Thoughts on "Career but without College"

The Wall Street Journal had a great article entitled, “Career but without College” (July 19-20, 2014) written by Tamar Jacoby.

She writes:

A third requirement of a good career path is that it must be aligned with economic needs. ...Many high schools and community colleges teach job skills, but too many of them use outmoded techniques and equipment or steer young people to industries that aren't growing. The best way to stay current is to partner with an employer, who can offer advice about what’s in demand, help design curricula, lend equipment even provide training.

So, the article is talking about an education-company partnership. That is why colleges have employe advisory boards and it is super important.

Another angle would be individual-individual partnership. Reach out to people in your field of interest and establish a relationship. Conduct informational interviews, ask for guidance, and be somewhat consistent in your correspondence. Because of my work in secondary education, I thought this was a very good idea for a high school student about to embark on his/her post-secondary journey.

Don’t just read college brochures, but truly immerse yourself in these important decisions.

What should I do? How do I figure it out?

Throughout your life, you might find yourself asking questions like “What should I do?” You might find yourself answering that question differently at different points in your life (maybe not).

Here are some resources that might help you answer that question.

Formal career assessments

Self-Directed Search  http://www.self-directed-search.com/.

The Strong Interest Inventory

Clifton StrengthsFinder

Website

http://www.onetonline.org/

http://www.vocopher.com/CSI/CCI_workbook.pdf

Books

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko by Daniel Pink

What Color Is Your Parachute by Dick Bolles

Is 8th Grade an appropriate time to start networking?

The Highland Park Landmark (April,17,2014) had a full page article about a career day that Elm Place Middle School ran. They had a yoga instructor, County Sheriff, musician, dentist, interior designer,etc. come and speak to middle schoolers. It was a nice article and pretty straight forward, but there was one quote that caught my eye.

And while seeing a classmate’s parent or a former student talk about their career might give students the reassurance that any of these careers are within their reach, it’s also an important networking opportunity; something many people might not think about as early as eighth grade. So much of life is about networking and it can start as early as eighth grade. In fact, we have a student who, five years ago, heard radio broadcaster David Kaplan and he later reached out in college and got an internship in the summer.

Question:

Is 8th grade a premature time to network and think about college internships? Are 8th graders supposed to think 6+ years down the road?

Follow Up Question

If the kids in Elm Place Middle School are consciously networking as early as 8th grade does it raise the bar for the rest of the future workforce? Are other 8th graders going to be at a disadvantage? Does this type of networking happen naturally without a career day? (e.g. your friend's father knows someone, your uncle works at... etc.)

Thanks for reading! Just wanted to share something that was on my mind.

How Ford can sell more cars in India or The transferable Skills of a sociologist

Transferable skills are determined by analyzing past accomplishments/experiences and using outside-the-box thinking to figure out where else you can apply those skills.

For example…

I was talking to an Insurance Salesmen who was looking to hire other salesmen for his practice. We started talking about the retail banking industry and how it is not as vibrant as it once was (think automated tellers). He felt that someone with teller experience would potentially be a good insurance salesman. The retail bank tellers have solid experience with customer service and up-selling other banking products during a transaction. He said that experience would translate very well into selling insurance products. To me, that is a classic case of transferable skills.

Personally, I like the transferable skill concept because it is liberating. It can help you switch careers/fields without going back to school. It helps an individual understand his/her market value.

While reading a Wall Street Journal article, GM Ford Struggle to Crack India's Market I started to think about the transferable skills of an Sociologists. The article talks about how the American car companies were trying to break into the car market in India.

In India until recently, GM and Ford focused mainly on the pricier sedan segment and bigger sport-utility vehicles, which haven't been as popular as inexpensive hatchbacks.

ONET defines the Sociologist’s work as…

Study human society and social behavior by examining the groups and social institutions that people form, as well as various social, religious, political, and business organizations. May study the behavior and interaction of groups, trace their origin and growth, and analyze the influence of group activities on individual members.(http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3041.00)

Wouldn’t GM and Ford be able to sell more cars in India if they had a Sociologists in their employ? They could have figured out what type of car people in India want? What to name the car? Etc.

The power of Transferable skills, right?

