If you are one of the lucky people who are exiting from college with a clear vision of your career path – congratulations! Many of your peers can’t say the same. Many people go to college with only a vague idea of what career they might pursue. Generally, the pursuit is going after a major in something of interest with the idea that the career epiphany will happen magically before graduation time. Good luck if that’s your current career plan.
Assuming the career epiphany hasn’t happened and you’re scheduling Grandma to come see you receive your diploma; here are some things for you to consider and take action on:
Don’t launch a job search – until you’re clear on where you’re headed. Using the age-old “I’ll find something” method of figuring out your career is ineffective. It’s what has led close to 60% of all working people to be completely dissatisfied with their job.
Figure out a resonant career. You need to do more than take a career or skills assessment. This may be the first time in your life where you must figure out what you’re all about. You need to understand what your values are and how that translates into a future career. More than that, you need to figure out what type of work is suited for your personality.
Dig deep. Don’t take the companies or jobs at a superficial look. People form opinions about jobs with very little information. People think that because engineers have to take so many math courses, that is how they will spend all their time on the job. That is completely untrue, but you won’t know until you spend time researching various jobs.
Where do you want to be in 5 years? I don’t think it’s possible to think in any longer terms than 5 years and that’s stretching it. Life happens and opportunities arise that will lead you in various directions. However, if you can figure out some of the basics of that future vision, it will give you some suggestions for what to do first. An example of this is if you want to be a manager. Most companies prefer to put people in management positions that have been around the block a time or two and understand work environments.
What is your path from here to there? Once you have a clue about your career and where you would want to take it in 5 years; then lay out a path to get there. If you don’t know the options for the path, talk to people who are doing what you plan to do. While their stories might be diverse, you will learn a variety of things to consider for your own career path.
THEN launch a strong job search. Assuming you have figured out the answers to some of these questions, launch a job search that is very targeted at your position and where the best places are for that position. Make sure to use multiple job search methods, you can’t rely on only job boards and postings. Do whatever networking you need to in order to connect to your targeted position within the companies best suited to have what you are looking for.
I’m sure you’re close to exhausted by all the studying you have done for the past several years and may look at this as extra work. It is extra work. Do your best to avoid being part of the statistics of adults that can’t stand to get up in the morning. Love your career; and the only way you’re going to do that is to do the work to figure out what that will be now while you’ve got more choices available to you; your 40-something self will thank you.
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