Mr. Shaw, but I would certainly modify and apply his quote to the current college and career market and say this,

                 “College isn’t about finding yourself; it is about understanding yourself and creating your best life.”

That being said, there are two questions that follow:  Why isn’t college about finding yourself and how does one better understand them self and create a “best life”?

 Twenty years ago, students could go off to college with no specific career goal and spend four years finding themselves while acquiring a degree in the process.  But in the last twenty years, the cost of college has increased 163% and the average household income has increased only 23% according to College Board and the National Bureau of Labor Statistics.  It is no longer “affordable” to go off and “find” yourself at college.

Today, understanding yourself and creating your “best life” means investing in yourself.  Getting a college degree or attending a trade school are investments in yourself.  But those investments need to be directed.  Would you simply hand your savings over to an individual and say, “Do whatever you like”?  No!  You would give them a directive to be aggressive or conservative with your investment.  So in creating your best life, you need to have the tools and the plan just like a professional who invests your savings uses tools and has a plan to help you achieve your financial goals.

You can choose to continue on a path of uncertainty or you can choose to direct your path, invest in your future, and create your best life.  Creating that life doesn’t happen by accident or by default.  It happens because you make informed choices about how to spend your valuable time and resources.  That investment may include a career direction specialist, use of specific tools that measure natural abilities, interests and values, and guidance by a professional in creating a plan that helps to define and direct your life goals.

Creating the best you requires an investment.  What are you willing to invest in yourself or a loved one to be able to define and direct a career direction?  Contact me if you would like to know more, or make a comment below if you have had a great experience Creating the Best You!

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The Importance of Job Search When You Are Not Searching

Last week I wrote about trends that had occurred over the last 30 years in the career and job market.  I specifically identified the newest flash of social media opportunities.  My goal was not to encourage everyone into the social media marketplace, but to make a point of the changes in trends according to our culture and the world and that we must be forward thinking in our plans for future success.

Whether you are a college graduate, a high school student deciding on college, or have chosen a path of vocational training, it is important to look ahead and pay attention to job and career trends even when you are not looking for a job.  Click here to take a look at the lists in the 2011 Top Ten and the Worst Ten Jobs.  More important, pay attention to how the lists were developed.  Income alone is not a reason to select a career field.  Satisfaction with your career is comprised of other elements that include but are not limited to stress factors, time off, and professional development opportunities.

Just like Capital One asks, “What’s in your wallet,” are you asking yourself, “What’s in my future?”

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Social Media in the Job Market

At a time when information is driving the workforce, it is hard to imagine anyone not paying attention to the trends.  But we are creatures of habit and therefore our daily lives get set in routine and unless an effort is made to allocate time to educate ourselves or allow someone else to provide that resource, we plod along in an undefined direction and “life happens.”

I can remember being a classroom teacher and getting the first computer station.  That was thirty years ago.  Then along came the day when I got six computers and a curriculum for integrating the stations into my classroom schedule.  That was 1987, the computers were dependent on the mainframe with a set curriculum and the Internet was a “buzz word” we had just learned and had no idea of what was to come.  The trend was technology.

Fast forward to today, 2011, the “buzz word” is Social Media and a Google search of key words, “jobs in social media” indicates 163,000,000 results.  There is a trend in this age of information and it is important to pay attention.  Ten years ago we didn’t read articles or see job postings for social media marketing, social media headhunters, human resource management of social media, or social media litigation. While millions of jobs have been lost in the economic disaster of the last few years, the opportunities that are developing require that individuals be prepared and that thinking about careers cannot be the traditional thoughts that the general population has had over the last decade.  The evolution of the job market deserves our attention.  That which we can imagine today will be surpassed tomorrow.  Will you be prepared?  Want to know how?

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Career Trends and Forward Thinking

Back in January, I posted a blog, Paying Attention to the Trends.  I addressed the importance of paying attention to your career path and the occupational outlook in different sectors.  That outlook is based on how society and the culture of work has changed and will change over the next decade.  Did you follow the link within the blog to a great resource?

People like Peter Drucker were masters of understanding how organizations change, manage change and should prepare for change.  While most of the population could not have predicted or even anticipated the economic and employment changes we have seen in the last five years, we can learn from it and be smarter in our plans going forward.  That’s why we pay attention to the trends.

Ten years ago, in his book, Managing in the Next Society,Peter Drucker said, “A century ago, the overwhelming majority of people in developed countries worked with their hands: on farms, in domestic service, in small craft shops, and (at that time still a minority) in factories.  Fifty years later, the proportion of manual workers in the American labor force had dropped to around half, but factory workers had become the largest single section of the workforce, making up 35 percent of the total.  Now, another fifty years later, fewer than a quarter of American workers make their living from manual jobs…..Knowledge has become the key resource.”