Reading the Wall Street Journal thru a Career Development lenses

 “Former Yale President will lead Coursea”

MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) are truly becoming a significant entity and it is exciting! EdX, Udacity, Coursea, etc. are all MOOC providers that can revolutionize higher education.

Will people’s perceptions change about MOOCs replacing traditional higher education? If yes, how long will that take? Can MOOCs ever completely replace traditional higher education? What about all the student services that come with a diploma? What about the built-in networking? Maybe a MOOC is cheaper, but will it help you land that job?

Which brings me to the next article…

 “Grad Student’s Loans Surge”

It was a short and provocative article about borrowing money for post-secondary education. They illustrated the piece with John Berg’s story who was 150k in debt because of his loans for a doctorate in psychology.  He got a gig at the VA, but it is hard to buy a home at $68,000/year and $1000/month payments.

I don’t believe you can plan out your career years in advance, but how does the cost of higher education factor into someone’s career planning? Is there a breaking point where traditional higher education isn’t worth the cost?

The Tommy Gun and your career

Daniel Pink wrote a wonderful book called

The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need

It has six insightful and empowering lessons. The last one is entitled

Leave an imprint

“Recognize that your life isn’t infinite and that you should use your limited time here to do something that matters.”

In a different book, I read about  John T. Thompson and his invention, the Thompson submachine gun (or the Tommy Gun). He has an interesting story because his invention was used in several capacities.  When the gun came to market there weren’t any major wars to use it in. WWI had just ended and John Thompson died before the gun was used to “clear trenches” in WWII. Law enforcement agencies and gangsters used the gun. The infamous St. Valentine's Day Massacre utilized Tommy guns.

Did John Thompson feel like he made a positive imprint? Was he disappointed knowing that gangsters like Al Capone used his invention for crime? Thompson never truly got to see the good his gun did in WWII as a “trench sweeper” that helped defeat the Axis. Would that have made a difference?

Career and the Unexpected

 Krumboltz writes that, "The counselor's job is to facilitate the learning of skills, interests, beliefs, values, work habits and personal qualities that enable each client to create a satisfying life in a constantly changing work environment."

 Economic situations, unexpected personal events, unexpected information throw everyone for a curve, right?

How do you look at that curve? Is it a normal aspect of career choice or something that results in a strikeout? 

By viewing unplanned events as opportunities for learning, you are changing the game.

 Not only do you wait for the curve, but perhaps you should take action to generate and find those "curveball" opportunities.

The other day I saw a bank manager in a public forum trying to drum up business. I initiated a conversation about the future of retail banking. His response surprised me and I gained a perspective I did not have before. I also gained his email to follow up with for a couple of my projects. Who knows, right?

9 Ways You Can Create Positive Chance Events For Your Career

1. Take a risk(sometimes)

2. Accept  that no one can predict the future with accuracy

3. Reflect on how unpredictable events have shaped your career in the past

4. Think about how job descriptions are changing, some occupations are becoming obsolete, and unforeseen                          occupations are being created

5. Don’t use magical thinking or reliance on fate

6.Re-frame indecision as open-mindedness

7.Develop an exploratory attitude

8. Develop your skill of asking questions just to know

9. Avoid foreclosing  possibilities with job titles

(Based on the writings of Dr. John Krumboltz and his Planned Happenstance Theory)

Some ways to prepare yourself for a career intervention

Some ways to prepare yourself for a career intervention

•  Seek role models,
•  Expand your knowledge of self

•  Become open to reflecting on your life experience
•  Halt negative thoughts
•  Seek support from family members
•  Formulate realistic expectations

Five Reasons Why Doing An Internship Is Valuable

1. Helps focus your career interests, abilities, values, etc.

2. Gives you a dry-run with the job search process (resumes, networking, interviewing, etc.)

3. Gives you real-life experience that employers value

4. Helps you learn about a company you might be interested in working for in the future

5. Develops your professional network

Do you know what a Informatics Nurse Specialist does?

O*NET just comprehensively updated 105 occupations on their website. Here is a link in case you want to check it out. http://www.onetcenter.org/listings/18.0/updated.html

Having a strong interest in What Do People Do All Day? http://amzn.to/ammpVg, I could spend all day exploring all these different jobs. Some occupations stuck out as jobs that were relatively new. Do you or your parents, teachers, etc. know much about the following jobs?

