TRANSCRIPT: Exploring Careers & Choosing A Major

Speaker: Cori Schaff

Exploring Careers & Choosing A Major

Welcome.

My name is Cori Shaff, and I've spent more than ten years supporting college students as they explore their interests, skills, and values to pick a major they're excited about.

I also help students as they prepare for graduation and take the first step into a professional job.

I'm excited to talk to you about the steps you can take to choose a major with confidence and explore interesting career options.

In this workshop, we are going to start with a reality check about the changing world of work.

Then we'll talk about the value of doing a self-inventory, which is basically learning more about your interests, skills, and values.

Which is how you like to spend your time and how that might fit into major and career options for you.

I'm going to walk you through ways you can explore career options.

And I will share the value of building your skills through experience such as internships, part-time jobs, and volunteering.

I'll also talk about long and short-term goals and how you can put your career ideas into action.

And then we'll wrap up with some next steps and activities you can do outside of this workshop.

Changing World Of Work

First, I want to talk about the reality of the changing workplace.

It's hard to believe that at the start of the new millennium, having a computer in your hand did not exist, and many people were just beginning to use the internet on a daily basis.

As someone who has other assigned jobs, I need to stay current about the changing world of work.

And according to futurist Heather McGowan, you may have up to 17 jobs in five industries and likely work in a job that doesn't exist yet.

While this can sound scary, it is also an opportunity for you to contribute towards these changes by solving problems.

The future of work is expanding.

And the professional skills employers require mean that any major will prepare you for the workplace.

While picking a major and exploring career options is a good use of your time so you can clarify your next steps, remember that as you gain more experience and live more life, your interests will change along with the changes in our world.

Only One Piece Of The Puzzle

Your major is one piece of the puzzle.

Because 27% of adults are working in a job that directly relates to their major, it may be helpful to think about this decision as laying your foundation.

Or maybe even the first story of your house.

So as you think about your major, also consider how to supplement your degree with additional coursework, minors, and certificates as they will have increased value.

As will additional experiences such as internships, volunteering, and being and staying an active and knowledgeable citizen.

Let's dig in.

Student Story

Before starting to explore majors and careers, it's important to sit back and take some time to think about who you are and what your interests and skills are.

So to demonstrate this, I want to tell you a story about a student that I worked with who ended up finding out ideas for her major and having several career options that she was excited about.

Stella was a first-year student with interests in animals, art, and helping others.

From an early age, Stella loved art, and she was always drawing pictures, specifically of animals, for her family and friends.

Throughout her education, art teachers always shared that she was one of the most talented artists they had taught.

Stella was always looking out for her friends and family.

She paid attention to how people were feeling and how she might be able to help them if they were having a bad day.

As I learned more about Stella, it struck me how often she used her talents in art to help her friends and family.

One story in particular stuck out to me.

When she was young, she painted a picture of her dog for her grandmother when her grandma was struggling with health issues.

Even though that had been many years ago, the painting is still hung in her grandmother's room.

While Stella had other interests, her love for animals, art, and helping people were a part of almost every positive experience she had growing up.

While Stella was interested in majoring in art, she did not think that was a major where she could have a stable career.

And I shared with her that as the world of work changes, creative skills will become even more important.

I encouraged her to think about adults in her life who worked in industries that had creative and people-focused work.

She had a friend of her family that worked at a local hospital and used art to help people express their feelings.

Essentially an art therapist.

She was able to talk with this person and found out that they had majored in sociology with a minor in art.

She also found out that she could volunteer at the hospital and would have the opportunity to work in art therapy.

Given her interest in animals, she also talked with her neighbor who is a veterinarian.

After she talked with the neighbor, she found out that she would need to take a lot of science classes, and that the path to become a veterinarian didn't align with her other interests and values.

So, while that path wouldn't be the best fit for her, she was able to learn about other options to work with animals and kept those ideas as a backup plan.

What Did Stella Do?

If we look at Stella's story, there were numerous steps she took to figure out what she wanted to do with her life.

