We’re Busting These Nine Career Myths

Over the years of mentoring 17-24 12 months olds, we’ve been struck by the quite a few misconceptions which can be inflicting nervousness, disillusionment, uncertainty, insecurity, strategic errors, and remorse as they plot their profession programs. Whether attributable to incomplete coaching in highschool and faculty, missing self-awareness, or mistaken assumptions, their progress is being thwarted by a number of career-related myths.

This weblog is designed that will help you debunk these myths with the teenagers and younger adults underneath your steerage. It won’t solely give them better peace of thoughts, but additionally instill priceless profession savvy in positioning them for fulfillment.

1. Success is all about smarts. So many younger persons are misguided into considering that you just want a four.zero GPA or an Ivy League diploma to succeed. Nothing might be farther from the reality. Employers routinely cite smooth abilities (aka: management/character abilities) as extra necessary. This was confirmed within the 21 Workplace Readiness Skills recognized by Virginia employers in an intensive survey. Employer feedback comparable to, “We hire for attitude and train for skill” have gotten extra commonplace. This is an particularly necessary message to share with college students who’re much less academically gifted.
2.  You must know your future profession whereas in highschool. Undecided highschool college students can develop into insecure or really feel stress when their buddies are extra sure of their future profession/main pursuits. This is deeply unlucky as a result of: 1) many college students haven’t carried out in depth profession surveying or are missing in self-awareness and a couple of) many “decided” highschool college students ultimately change their minds in faculty (or elsewhere) when they’re uncovered to a wide range of programs; most change their main a minimum of as soon as. This is why we encourage excessive faculties to emphasise the profession course of(and in depth surveying) moderately than profession adoption, the place potential. We do acknowledge, nonetheless, that for sure majors, a definitive selection must be made whereas in highschool—hopefully after vigorous evaluation.
3. College is routinely your finest route. Fortunately, extra faculties are realizing the draw back of “college for all” messaging. High faculty dropout and low completion charges, vital prices/debt, tough job acquisition in sure majors, and the supply of many well-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year diploma are having an influence. We want to protect in opposition to even subliminal messaging that paths apart from a four-year faculty are someway inferior.
4. Choosing your main is a ample profession technique. With a latest Gallup survey indicating that the best remorse of school graduates is the most important they selected, it’s clear that college students should be extra strategic of their picks. This consists of: 1) researching the practical job prospects in that main, 2) strategically deciding on their minor, and three) not selecting their main till they’ve spoken with practitioners with jobs within the majors they’re contemplating.
5. It’s STEM or bust. Whether overt or subliminal, one message that’s being promulgated in faculties and universities is that STEM is the place it is advisable to be for a superb profession. Importantly, despite the fact that lots of immediately’s most profitable corporations are in tech-related industries, certainly not do even a majority of their jobs require technical levels. For instance, tech corporations nonetheless want entrepreneurs, communicators, human sources professionals, attorneys, accountants, shopper service representatives, and the like. Those who will not be analytically, technically, nor mathematically inclined ought to certainly not really feel insecure if their abilities and pursuits lie elsewhere.   
   
6. Your professors and counselors know finest. One of the commonest regrets of school graduates is that they gave an excessive amount of credence to the profession recommendation of professors and counselors who: 1) typically lack an actual world understanding of the job market and a couple of) don’t know their college students that nicely. College college students are impressionable with regards to recommendation from professors and assume counselors know greater than they do about precise jobs. As a end result, college students can overly depend on the recommendation of others who don’t have all the required info or perspective. When 40% of graduates with Bachelor’s levels remorse the most important they selected, you recognize we have now an issue. It is painful to see how misguided so many college students are on account of this fantasy.
   
7. Your diploma is your assured ticket to an important job. Many faculty graduates falsely (and regrettably) assume that after they earn their diploma, the job presents will magically comply with. They rapidly study that they gave their faculty and diploma an excessive amount of credit score within the job acquisition division! This is particularly problematic when, in contrast to accounting or nursing for instance, one’s main is both broad (e.g., communications, economics) or not essentially linked to jobs (e.g., many humanities or ____ Studies majors). It is vital that college students have a definitive job acquisition technique earlier than they select their main and earlier than they graduate. Many don’t and dwell to remorse it, particularly when their mortgage funds are due!  
   
8. resume will routinely get you into the sport. While a superb resume is a should to land interviews and win jobs, it is just one piece of the puzzle. These days, employers rely closely on on-line functions the place it isn’t all the time straightforward to face out from the group. It is extraordinarily priceless to even have: 1) an important cowl letter and utility and a couple of) an insider going to bat for you. Here is the place networking turns into so necessary. Also, it’s vital to know the job-posting platforms, often display screen job openings of attention-grabbing employers, and have excellent interview and follow-up methods. It’s all about persuading the employer that you’re the most effective individual for the job. That means understanding your worth proposition for the job opening at hand and successfully speaking that all through the method.
9. You ought to maintain out for the right job. Young adults are naturally idealistic, however this could be a extreme obstacle with regards to the job search. Some are so particular and demanding about their first job that they severely restrict their decisions. By holding out for perfection, they forego a great job that positions them for his or her dream job when it turns into accessible. Given that employers usually give desire to present staff when recruiting, it will probably repay to land a associated place and compete when the specified place turns into accessible. Many younger persons are floundering as a result of they let their egos get in the best way of touchdown their first job.

Finally, we encourage you to share What I Wish I Knew at 18 together with your kids and college students. Our profession chapter presents these, and plenty of different insights and methods.