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

Overcoming Obstacles

Everyone has moments in life where it seems like everything is going wrong. You cannot catch a break. Instead of worrying about reaching your goals you have to worry about if you can find a new job or if your relationship will work or how to get over the death of a loved one.

We do not live in a bubble. Outside stressors affect how we feel and influence our ability to reach our goals. When times get tough my attention usually is focused on staying afloat rather than self improvement.

Here are a few tips for balancing personal problems and remaining focused on your priorities:

• Deal with the problem(s). Some problems do not go away easily and require our attention before they are resolved. Focus your attention on either fixing the problem (if possible), understanding why it happened (if possible) and then accepting it. Once you get yourself back on track you can attend to your goals full-steam.
  

• Modify you goals based on new circumstances. Sometimes when big things come up in our lives we have to modify what we want to accomplish. Review your goals and make sure they are still in line with your current situation.

• Stay positive. Sometimes this can be very difficult to do. Think of the good things in your life, do not get too down. This does not mean ignore your problems (see first bullet).
  

• Understand your motivations. Know why you are trying to accomplish something. If a goal has little meaning for you, you probably will not accomplish it when times get tough.
  

• Make time for goals. Many people are so busy that they rarely make time for themselves. This can be especially true during times of turmoil. Even if it is for only 30 minutes a day, make time for yourself and your goals.

• Create habits. Creating routines where you slowly work toward your priorities is an easy way to stay on task. My next post will be covering this is the topic more in depth.

Just because obstacles come up does not mean you have to stop reaching for your goals. There are 100 different ways to reach one goal. When you cannot reach something the way you originally thought try another way. If that doesn't work, try another way. It is easy to make excuses when things come up, but there is always a way forward.

Photo: Mykl Roventine

Finding Your Career Path

For the past couple years I have been trying to figure out what career to pursue. Unlike a lucky few, I have never had that dream path that I knew I would follow. College helped cultivate my interest in a few areas, namely, politics and law. Yet I still find myself questioning my specific career path. My only requirement (aside from being able to pay the bills) is that I find a job that I am passionate about. When I do things I am passionate about I am happy, take pride in my work and do it really well. I think this is applicable to most people. Finding something that you can do that fills you with passion and that someone will give you money for is the ultimate key.

I am spending this summer trying to gain a better understanding of what I want to do and what fills me with passion. I am doing this in a couple different ways:

• Taking the time to think. Taking 20 minutes to sit and contemplate career goals and life is probably the first step. As simple as this seems it is easy to not do it.
• Reading. Reading books about different careers and successful people can yield great advice. Reading about remarkable people and ideas usually gets my mind racing.
• Talking to people in the field. Who better to talk to than people who have great jobs. I have found that people are very honest and helpful if you ask them for career advice.
• Writing this blog. This blog forces me to extrapolate on my thoughts and career aspirations.
  

The most important step is just taking the time to think and reflect. I think too many people take what they are given and accept it. They get a job and go with the flow. I worked at a place once where you could just see people who had lost their passion for work long ago. They trudged on because they had to. I vowed then to never let that happen to me. Having the power to choose what you want to do is a gift. Don't waste it.