The first thing was that she spent time reflecting on and talking about her interests, values, academic subjects of interest, skills she liked using, and activities she enjoyed doing.

Stella also found it helpful to talk one-on-one with people doing jobs that aligned with her interests and values.

While this may sound a bit intimidating, this can be a helpful way to hear about real-life experience.

And can help confirm if something is not of interest.

Remember that Stella learned that becoming a vet would not be a good fit for her.

In addition to talking with people, you may also want to process your ideas and thoughts out on your own by journaling.

Lastly, Stella kept track of the information she gained along the way, and had a trusted adult whom she could process with.

Because this is our experience, sometimes it's hard to step back and see the connections between our interests, values, and skills.

As you've had a chance to hear about an example, I want you to do the similar exercises to better understand your own interests.

In the next section, you can take a few minutes to respond to the open-ended questions with your initial thoughts and ideas.

Finding Your Passion - Activity

Activity - Finding Your Passion Survey

Your Inventory

What did you discover?

Did anything surprise you?

I encourage you to revisit this list over the next few weeks, and, as appropriate, keep adding to and refining the list.

If You're Feeling Stuck

Now if you're feeling stuck with this reflection, you can also ask someone who knows you well questions such as, what do you see me doing for a job?

Or, what are careers that you think might be a good fit for me?

Often you'll be surprised by the ideas that people that know you best will come up with.

Another option if you're still not gaining more insight is to check out career and interest assessments.

Assessments are great because you have to choose between what you like and what you don't like.

I encourage you to check with your local career center or advising office to see if they offer assessments such as the CliftonStrengths, Strong Interest Inventory, or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Those are some of my favorite resources when working with students.

CliftonStrengths identifies your most natural talents, which is how we think, feel, and behave, and offers ideas and strategies on ways to use those in a future career or other things that you might do to get involved.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator looks at your personality type.

This assessment helps you clarify if you're an internal or external processor, if you're a planner or like going with the flow, and if you make decisions with your heart or your head.

The last is the Strong Interest Inventory which looks at what your interests are and how you like to spend your time.

Those three are not the only options, so I recommend that you check with your local advising office or career office to see what types of resources they have for you.

Confirm Your Major Of Choice

As you develop your list of potential majors, I recommend two ways to confirm or narrow down your list.

Number one.

Learn more about that major at your institution.

Sometimes a major at one school will look very different at another school.

To do this, review the classes required and electives offered within the major.

I recommend that you look at the classes you would take your junior and senior years, as they are often more specialized and focused.

As you review those classes, keep track of the topics that are of most interest and those that are less interesting.

This quick review may help you clarify your top major, and you may also identify potential minors or certificates that you can add to your degree.

Consult with an on-campus advisor on your campus to see what additional insight they have.

Number two.

As you get more information about what you'll learn in a major, find out how you will learn and be tested on your knowledge.

Do you learn best by reading and writing?

Or are you a more hands-on learner where you need to test the knowledge you're gaining through experience?

Perhaps you learn best in groups or the times where you are the teacher.

Consider your learning preferences, and then find out the teaching styles within your majors of interest.

Is a learning set up in lecture format where participation is voluntary?

Or are the classes more project based where you consistently work in groups?

Perhaps the classes are a mix.

They include lecture, small group discussions, and are project based.

You can ask older students, check out any course materials you can find online, and don't hesitate to ask professors in you major of interest.

Your institution may also have faculty course questionnaires available online where you can find out about past students' experiences.

As you take in two more additional pieces of data, you will have even more clarity about what your major, or majors, are the best fit for you, your interests, your goals, and your learning preferences.

Informational Interview

Now that you have some more clarity about your major, the next step is to start exploring careers.

I'm going to talk through three ways to explore your career options.

I have found that one of the best ways to do this is what's called an informational interview.

Informational interviews are when you sit down and talk with someone who is working in the field that you are interested in.

This is a great chance for you to reality check that job to see if it really is going to be a good fit for you.

It's also an opportunity for you to ask the questions you care about versus reading information you might find online or in a book.

Lastly, it's also a chance for you to meet people and hear about potential opportunities to intern, work, or volunteer in organizations or a similar organization.