Chief Sustainability Officers

Distance Learning Coordinators

Informatics Nurse Specialists

Wind Turbine Service Technicians

Because all of these occupations are relatively new, they might not have been on your radar in your career exploration.  The world changes and so should your knowledge of what people could do to make a living. You might find a great occupational fit...

The Last Samurai or why professional development is important

I watched The Last Samurai last week. You know that movie with Tom Cruise where he plays a civil war-era American soldier and winds up in Japan fighting with/against the samurai?

I thought it was a great movie and piqued my curiosity. I looked at the wikipedia page for Samurai and read up a little. At the end of the article there was this link (http://bit.ly/1574yW3) for a list of obselete occupations.

The risk of your profession becoming obsolete is low, but not keeping up with professional trends is much higher.

Do you know the latest technology? The newest theories? Best practices?

Professional Development is important for many reasons including making sure you are relevant in the world of work. Becoming the next alchemist is an extreme example, but it is a good point. By not keeping up with the trends in your field, you risk becoming less of an attractive worker.

So you want to be a commercial fisherman?

Related Occupations

What is it about being a [fill in career] that interests you?

If you click on the link below, you will be taken to the career profile of a commercial fisherman. If you scroll down you will see a section labeled “Explore More”.

http://bit.ly/11YCre5

There are several different careers that are similar to commercial fisherman and two different fields that have similar careers.  There is a cement mason, truck operator, etc.

If, for whatever reason, the commercial fisherman thing isn’t working out. (i.e. it is dangerous, you can’t get past the seasickness, the industry has tanked ) there are other options that might give you satisfaction.

One way to figure that out is to think about why you would want to be a commercial fisherman and then see if the other options fit.

Know thyself, right?

A 50 and a 18 year old walk into a Guidance Counselor's Office

I saw this quote in an old(er) Journal of Counseling and Development in an article entitled “Translating Career Theory to Practice:The risk of Unintentional Social Injustice”(Sampson,Dozier, Colvin).

Such services [Career Guidance] need to be widely accessible on a LIFELONG BASIS, to serve the needs of individuals, the economy, and wider society.

---European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training

People figuring out where they belong in the world of work isn’t a one-shot deal. It is not typical to go into your high school guidance counselor’s office and come out knowing what your career is going to look like until you are dead.

Donald Super developed a theory that deals with the ever changing self-concept.

Check it out http://bit.ly/18ciocb

Career Exploration can be a part of a 55 year old’s life as it is to a 18 year old.

My email is jonathangoldstein@ymail.com

Dick Van Dyke, John Sebestain, and Dr. John Krumboltz

Dr. John Krumboltz has a  social learning theory that postulates that career transitions result from an uncountable number of learning experiences made possible by both planned and unplanned encounters with the people, institutions and events in each person's particular environment.

Happenstance= A circumstance due to chance

Planned Happenstance= A chance circumstance that was created due to flexibility, persistence, curiosity, and optimism.

John Sebestian- front man for the Lovin Spoonful

John was a guest at the Woodstock Festival, and never expected to play, but rather enjoy the sights and sounds. One of his friends told him that Woodstock was going to be a great thing and that he had to be there. Sebestian ended up backstage interacting with colleagues when one of the festival promoters asked him to perform. Between bad weather and other logistical nightmares, the promoters needed a solo artist to go on stage. This musician who was trying to mount a solo comeback (after his band Lovin Spoonful) went from being a curious spectator to an artist entertaining half a million fellow music lovers.

Dick Van Dyke- internationally recognized and accomplished performer

This excerpt is from Dick Van memoir “My lucky life in and out of show business”(p.27)

It was about then, the summer of 1947, that I crossed paths with Phil Erickson...He had been active in dramatics and then developed an act called the Three Make-Believes. They lip synced to songs and turned into a novelty that did quite well.

But they’d recently broken up following a booking in Chicago. One of his partners decided to go to law school and the other guy made plans, too. So Phil returned to Danville and came into the theater one afternoon looking for a new partner. I was rehearsing The Philadelphia Story. He introduced himself and asked, “Do you want to do an act with me? I have a booking in California.”

I wanted out of there so badly that I didn’t bother asking about specifics. I just said,”What time will you pick me up?”

These two stories illustrate how you can “plan” happenstance or chance encounters. By maintaining levels of flexibility, persistence, curiosity, and optimism doors will be opened.

