From college to career workshop
Like most, students may be confused about college and their future. They’re not alone. The USU Eastern campus workshop titled “From College to Career” provided to help struggling students follow the correct path to their dream career.
The workshop began with a pop quiz with a few random questions about college graduates. Did you know, that it takes three to nine months on average after graduation to get a job? Or that the average amount of jobs that today’s youngest workers will have in their life is 12-15?
This archived article was written by: Aryal Christmas
Like most, students may be confused about college and their future. They’re not alone. The USU Eastern campus workshop titled “From College to Career” provided to help struggling students follow the correct path to their dream career.
The workshop began with a pop quiz with a few random questions about college graduates. Did you know, that it takes three to nine months on average after graduation to get a job? Or that the average amount of jobs that today’s youngest workers will have in their life is 12-15?
Lyndsay Reid, academic and career advisor, gave the students a handful of information including organization, taking opportunities, assessing yourself, online presents, and even a little bit about managing your social life.
She said, The importance of organization and creating a structure that works for you. An example would be creating a career notebook, it doesn’t matter what you use; computer document, smart phone app, pencil and paper, or by doing a Pintrest (a collage of things that interest you). Create a “Big List” for yourself, which would be your perfect resource to all things career wise. The big list would include career ideas, contacts and companies you are interested in working for, etc. This big list will give you assignments, help you network, and also help you assess yourself in the real world. Keep a calendar: write down date for assignments, interviews, and career related appointments.
“Seize all opportunities you can. Don’t forget to check on all of the campus resources. They’re here to help you as much as they can through school. Utilize the career advising options, check out the site NextJobForJob.com. The college also offers a career day to show you all the options possible for your future. Become and industry expert; read the news and notice what articles you normally read, check out the classifieds or the job market articles,” Reid continued
“Don’t forget to assess yourself, and learn all about who you are. Discover your interest, your values and all of your skills. Be aware of your personality, learn what you don’t like and avoid it, learn what you love and embrace it, learn how you react in situations and take mental notes of everything you learn in your endeavors,” Reid added.
Make sure your online presence is acceptable, 70 percent of employers reject a candidate because of information they found about that person online. It might seem a little weird, but google yourself, see what the Internet has to say about you, she said. If you log onto brandyourself.com, you can create a safe environment for you and your activities online. The Internet is a very important tool when it comes to finding jobs and if your employer does decide to check out your Internet personality you have the ability to create online articles, blogs and other things to make you seem professional as possible.
Every person needs to get rid of the “shoulds” in their vocabulary. Not everything that should happen does. Make sure you always keep an open mind.
One of the most important factors to finding your future is to keep around people that also want to have a successful future. Creating a good friend network will keep you inspired. Making sure you’re surrounded by passionate people allows you to proceed in your life with a common ground that may just build that foundation to your whole life. The next workshop is on Oct. 20 at noon.
