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Tag: college (Page 5 of 5)

Career preparation steps

July 8, 2018 /

Glassdoor recently published an article on steps one should make when considering a career change.  I think these steps could easily be applied to the high schooler/slash college neophyte making plans for her future.  Let’s take a look at Glassdoor’s steps and I’ll add my two cents:

Figure out where you want to end up

The author should have changed this bullet point to “Write down where you want to end up” because she makes an excellent case for writing down your goals–on paper, electronically, or both.  I would add to that: “and share those goals with someone else.” I’ve heard it said before, and it sounds plausible to me, that sharing your goals with others adds another level of accountability toward achieving them.

Associated with writing down your goals, I recall advice from Stephen Covey about developing and writing out a personal mission statement.  Maybe it came from Covey, as well, is the notion of writing down five-year, ten-year, and lifetime goals. Write your goals, share them, and revise as needed.

Decide what kind of jobs you want to apply to now

Typically, the first question most people pose with regard to determining what sort of job to pursue is, what do you enjoy doing?  What makes you happy? Or, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time (outside of watching Netflix)? I’ll add:

  • What occupations will pay for the lifestyle you wish to lead?  Want a house, kids, and private school? You’ll need a job to cover those expenses.
  • What occupations will still exist in ten years?  I’m sure farriers were in high demand in the 1800s, but that career is all but extinct these days.

For the young person looking at college and beyond, I recommend honest introspection but also honest and diligent research about the job market.

Research how to get there

Yep, more research.  Glassdoor talks about the importance of reaching out to industry professionals and the like.  That seems like sound advice to me. For the student, school advisors and even friends and family are great resources, too.

Take note of industry requirements

Obviously, careers in industries like medicine, law, and accounting require specific certifications.  Even where certificates are not required, I suspect most careers have associated certifications that enhance your appeal to future employers.  As an example, the software development industry has hundreds of certifications. And many of these are quite achievable for the determined individual. Research, once again, is key.

Create more relevant information to add to your resume

This step seems a little oddly-worded to me.  The point is that the job seeker should identify projects and experience related to the new profession she’s pursuing and figure out ways to participate in such projects and experiences.  For the student charting out her career path, internships and co-ops seem appropriate here. What about volunteer work? For example, if you seek a profession in the veterinary industry, perhaps volunteering at the local animal shelter can be an experience you can add to your résumé–or college application–to propel you above the competition.  What opportunities do you have at your school or in your community that could enhance your résumé?

Take action

Glassdoor correctly points out just a few ways folks can prepare themselves for a new industry: online training courses, attending conferences, starting a blog or joining a virtual community in your area of interest, taking on a new role or responsibility at work (or even outside of work) to build your résumé, etc.  These are all perfectly applicable to the young person planning out her future, as well.

Cater your resume to the job you’re applying to

Whether you’re changing careers or applying to a post-secondary school, don’t send a generic cover letter, résumé, and application.  Spend some time tailoring your correspondence to each organization you’re applying to. Your words should reflect the syntax used in the given industry.  Personally, I would even go so far as to looks up the company’s (or college’s) mission statement and core values statement and use those same words in your application.  Yep, another research task. Get used to it.

 

Take a look at that Glassdoor article.  It also includes some links on résumé writing and so forth that seem interesting.  Also, look at my post on preparing for college and career that covers these points and others and has yet more links to helpful tools.

Wrapping up the school year

June 6, 2018 /

In the US, this is the time when schools let out for the summer–well, actually, that time began a week or two ago, but just humor me here.  Clearly, this is an important transition time from school year to summer break.  The rigor of the school schedule is gone, the “free” yellow bus transportation services are no more, late night homework and study sessions take a hiatus.  We’re now looking at the blank canvas of Summer.  Of course, as parents, our schedules don’t change and, in many ways, become harder as we struggle to find summer activities for the kids and ways to transport them there.

Nevertheless, as our children wrap up their school years, here are some actions I try to take to make the transition into Summer a little easier and more organized:

Scan, Scan, Scan

Hopefully, you’re scanning the hard copy documents, awards, and pictures your children bring home with them all throughout the year (and otherwise retaining electronic versions of report cards, etc).  Scanning, say, an award certificate as soon as your child receives it can be helpful for at least two reasons: 1) your scanner will affix the current date to your file helping you know, years from now, when your child earned that award (particularly if the award date isn’t on the certificate) and 2) the affixed date will help you organize such files so that it’s easier to include them with other, related family media.

Regardless, your children will still bring home large amounts of documents in the days before school ends.  I try to go through all these documents and scan as many as makes sense.  School photos?  Check.  Awards and certificates?  Absolutely.  Report cards, standardized test results, and the like?  Definitely.  Writing assignments, poems, and so forth?  Yep.  Going through the effort of scanning these items now can be time consuming, but is well worth it years later when the hard copies are long gone and all you have are those electronic memories.