Questions/feedback? Shoot me an email! jonathangoldstein@ymail.com

Thinking about becoming a journalist? How do you feel about self-employment?

Thinking about becoming a journalist? How do you feel about self-employment?

The O*NET program is the nation's primary source of occupational information and they have a section called Wage & Employment Trends.

By clicking on the link below, you can learn that the two top Industries that employ journalists are the Information industry and the Self-Employed. This means that if you go into this field there is a significant chance that you will be self-employed.

http://bit.ly/VWTMwA

Exploration Questions

Are you looking for a situation where you can work for yourself? If not, how do you better your chances working for a company? What is being a self-employed journalist like? Would your passion for journalism outweigh your dislike for Self-Employment? 

By having this information, you can now make a more educated career decision

Shoot me an email if you want to talk about this or any other career-related items.

jonathangoldstein@ymail.com

Advice

Advice

It is wise to be discerning when receiving advice because anyone can give it. Using a trained career practitioner instead of your best friend/uncle/random old guy on a bench has several potential advantages including

Receiving help in non-judgmental and unbiased manner.

A best friend/uncle/random old guy on a bench might be a bad source of advice because 
 

• they have certain ideas about what job is wrong or right for you (you should be a doctor/actuary/accountant).
• They might disapprove of some of your career values ( e.g. wanting to make a lot of money).
• They might not be familiar with your strengths, interests, and abilities and try to give advice notwithstanding.

By working with a  trained career practitioner, you are working in a non-judgmental environment without preconceived notions so that you can figure out what career best fits you.

"The paradigm for vocational guidance is to...increase occupational information"

"The paradigm for vocational guidance is to...increase occupational information"

Dr. Mark Savickas recently contributed to the Journal of Counseling & Development and it was insightful. There was one point that I wanted to highlight.  Savickas outlined how vocational guidance works and the second step was to increase occupational information. What does this mean? Why is it important?

Increasing occupational information means knowing what kind of jobs there are and what they do. If you only know about 20 different types of jobs you should learn about 200 more. Every person has a unique vocational identity and it is easier to figure out where your place in the work world is if you have a complete picture. If you believe your choices are limited to doctor, lawyer, accountant, psychologist, and businessman than those are the only jobs you can do.

It is important to make career decisions based on an extensive knowledge of occupations because it betters your chances that you will be at a job that fits your personality.  If your personality doesn’t match any of the jobs you know about there could be negative implications. Two websites that I like to use are bls.gov and onetonline.org.

Feel free to shoot me an email…jonathangoldstein@ymail.com

5 Steps in a Career Development Walk

5 Steps in a Career Development Walk

1. Getting to know yourself

2. Exploring career possibilities

3. Decision making

4. Getting ready

5. Job Search

I find the first step very interesting. It is a foundation upon which you will build your career and is often fraught with unforeseen obstacles and challenges. Maybe you are thinking: “C’mon! A job is a job is a job! What is the big deal?” Well, let me tell you. Sometimes people do not have the luxury to reflect on what type of career suits their identity, but if you are one of the lucky ones there are many things to consider:

• What are your interests? (Trains? Cake baking? People? Business? )
• What is your personality like? (Introverted? Intuitive? Perceptive? Pragmatic?)
• What are your work place values? (Supportive management? Independence? Job Security?)
• What are your abilities? (Oral Expression? Stamina? Manual Dexterity? Time Sharing?
• How does your upbringing affect your life outlook? (Does everyone in your family have to be a doctor, lawyer or take over the family business?)
• Does being a male/female influence your decisions? (e.g. girls are nurses/ boys are doctors)

Your answers to these questions make you the foremost expert on the product you are trying to sell, namely, YOU. There are certainly various ways of approaching questions like these, and one way may not work for everyone. Sometimes it is just a matter of having that conversation with yourself, perhaps in quiet contemplation. Others may find it helpful to discuss these questions with a close friend. Many times, however, it may be wise to work with a trained professional who utilizes empirically-proven methods including counseling techniques and formal career assessments. By having a focused picture of your vocational self, the career development process will be more successful and hopefully lead to a proper fitting job. 

If you want to continue this discussion than you should send me an email at jonathangoldstein@ymail.com