Opening Career Doors

I recently posted about how I am using this summer to help me decide what career to pursue.

I am starting to realize that mapping out exactly what I want to do is not necessarily the best idea. To think that you can just pick out a career that you will be in for the next 40 or 50 years when you are in your younger 20's is unrealistic. Careers have twists and people change. I may decide that I want to be a government affairs attorney now, but does that mean I will want to be one in five years? Or 20 years?

Not only do we change but markets and technology change. With the decline of the newspaper industry many journalism majors are being forced to shift gears. Careers are variable. We need to be variable.

Instead of mapping the rest of our lives out we need to focus more on the present. Focus on doing a good job and keep your eyes open to opportunities that may come up. Doing great work will open doors. Also important is keeping in contact with the people you have worked with. Having this network will keep you connected to new opportunities that arise.

Deciding which opportunities to chase is key. Knowing what you like and what you are passionate about will make it much easier to make these decisions.

Keep your eyes open and keep working hard.

Photo: anyjazz65