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Career Planning
Making the most of your College Years
According to a recently published book "The Power of Focus - The College Years" authored by Les Hewitt, Andrew Hewitt & Luc d'Abadie (former graduates of Canadian Universities) you should consider college not only as a place to complete university transfer credits, a certificate or diploma program but as a place to gain experience to help focus your career.
This requires a change in mindset - from a diploma mindset to college as an investment mindset . As a student who sees college as a Degree mindset you want to get in and get out. However, as a student with an experience focus you see College as an investment in you career and take the time to find out what you are really interested in. You also want to make sure that you have and/or develop the skills you will need to be sucessful, whether it is writing, speaking, market analysis, math, chemistry etc. As a student you are here on a journey of discovery and self development, you want to showcase your abilities and make connections.
Career planning with a new focus
The steps you will need to take may seem long and tedious (aka boring) process, however the more you know about yourself the better goals you can make. Preparing a career plan will help you choose the appropriate courses, skills and experiences to pursue.
Self Assessment:
Getting to know who you are,
- your values
- Interest and Skills
- will help you make better choices in your career decisions.
The Counsellors at Douglas College offer career exploration assistance that will help you through this process. There are many on-line sites available for self assessment and we recommend that you discuss your findings with a trained Counsellor.
Research
The more thorough research you do on careers that interest you the better the career fit. We can't stress enough the need to research research, research!!
Action Plan/Goal Setting
Create a detailed action plan so you can visually see your progress:
- Realistic measurable goals and a timelines are essential for you.
- Know the educational requirements of your new career.
- Plan on applying for co-op placements to obtain real world experience and networking contacts while you study.
- Volunteer but make sure it's related to your goals and interests - don't volunteer just because you heard it was a good thing to do. An example of a good volunteer choice would be to stand for election on Douglas Student Council for the position of VP - Marketing if marketing is you field. This will be another opportunity for you to network.
- Join associations that are relevant to your goals - many associations offer a special rate for students.
Implement your Action Plan
Now that you have made your plans it is time to put them into action. A well developed plan will get you nowhere if you don't start right away at putting it to work. Take charge of your career!