Take Pictures

I certainly take pictures of my children at their various school events throughout the year and especially at their various end-of-year ceremonies.  I also try to take a few pictures of them in their school uniforms and at the bus stop awaiting its arrival.  I try to include their fellow travelers, as well, as some of those students may be graduating and moving on.  One could even go so far as to print up a sign saying something like, “last day for 4th grade!” and have his child hold the sign in a picture–I wouldn’t recommend that for your older children, though.

Consider filing your child’s notes and related documents

My oldest is a fantastic note taker.  On more than one occasion, we’ve been able to pull her notes out of storage and use them to help the younger ones get through a class or two the older one had already traversed.  Here’s another true story: for my first semester of college, I studied abroad in Singapore.  When I returned to campus in January, I learned that students could take placement tests to test out of certain required classes.  So, I went home and collected the two or three three-ring binders I kept of my Calculus notes from my senior year in high school.  I studied these for several days, took the placement test, and was able to test out of three semesters of math classes.  Cheap credit hours there!  Thus, retaining and organizing your child’s class notes and associated documentation could be a worthwhile endeavor.

Say, “Thanks”

“Thank yous” are free–except for the outrageously priced thank-you cards.  At any rate, your children should thank their teachers, school staff, and even the bus driver.  A card and gift might even be appropriate.  A “thank you” now might be worth a recommendation letter later.

Postmortem?

Often at work, after a project, the team will gather to do a “postmortem” or collect “lessons learned”–simply a list of things that went well, things that didn’t, and ways future projects can learn from the one just finishing.  You could consider helping your child do the same.  What did he like about the year?  What did he hate?  What teachers and classes did he enjoy and why?  Which ones did he not enjoy?  What tools did he use to study for tests and organize his assignments?  Did these work out for him or should he spend some time finding replacements?  These moments of introspection might help your child become more efficient next year.  They could help him decide on career and major as college draws near.  They could help you better coach any younger children you have following in this child’s footsteps.  You might even share your notes with parents of other, younger children entering the grade your child just completed.

Plan out the summer

What, you thought you had a break for a couple of months?  To me, summer is a great time to get a jump on the competition, er, fellow students.  I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but schools seem much more academically–and, certainly, athletically–competitive than they did when I was young.  So, while the competition is lounging by the pool, consider enrolling your children in summertime academic courses that can help them get ahead.  In summers past, we’ve enrolled our kids in Mathnasium and different sessions at the local college and community center.  Ask yourself, what are some of your child’s academic goals?

  • Competing to get into a higher math class?
  • Preparing for an upcoming standardized test?
  • Simply easing some of the anticipated pressures of the next school year?

Summertime academic courses can help meet these objectives and more.

Also new these days is the dreaded Summer homework.  Establishing a plan for your child to knock these requirements out early seems a wise thing to do.  Hopefully, you also have some idea of projects to expect in the next school year.  For example, my child will have to construct a science fair project in his next year.  I hope to spend some of this Summer at least brainstorming with him what we might try to tackle and maybe even begin gathering relevant material.  Whatever your plans are, develop and implement them early before your child gets too used to a life of leisure.

Get a teacher recommendation

If your child is already a junior or senior in high school, he either already has one or more recommendation letters or is actively working on getting one for his college applications, assuming he’s going that route.  But what if your child simply needs a recommendation for a job or maybe an internship?  Before the school doors close and the teachers disappear into the hinterlands, get a recommendation letter if you think you might need one.

Friend contact information

When you see your friends everyday at school, you may not think about how to contact them outside of the establishment.  But if your child wishes to hang out with his school chums over the break, he’ll want to make sure to get phone numbers and email addresses of them before the building shutters.

Read a good book

During the summer, kids usually can’t make the claim that they have no time to read.  Challenge your child to read a good book or two: how about one from this list?

Talk to other parents

Before the year ends, I try to chat up a parent or two of students one grade higher than mine.  What sorts of challenges should my kid be aware of next year?  What teachers and classes should we be wary of?  And so on.  Gather some intelligence on the next grade and prepare for those challenges over the break so you’re ready for them.

Sell your books?

Academic books can be outrageously expensive.  If you really think you won’t need them for reference or for a younger sibling, consider selling those books to another student and try to recoup some of your expense.

 

Any other tips I missed?  If so, please leave them in the comments!

Preparing for college and career

May 23, 2018 /

My eldest is finishing up her junior year of high school; thus, we’re deep in the throes of college planning. It’s quite an intimidating process and I’m doing what I can to educate myself as fast as possible. This post will be Part 1 of N number of posts about the adventure of college and career planning for my kids.

As podcasts are a chief conduit for my learning, I’m always looking for content that speak to the challenge of helping your kids prepare for college and career. One that I’ve found recently is the Plan for College Now podcast. The fourth episode–Get hired! Be the grad every employer will want to hire!–is dense with material for the soon-to-be college graduate, but can easily be applied to high schoolers and even present day laborers. Here are notes I took on this episode that you may find useful.

