The hardest challenge is to be yourself in a world where everyone is trying to make you be somebody else. ~ e. e. cummings
Career Stage
Career Path
What are you going to do after you graduate with your degree? Again the superficial answer is a job with a title. But the path is a process of becoming. Of learning. Of fast failures. Of no regrets. It is the real adventure of living. When you are a full-time or a part-time student, you can say things, ask questions, and seek assistance all in the name of learning. People want to assist you in your journey. You don’t need a perfect and impressive answer, especially if you really don’t know. Once you graduate that opportunity shrinks and nearly disappears. You have to take advantage of this time! And that means trying on career ideas for size, meeting practitioners, networking with related student clubs and associations. Your informal education will never stop, but your status as a student will evaporate. Please don’t say you just want to be happy, or comfortable, or to make a difference. These are hollow words. Who are you? What do you want? What makes you unique? What dent in the universe do you want to make? Your path is defined by these questions and your discovery of the answers.
Do’s
- Complete the SWiVEL.
- Reflect on what energizes you, what your passions are.
- Write! Write to yourself without judgment. Write your story.
- When people ask you: “What are you going to do after you graduate?” or “What are you going to do” Say what really interests you and ask for advice and help.
- Build a portfolio of experiences that test what you want to do and what you have always wanted to try.
- Education is about depth, not breadth. Go deeper into subjects and issues that you care about. Find experiential learning opportunities, internships, student groups to apply your interests and ideas.
- Share, test your ideas and interests, and listen for feedback.
- Find a mentor on campus. A leader, a faculty member, an administrator who will be your truth-teller.
- Questions are more important than answers.
- Explore the Life Portfolio Design.
Dont’s
- Don’t pretend to know exactly what you want to do--allow people to help you!
- Don’t fret about your major (unless you really are pre-med).
- Seek challenges and discomfort to learn. That’s why you are in school!
- Don’t try to be perfect. Fail faster and forward.
- Hold off networking until you can clearly answer, “What are you looking to do next?”
- Random job searches are a waste when you are not sure what you want.
- Never start by saying what you do not want to do.
- Wait to Rewrite your resume until you are more clear on your targets.
- Refrain from making general statements such as: “I am a problem solver.” “I am a people person.” “I am a team player.”
- Stop saying the same things you no longer believe.
Blog Posts
What is your story? Understanding your narrative and where it is taking you
I have found that people do not appreciate their own stories. There is such a premium placed on amazing, dramatic, tear-jerkers that average stories, just
Stumbling toward Purpose
Is this all there is? Is this the life I was meant to lead? What difference am I making/will I make? Questions that we all
What is your vocation, your calling? And are you listening?
Like a lot of words, vocation, has been misunderstood and misused. vo·ca·tion (v-kshn) n. 1. A regular occupation, especially one for which a person is
Ass Kickers
I almost became a lawyer and then…
When I finished my 2nd year at UCLA, I went to visit an academic counselor to get some help. As a Sociology major I told everyone I was pre-law. The counselor looked at my transcripts which had nearly every letter of the alphabet as grades 🙂 It was a little embarrassing. I said, “What do I have there?” Like a beginning poker player asking about the hand he was dealt. She looked up with a smile curling on her lips, “What do you think you have?” And I burst into my verbal robotic routine–”I am a Sociology major who is pre-law.”
As I said it I remembered how my girlfriend’s Dad reacted to those words with a nod of approval, despite my long hair and puka shell necklace. The counselor pushed back, “You should know, that to be a Sociology major you have to take Sociology classes! You have managed to take only two, but somehow have nearly completed the pre-law track in political science, even taken courses you were not eligible to take.” My mouth dropped open. She continued, “You are a PoliSci major in pre-law.” I found out I could add Sociology, which I did and graduated with a double major. I talked to anybody who would listen about the law and legal careers.
While I impressed people off campus with my career path, I was unclear and unsettled with the idea. My volunteer work with juvenile felons at the California Youth Authority for three years shifted my answer to “Public Defender.” I liked how that surprised some people more than how it resonated with me.
I had a favorite professor in my Con law classes and I talked to him after class about being a lawyer and a Public Defender. He was trained as a lawyer. He told me that the law and especially public defense are honorable professions but not as rewarding as you think. He put a huge stent of doubt in my frontal cortex. I then was appointed to the campus Legal Advisory Board where we oversaw student legal services. We had an open position and I was on the interview committee. I met 51 attorneys! Of all stripes, ages and disciplines. Corporate counsel to community advocate to public defender. Every single person repeated what my prof had said. Nearly all were willing to take a pay cut to work with students. I dropped pre-law and the pretense of becoming a lawyer. So many people helped me because I was a student along that path and that decision.
Story
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