If knowledge is the key resource, then being educated is vital and being educated is more than just achieving a degree in an area of study that seems to be a good idea.  I get contacted frequently by young adults who have completed a college education only to realize they either dislike their chosen field or can’t get work and see no hope in the future.  So how can you get on a better track or guard against a career mismatch and thousands of dollars invested in something you really don’t like or with limited career opportunities?

  1. Pay attention to trends across media by reading articles like, Job Market Picks Up for Graduates, in the Wall Street Journal or Hiring in US Slowed in May with 54000 Jobs Added, in the New York Times. While these papers are presenting different perspectives, there are trends that are apparent.
  2. Tag websites that report meaningful data like the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook and monitor them quarterly.
  3. Make a reasonable investment up front in a career professional to help you set a course for success and save thousands in the long run.   Contact me.  I can help you identify the right career direction for you, write a plan for success and monitor your efforts along with the trends.  (scrolling your mouse over any of the highlighted areas within this blog will take you directly to the link)

You can be “forward thinking” much the way Peter Drucker encouraged all of us to look at life and try to predict our futures 50 years out and imagine how our careers might evolve.  You can take action by following these three recommendations.  Or you can invest your time and your dollars ineffectively and like so many others, wonder what happened.

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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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Investment, Risk and Reward

Investment, Risk and Reward …it sounds like I have turned financial planner.  Nothing could be further from the truth…..but, I am all about the plan.  Some of my earlier Blogs were about the importance of having a plan.  The plan I referenced was a plan for identifying career direction and using effective tools to meet that goal.  But for the last three weeks I have written about the importance of watching trends and aligning your career choices with marketable degrees.  I have also promoted the importance of completing that degree in four years.  But today, I want to take you further down the planning path and look at the impact of paying for college as an investment, reward and risk beyond completion of the degree.

In the Winter 2011 Newsweek Kaplan, Linda Stern wrote an article, Strategies to Help You Pay the Bills.  In it she says, “During the 2009-10 school year, tuition went up 6.5 percent at public schools and 4.4 percent at private schools, while the consumer price index actually fell 1.48 percent, continuing a long trend.  Since 1991college tuition has risen 163 percent and household income has gone up 23 percent, according to College Board and census figures.” While the numbers are alarming, she points out that thoughtful planning, effective questioning and reasonable judgment can result in controlled spending and available funds for advanced degrees or creating career opportunities.

So why am I talking about financial planning?  Because student loan debt is out of control and the ramifications are extensive.  Going back to the concept of marketable degrees, how marketable are you if you default on a student loan and create a poor credit rating?  Did you know that there is an increasing trend of employers who monitor credit ratings as part of employment prospects?  In an article published this past week in the New York Times, Laura Asher states some of her concerns regarding the student loan crisis as, “Things like buying a home, starting a family, starting a business, saving for their own kids’ education may not be options for people who are paying off a lot of student debt.”  The article addresses the fact that student loan debt now exceeds credit card debt for the first time ever and that in 2008 two-thirds of bachelors degrees awarded also carried student loan debt.  Click here to read the entire article.

Getting and paying for an education is an investment.  It is an investment in earning potential, social and cultural opportunities and self satisfaction.  It can have great reward both financially and in personal fulfillment.  The risk is how to balance paying for the education without using all of your resources and without loan debt that exceeds your earning potential and creates negative lifestyle impact.  When making decisions about schools… investment, reward and risk are definitely part of the equation.

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Evaluate Your Needs

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.  The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks and then starting on the first one.”  –  Mark Twain

This quote rings true with me each time I hear someone ask, “Where do I start?”  My response is always, “Break it down.”  Unfortunately, that’s where a lot of people break down.  They have a fleeting idea of a goal; an immediate reaction to how to get there, and then an impulse act that they hope will bring about the end result they originally imagined.  Creating that successful summer experience requires that you have a plan though, not just an act of impulse.  Whether you are a high school student or a college student, you are on a path that can provide enormous opportunity and create background experiences that set you up for success.  So, as part of the plan, begin by evaluating your needs.

As a student, there are four “needs” to consider when planning your summer.  Keep in mind, your plan may include parallel paths to meet these needs.

1. Financial Need – Do you need to make money for spending cash or are you in need of making money to be able to make expenses when you return to school?  Do you need to make money to pay for college?  If “financial need” is a primary concern for your summer, then getting started on your pursuit of summer employment is immediate and last week’s blog included some informative and helpful websites for that search.

