New college grad in the family?
Suggest to your child that a good place to begin thinking about a career and a job search is with the nature of your own unique self. Look within.
There are a multitude of questions worth asking:
• What matters to you?
• What are your career goals?
• Where would you like to be in five years? In 10? In 20?
• What do you want to contribute?
• What do you see as your place in the world?
• What aspects of your life are most important?
• What values do you hold most dear?
• How do you like to spend your time?
• What are your hobbies and interests?
• What are the things you do even when you’re not being paid to do them?
• How much money do you need?
• How much money do you want?
• How important is salary to you?
• What other types of reward do you find meaningful?
• What kinds of people do you like to work with?
• What kinds of people do you like to work for?
• What are your feelings about managing others?
• Do you feel more at home in a formal or an informal setting?
• Are you more at home in a hierarchical setting or in something more free-flowing?
• What skills are you proud of?
• In what areas are you especially knowledgeable?
You don’t have to answer every question, but you have to be sure that you’re not avoiding any of them. Is there something important to you that doesn’t square with your self-image? It’s time to get those inconsistencies out of the way. If you don’t take an honest look, you run the risk of being a square peg struggling to fit into a round hole.