July 3, 2012

Let’s All Do What We Are . . .

Jul. 3, 2012 at 11:03 AM | By Erin Garland | Comment Count

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed. You know, as a career, I don't want to do that."

~Lloyd Dobler, Say Anything

As a trainer for Naviance, I’m privileged to work with a lot of exceptional people and, I have to tell you, Career Planning is hands down the fan favorite.

To begin each session, I usually share my career aspirations from age five to twenty:

Age 5: Queen
Age 10: Ballerina
Age 12: Lawyer
Age 16: Profiler for the FBI
Age 18: Broadway Stage Manager
Age 20: Oscar winning Costume Designer

My trainees often think this hodgepodge list is hilarious with Oscar winning Costume Designer routinely getting the most chuckles. What’s most interesting, however, is that my trainees often point out that teacher, admissions counselor, support specialist, and trainer don’t make the cut. I guess, like most teenagers, I chose professions that sounded cool instead of choosing a career that was a good fit for me.

When we ask students to complete career assessments they seldom understand how exploring personality types, interests, and post-secondary options can develop successful futures. As teachers, counselors, and administrators we need to do more to express that it’s not just about finding a career they like, it’s about finding a career that is the right fit.

But finding the right fit is not the last four-way stop on a student’s road to success. Now, more than ever, we have to teach our students what to do next. Here are a few suggestions to get you started over summer break:

Connect student information from interests and personality type indicators to summer jobs or enrichment programs
Use career assessment results to give students a head start on their college search
Identify career and college “must have” criteria and create lists
Determine potential majors for post-secondary study

Using assessments wisely can help you and your students connect larger ideas to the tasks at hand. Empower your student’s futures by taking interests and personality type into consideration when determining their pathways to success.