Thursday, May 3, 2012

Career Planning- The Pragmatic Way of Successfully Finding a Job

Job seekers come in variety of different forms. Some are trained and skilled trades people with years of experience and others are graduates from University of College looking to gain employment experience.

Truth be told, as many can attest, it's quite easier for some to find a job than others. Say if you're in the trades, there's plenty of opportunity out there and many places are looking for you, so get out there!

However, what if you're not in the trades? What if you are a University graduate with a social sciences degree for exmaple? Or you are heading to University, College or some form of higher education and your goal is to gain employment after you achieve academic success?

This situation is pretty common where a social studies degree with a major in psychology doesn't get you too far unless you intend on becoming a Psychologist.

Well there's some good news and some bad news. In fact, this can seem pretty radical. 

I'll explain. 

I was having a conversation the other day. An older colleague and I were discussing family, jobs, and friends. She wanted to pick my brain. She told me that her son was struggling to find a job and was just about to go to university.
To add to the confusion, he didn't know what he wanted to take but was open to experiencing different academic disciplines in hopes of finding the right fit.

She asked me how I got a job. 

Like her son, I told her that he was already off on the right foot. Finding a career for some can be a logical progression where you know where you want to go in life and you take the necessary steps to get there or; it can be an assortment of trials, experience gathering and a few years out in the working world to realize where you want to go. I believe the most important trait to have as a recent graduate or young professional is "openness" and "flexibility". Meaning that even if you're not sure what you want to do you would still consider opportunities as they become available. 

Secondly, I think it's absolutely important to understand the meaning of "do what you love and the money will come".

Again, I believe this is subjective to what exactly your situation is. If you're a keen photographer and you've acquired some experience and truly feel charged to make a push and make a living out of  your work then you are doing what you love. But you still have to eat so you need to take a very realistic look at how dynamic and profitable your venture really is. 

If, on the other hand, you are keen, as you all are, you are starting off. There is no substitute for education the only thing that comes close is experience, but that's still a 2nd on my podium.

You want a realistic approach to planning a career for yourself and that starts with your education. 

I thought about my experiences and how I would do it over again if I were to be starting out in University or College and I told my colleague that I would go online, search a job website and click the "browse" feature. 

A selection of professions is displayed. I think about what job I want to and see if I can click the link that applies right down to the job poster. 

There's a few hits and misses but you get the idea.

In the end, I've established what the current job market is offering and I've made a conscious effort and assessing my strengths and interests in selecting an academic discipline that matches what the job market is offering.

I still have yet to receive an update on my colleague's son, however, I'm sure this is a work in progress and will update jobalobablog accordingly.

Like I said, probably radical but it may be the option for you!

Let me know if you have found success!