Hoping to Find a Career
As a undergraduate at the university of Rhode Island, I had no idea what I wanted ot do with my life. Career counselors weren't helpful, although they tried. My memories of parental intervention were a copied list of careers from some "master list of possible careers" and instructions to cross of what I didn't want to do. That at least resulted in at least 50 things I could do, but nothing I was really passionate about.
Coursework at URI finally helped hone me in, but that took some time and major switching: Computer Science, Undeclared, Business, then finally History. I didn't mind reading and writing assignments versus endless physics homework. Business was okay, but my classmates always seemed more excited about what we were learning than I felt. Maybe that was an act. I ended up with a communication minor due to a professor I really liked named Geoff Leatham. Cool guy, relatable, and entertaining. The kind of professor I would want to be one day. After my third class with him he suggested I try the grad program. There are few more steps in there, but the rest is "history." Or communication. Whatever.
For the past few years I've been exploring this notion of how hopeful mindsets benefit reaching our goals, whatever they may be. There is an established research literature based of the work by Snyder that suggests that possessing a hopeful outlook is related to all sorts of good things. This isn't necessarily saying you need to cheerful and optimistic, but those are two generally related dispositions. Instead, it's really about being able to A) envision clear goals, B) generate many viable paths toward achieving those goals, and the C) motivation and energy to accomplish them. Or, in other words:
A + B ONLY = A plan but no follow-through
A + C ONLY = A target and some energy, but limited (or zero) ways to make it happen
B + C ONLY = Seems improbable, no goal to sustain more than short-term movement forward; fleeting "I'm gonna be productive today" with no direction.
Finding a career could be one of those goals, and frankly should be for anyone reaching
the end of their educational plans. I found a useful, somewhat related depiction in this post.
A recent study by Hirschi, Abessolo, and Froidevaux (2015) investigated the connection between hope and career exploration. In summary, they found that hope contributed more to the amount of career exploration one does, moreso than the support made by one's social network, and and general beliefs that you can do things to get what you want (i.e., generalized self-effacy).
So what does that mean? Despite what we've been told there isn't a one off piece of advice that when put into action will solve career exploration efforts: For example that "it's who you know" or the 2.0 version "it's who knows you," or more trivial cliche advice "you need to make it happen" or "believe in yourself. Bullshit.
Instead carving out a career path is best aided by a combination of:
1) Clear Goals: As in the SMART acronym (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound
2) Pathways: Literally routes toward that goal, obstacles, and alternative routes
3) Agency: Generating momentum that can be sustained and supported with postitive reinforcement.
For students this means initiating this process, at the very least, as early as you can in your education. The earlier you start the less presure you place on yourself to need an immediate decision.
For educators this means asking students to talk through their goals, and assisting in helping those goals meet SMART standards. Agree on revised versions of those goals. I've done this with students in my workshops and learning communities. You likely already are aware of a number of pathways in your institution, but they dont. We often forget that students aren't living in our complicated higher education worlds, likely for the better. We can guide them toward best ways to progress.
Agency, or perhaps more accessibily, "finding motivation" falls on both. Plans are not much more without the execution, and what fires you up or gets you moving is largely a personal thing. Given that it's so subjective, anything from music, finding a routine that is comfortable, a "study/workout buddy," or even a check-in with family can be motivating.
ACTION: Based on the above, make a list of 5 things that help you get moving on challenging tasks. For reference, mine (in no order): Setting up my workspace ahead of time, ambient music without words, generating a list of what I want to accomplish in a given time period, having coffee, a water, and a snack handy, and a trick called "going hard for an hour." Seems simple, right? I can go more into these some other day, but we all have to find our main action instigators.
Reference:
Hirschi, A., Abessolo, M., and Froidevaux, A. (2015) Hope as a resource for career-exploration: Examining incremental and cross-lagged effects. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 86, 38-47.