Do you remember that when Stella did an informational interview she was offered an opportunity to volunteer?

Informational Interview: 4 Steps

You're going to have an opportunity to complete an activity that will help you prepare for having a successful informational interview.

And there are just four steps that you need to follow.

Number one.

Create a list of people who work in areas you are interested in.

Think about friends, family, friends of your family that work in things that you find interesting.

If you're feeling stuck with this, ask an adult you trust if they can help you brainstorm additional people to talk to.

Once you have that list, pick one of those people and contact them and ask for 20 to 30 minutes of their time.

You can explain that you are in the process of exploring your career options and would love to learn more about what they do.

When you meet, it's best to meet in person.

However, if that's not possible, you could do the informational interview over the phone or email them the questions.

The second step is to prepare a list of questions.

It's very important that you write these down ahead of time and that you write down what they are telling you during the meeting.

I recommend you prepare anywhere from five to ten questions.

You can see some of our ideas below.

Questions that will help you understand how they spend their time every day.

One good question might be, what would you do if you weren't doing this?

So you can find out more about what they do every day, what educational preparation they did, and any recommendations they have for you about learning more about this career path.

Another thing to ask them for is for a referral.

Do they have anyone else that they know that they could introduce you to that you could talk to?

By asking for a referral, you are expanding your network and increasing your knowledge.

The fourth step, and this is so important.

Send a thank-you note.

It's crucial to thank them for their time, their expertise, and if you are following up with any of the suggestions they offered during your conversation.

Explore Careers Through Experience

Another way to explore careers is to get experience.

Even if you spend five-to-ten hours a week doing something outside of your classes, your investment of time will pay off.

In fact, research shows that when college students work while in school, they actually earn better grades.

This is because when our time is full, we have to pay attention to our time management.

So, this experience will not only benefit you now, it will also give you the opportunity to learn more about your interests, values, and learn more about the world of work.

There are several ways to gain experience.

You may choose to do an internship, which is a great way for you to gain more experience, learn more about areas that you're interested in, and because internships are a reality check, you can see if the job is a good fit for you.

By doing an internship, you also expand your network because you're meeting new people and learning about new opportunities.

What most students love most about internships is that it's something you can put on your résumé and show for future opportunities.

Another option is to find a part-time job, whether it be on or off campus.

Similar to an internship, you're gaining skills that you can put on your résumé, you're meeting new people, and you're trying out new tasks to help clarify your interests.

Depending on your goals, you may want to volunteer with a local organization that works for something that you really believe in.

What else could you do to gain experience?

Some students get really involved on campus, and they help with campus events or student organizations.

Other students are really involved within their community and serve on the local board.

So as you can see, there are plenty of ways to gain experience while you're still in school.

And the benefits are many because you're learning how to balance multiple priorities, which is an asset in the workforce.

And, I can't stress this enough, you're getting experience to reality check to see if this career is a good fit for you.

Online Tools

Lastly, you can explore career options by using online information.

One of my favorite resources that is free is the O*NET Interest Profile.

You will be asked a series of questions about your interests, how you like to spend your time, and after answering the questions, you can review recommended careers based on your interests.

I also find updated and thorough information about any career through a related professional association.

I think of professional associations as adult student groups.

They are comprised of adults working in similar occupations, and they often do research, oversee licensing, and have free online information about working in that career.

While there is not a comprehensive list of all professional associations, if you search for your career of interest and professional association, you will find a related organization.

Behavioral Skills

Now that you have more knowledge about exploring majors and careers, let's consider a few things.

Number one.

There are different types of college degrees that you can earn.

Some are more technical degrees, like engineering, nursing, and business, often have a clear direction into what type of career comes next.

Other degrees are what are called liberal arts degrees.

So, these are degrees like history, English, humanities, communication, that often don't have as clear of a connection into future career options.

The great thing about a liberal arts degree is that it's giving you a lot of opportunities to gain new experience in things like critical thinking, dealing with ambiguous situations, innovative and creative problem solving, developing written and oral communication skills, and working with other people, which is a huge asset no matter what type of industry you end up choosing for your future.