Think career first

The traditional American template for college planning seems to be: 1) choose a college that feels like the right fit for you, 2) once at that college, choose a major that feels like a good fit, and 3) once in that major, near your graduation date, begin to ponder your career options. This thinking is backwards. Individuals should: 1) first peruse the job market and try to identify several potential careers that might fit their goals, then 2) identify one or more college majors that match such careers and finally 3) match those majors to an appropriate college.

Prepare for the working world

You should constantly be monitoring the job market, especially in order to pick a degree that won’t soon go obsolete. As an aside, I’m reminded of the book Worthless that I read recently imploring youth not to pick degrees that aren’t worth the price of tuition. Someday I’ll have to write a review of that book.

Students should build their set of skills. Mentorships and internships are two important ways to do this. Would developing a specialty in your field of study boost your earning potential and increase your marketability? If so, specialize! The host then rattled off a number of ways you can set up an internship:

Network

Yes, actually talking to people can help you land a great job. Of course, the 21st century puts an interesting spin on this time-tested tradition. You can begin networking by simply talking to family, friends, school career counselors, professors, and school administrators. Another aside: check out this Art of Maniless podcast on the Art of Mingling…I imagine those skills would be very helpful in developing a professional network.

Later in the podcast, the host interviewed an expert of professional networking and she offered these tips for getting started building your network:

  • Tip 1: Focus on the outcomes of building relationships for your future career, not just your current job. This tip certainly speaks to me. I am not an extrovert and so, when I’m happy in my present job, I don’t feel inclined to be social with other professionals. Big mistake. I should always be thinking about building my professional network–you never know what sort of wonderful opportunity might be out there.
  • Tip 2: Communicate what you do, how you do it, and who you do it for so that people can see how they’ll benefit from meeting you.
  • Tip 3: Don’t forget to develop your online profile. Include a picture, too. Remember that your online networking and your profile is your marketing brochure. LinkedIn, of course, seems the obvious place to begin this work.
  • Tip 4: Create a routine of reaching out, especially with LinkedIn requests.

Social Media dos and don’ts

Do: use social media vehicles, such as LinkedIn, to stay in touch with people in particular industries in which you’re interested
Don’t: use social media for foolishness. Don’t be vulgar online, don’t post indiscreet pictures, and be extremely careful about posting your social and political views. There are plenty of stories out there about people losing job opportunities because of foolish things they’ve done online. Heck, in the recent NFL draft, one draftee might have placed his career at stake for stupid statements he posted while in high school. Take this lesson seriously!

Research the job market

The host reeled off a number of awesome tools and sites for researching hot industries and jobs:

Students should ask themselves, what skills are employers looking for in new hires? Apparently, the site Inside Higher Ed has some helpful hints in this area.

Regarding STEM jobs (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math), host Jim Wilkerson had this piece of wisdom:

“It’s a high tech digital world, folks, so you better embrace it because that’s where the jobs are going to be and the good paying jobs, as well.”

Agreed (but I am a little biased).

Employers want employees with excellent written and verbal skills. I certainly concur. Should you wish to improve these skills, check out this list of free writing courses.

Apparently, you can tailor your job market research by geographies of interest or interest in simply working from home. To that end, he mentioned the following resources:

Of course, the work-from-home-thing is rife with scams, so check out these resources to make sure that awesome work-from-home opportunity isn’t too good to be true:

Maintain good physical and financial health

I took some issue with this part of the podcast. The host said, “due to the high cost of financial stress, many companies now do credit checks on all new hires.” Really? Is that even legal? He was suggesting that it can be expensive for companies to hire professionals that are distracted by their personal financial issues and/or succumb to illness from such stress. I suppose that makes sense, but I just can’t see how that would fly in today’s super anti-discrimination climate. The host goes on to talk about the importance of staying physically healthy and certainly offer the appearance of being physically healthy. I’m sure appearing physically ill or unfit (or appearing old, like me) will diminish your job prospects to some degree, but, again, I would guess today’s climate would rail against such things.

Learn about your prospective companies

The host summed up this point pretty succinctly:

“Never go into an interview without looking at their [the company’s] website….Employers are not impressed with candidates who don’t take the time to complete this simple step.”

Research the company to which you are applying and/or interviewing with. Read press releases, read their website, and read about their core values. In your cover letter, include the same language they use in their values statements, mission and goals. Your resume and cover letter should include words from their job description in case they do word matches to compare your resume to their job posting and make sure your resume is tailored for the job to which you’re applying. Here are two more resources he noted to help with this endeavor:

Also, never lie to your prospective employer. You will get caught and it won’t be pretty.

Your attitude

Whether networking or interviewing, project the right attitude: be energetic, confident, make eye contact, and be positive. Think about what value you can offer the company and make sure you speak in these terms.

“Always keep your eye on the goal: a good job offer once you graduate.” (Jim Wilkerson)

Again, this was a great podcast brimming over with valuable resources to help your child or even yourself succeed in the job market. The only other thing I would add that doesn’t seem to get mentioned in these types of discussions is Entrepreneurship. I try to always make sure my kids know that there is a second option: come up with a great idea and build a business around it yourself. Keep your options open and understand that there’s more than one route to success.

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