2. Experience Need – Experience presents itself in many forms.  It can be an internship, externship, or participation with an organization.  Internships may be with or without pay, but the big payoff is experience with a company that can build toward future employment with them or at least the benefit of learning what you do or don’t want to do in your future.  Participation with an organization may be in the form of an athletic team and building skills and stats toward college or professional opportunities.  Either way, the experience is your primary need.

3. Volunteer Need – This one is of particular importance to high school students but should not be dismissed by the college student.  Volunteering speaks to your character.  Many high schools require community service as part of their graduation requirements.  Universities look at volunteerism as one element of consideration when admitting students.  Companies look at your community involvement as commitment, community outreach and opportunities to be seen as a positive extension of their own business.  Assess your schedule and your need to increase your volunteer capacity.

4. Education Need – Do you need to take summer courses?  Does your graduation date indicate that you are on track with completing your diploma or degree on-time?  Do you want to get ahead on your timeline?  Assessing your summer needs for education requires that you know where you are today in your plan, seeing the end-date, and working backward on the calendar to ensure an on-time completion.

With these four identified needs, evaluating your potential summer activities now becomes more focused and allows you to take the steps essential to creating great opportunities.  Your path may be consumed by one of these “Needs” or you may be able to combine paths if you have multiple needs and a schedule that will accomodate.  Either way, by planning now you can design a unique opportunity setting yourself up for future success.

Remember, ” The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks…”  Need help breaking it down?  Contact me.

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Get Started on Your Summer Plan

When I talk with people about their plans for their future, I get the range of reactions from “deer in the headlights” to totally engaged and “I know where I want to go.”  But it is no surprise.  We are all wired with different “Time Frame Orientations,” as identified through the Highlands Ability Battery. Some people are naturally better at completion of tasks within a 6 month time frame while others are naturally better with longer time frames of a year to five years.  Either way, for college and high school students who are thinking about summer employment or participation with organizations, the clock is ticking and it is time for a plan.  You know I am all about “The Plan.”

Over the course of the next couple of weeks I will focus on high school and college students and the considerations, time frames and helpful hints for summer employment/opportunities.  With a job market as tight as currently exists, you need to have a plan and be ahead of the competition.  Today, we start mapping the plan.

Whether your summer begins May 1st, June 1st or June 20th given extended calendars for weather make-up days, the landslide of summer workers/participants will hit in full force.  You need to be prepared to submit applications and do interviews before everyone else.  So work backwards.  Identify your target date for starting work and work backward with your plan.  You will need time for interviews, phone calls, application completion, Internet or local searches and networking.  That means you start now!

There are some terrific web tools for identifying summer employers as well as tips for effective interviews.  Here are just a few:

www.quintcareers.com                Great for searching College Internship Opportunities

www.getthatgig.com                     Opportunities for students 16-21 years

www.teenjobsection.com          Interactive map of opportunities across the country

www.snagajob.com                       Getting and making the most of your job

The important thing about starting now is you begin looking at the opportunities.  And opportunities do not apply only to work.  Opportunities may refer to athletic team participation,  experiences or internships.  What would you like to do?  Are there jobs/opportunities you are particularly interested in doing and things you just would not consider?  What transportation barriers exist or what options are available if a good opportunity presents itself?  How many hours a day will you be available to work/play/volunteer?  Is summer class part of the equation when figuring schedules for work?  Different employers will embrace your availability as a summer worker and as a student working to get ahead.  Others may find value in your performance and embrace the opportunity that you may be available for the next few seasons.  The here and now impacts tomorrow!

By starting your search now, you have some time to explore options and activate a network.  Yes, activate your network!  Just like business people network to expand and strengthen their own client base, students can network to find great summer opportunities through parents, relatives and family friends.  Now is the time to get started!   Define the plan!

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Affirmations of Getting It Right

I love my work!

Can you say the same thing?

I have loved my work for over 30 years!

Can you say the same thing?

An article came across my computer recently and just lit up my day.  It was yet another affirmation for the work I do and love.  How wonderful that a major entity writes about the relevance of choosing majors wisely when my blog addressed it just a few weeks ago.  Is this a case of the chicken and the egg?

Life’s transitions affect us all.  Whether we are high school students transitioning to college, college students transitioning to the workforce, or already working and questioning our direction, the process remains the same.  Creating a plan for a career that will lead down a road of satisfaction, fulfillment and reward is not easy.  But it is do-able.

This article reiterates the importance of understanding yourself, the trends and making good decisions.  I love it!  I hope you will to.  Read it here and tell me what you think.