Employers want people that have a wealth of experience, both in and outside of the classroom.

And while liberal arts degrees do not always have a clear career path, you will gain valuable skills to help prepare you for a variety of jobs.

Lastly, building your professional skills is critical.

While you are interning or volunteering and exploring potential career options, you are also gaining valuable professional skills that will set you up for future success.

In addition, while there are a wide variety of skills employers have identified as the top skills, we're learning that while technical skills are important, behavioral skills will become even more important in the future.

As you look at this list, take a look at the number in parentheses.

This was the rank of that skill two years before.

Which demonstrates the shift of importance of behavioral skills.

The good news is that these skills can be developed in any college major.

Let's quickly review the top five skills listed.

Number one.

Flexibility, agility, adaptability.

This means being open to change and having a productive response.

I imagine that you have had to adapt several times a day, and I want to challenge you to respond positively.

Personally, I like having a plan and knowing what to expect, so I have been thoughtful on developing my patience so that I can be more agile and flexible in stressful situations.

Number two.

Time management prioritization.

This may seem contradictory to the skill we just talked about.

However, it's important to be able to both be planful, use our time well, while also being open to the plan's changing.

Number three.

Collaborate, work effectively in teams.

I hear from a lot of students that there always - is always one person in their group that does not collaborate.

So, what if you're the person who builds a productive team so that all people within the group are working effectively together?

Number four.

Effective communication.

Did you know that most communication happens when we actively listen?

It's not just about talking or writing our ideas, it's about taking in when another person is sharing.

And number five.

Analytics and acumen.

How do you make decisions?

Do you take data into account when deciding how to move forward?

The ability to make good judgments and quick decisions will continue to be even more important as our world rapidly changes.

Behavioral Skills Activity

We're going to do an activity reviewing these skills.

I want you to consider the following.

How have you developed one of these skills in the past few months?

Write down an experience that clearly demonstrates where and how you used the skill.

Next, pick one of those skills and identify at least two ways you could practice the skill.

I encourage you to continue developing these skills and to reflect every so often about how you are developing these skills.

Long-Term Goals

As we begin to wrap up, it's important to start thinking about your long and short-term career goals to help you get started in the right direction.

For long-term goals, consider the things that you want to have in your life, which is what you could also call life goals.

Consider an adult you admire, and think about what they are doing and what they are involved in.

Do they have a part-time or full-time job?

Are they involved in volunteering within their community?

Do they have a family?

Do they travel?

You may also want to think about geography and where you want to live.

Do you want to live in a big city in the downtown area?

Or are you more interested in living in a quiet, small town or in a rural area?

Or are you made for the suburbs?

Maybe you want to live abroad or in a specific part of the country.

Think about your life goals, the kind of life you want to live, and where you want to live.

As you think about these things, consider the careers that you are interested in as different careers will provide different opportunities for you to be either involved or not to really have time to be involved in the things that you are most interested in.

Short-Term Goals

Now that you've had some time to think about what your long-term goals are, let's take a moment to set at least one short-term goal.

I have a few ideas for you.

One could be completing at least one informational interview in the next month.

Another idea is to find and apply for a part-time job on your campus or in your community.

Third could be to do additional reflection on your interests and to share those results with a trusted friend.

Keep In Mind...

A few things to keep in mind.

Once you establish your next step, especially if it's getting more experience, you'll have to do some more work to make that happen.

For example, if you want to do a part-time job or internship, you'll need to find those potential experiences, whether online or talking to other people.

You'll need to work on your application materials.

And prepare for an interview, which is talking about why you would be a good fit for the position.

I encourage you to meet with a career advisor or a trusted adult to help with this process.

You can also access other StudentLingo workshops to learn more about how to be successful in your next step.

Take just a moment right now to identify one small next step you can take today to help you start exploring careers and majors.

It takes time to learn more about yourself and about careers.

But have fun with it, and be patient.

Because as you meet people and learn about the world, you'll start to understand how you fit in to the bigger picture.