Category Archives: career interest

How to Stand Out

Posted on July 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

Jeff Haden (Inc. Magazine and Business Insider) posted two articles that any college student (and high school students for that matter) should use to “audit” their resume and their elevator speech. I’ve provided highlights of the main points here with my own bits of advice. The full articles are:

6 Ways Successful People Stand Out by Jeff Haden

10 Ways You Should Never Describe Yourself by Jeff Haden

Let’s face it. Your resume is a frustrating document to write. Do you include details or keep it high level? Do you include all work history or just the relevant stuff for the position you are applying for? Is one page the rule or is it best to have multiple pages?   The article “10 Ways You Should Never Describe Yourself” makes some very valid points. But how do you describe yourself? As Jeff states in his article, the 10 ways to describe yourself are great for others to say about you but probably not okay for putting on your resume.

At the end of this article, I’ll offer a complimentary assessment that will give you words to describe yourself. Yes, putting a few descriptors on your resume isn’t wrong, just don’t put words that are too general. My rule of thumb is, “if you are using a descriptive word because you think it is what the employer is looking for then you are misusing the space in your resume.

Haden’s 10 Words You Shouldn’t Use

Motivated – A better word might be “self motivated” which can be substantiated by things you’ve done.

Authority – Taking charge and leading (position authority) or having exceptional expertise (knowledge authority) need to be self-evident in your resume. A better strategy might be a statement like “Recognized for my leadership on the xyz project.” or “Recognized for my research on the zyq study.”

Global Provider – This may not be applicable to students, at least not right now, but many students have taken advantage of a Study Abroad program. This doesn’t make you a global expert. List the overseas period and describe what it gave you.

Innovative – Some people actually are innovative. That can be a good thing or a curse depending on the job. Some bosses don’t want a young upstart coming in and challenging or changing everything. They want you to learn. Employers want to know you are able to appreciate and follow their policies, procedures and work strategies. A better word might be creative if you were solely responsible for something new and creative that was recognized. However, that word has been overused.

Creative – We gave this one away as part of Innovative. Overused is the issue. Just be sure you have been recognized for something special. If not, don’t bother using it.

Passionate – This has no value. However, in the assessment report you might see “customer focused” or “results oriented” or “goal oriented”. Use those if you have a story to connect the word to.

Unique – Everyone is unique. I don’t see this word used too often but if I did, I think I’d file the resume in the round file.

Guru – Even if you could substantiate this some how, a student or recent grad isn’t a guru in anything. Be a learner.

Incredibly… – This is way too informal and is an exaggeration word. Avoid all words that exaggerate what you are trying to say.

Words that Work

If you’d like to take an online assessment to find better descriptors for your resume and for your interviews, go to http://www.ttisurvey.com///142181FUW This assessment takes about 20 minutes (2 parts @ 10 minutes each). The report is approximately 46 pages and will come directly to your email.

Haden has also made a list of 6 ways to stand out. There are many ways to stand out. I saw a person with pink and yellow hair. Yes, they stood out. Many young people today are  getting tattoos. To stand out from an employer standpoint, get into the recruiter or hiring managers head. What if you were them? What would you be looking for in a new hire?

Haden’s 6 Ways to Stand Out

Be first, with a purpose – From showing for the interview, to finding the job opportunities before they are posted on the company website. A position is officially approved and being recruited for 10 to 15 days before it gets any public exposure. Also, some companies have a policy of posting a position for as much as 30 days internally before posting it publicly. Make it your business to get the inside scoop from current employees and managers at the company you want to get hired. A great starting point is LinkedIn. But you have pursue that rich networking tool with purpose.

Be known for something specific – My son was advised to play down some of his high school accomplishments in his resume by a visiting industry mentor. The fact that he was accepted to and graduated (June 2012 –  and yes I’m very proud) from a prestigious university “assumes your high school years were impressive.” Whether it is high school or college stuff, be known for something! If you are currently in high school (or a parent of a HS student), be involved in something. I recently provided career coaching to a group of HS students (see Career Coaching for Students) and one student took this advice to heart and met with the school counselor and principle of the HS to request formation of a Poetry Society/Club. Stating on your college application resume “Founded and served as President of the Poetry Club” is what colleges and employers like to see. Just be sure you are able to say something about what you did after you founded it, such as, “grew first year membership to 48 students” and/or “Held 8 club meetings where 25 student-written poems were presented.”

Create your own side project – Integrating the project with another activity makes it exponentially easier and more likely to be completed. Many students are critical of, or sarcastic about, students that are in Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts but colleges and employers value the experience. Both of these organizations have an “ultimate level” (Eagle Scout or Gold Award respectively) that is usually attained during high school that includes a significant project.  My daughter was president of the ecology club and also achieved the Gold Award by designing and building out the grounds as part of a “Greenhouse Enrichment Project”. This required fund raising, organizing volunteers and working with the high school administration for approval and support. The fact that she was involved with the Ecology Club gave her the ability to offer service hours to club members. Getting volunteers was easy.

Put your muscle where your mouth is – Don’t talk about what is wrong, even if the interviewer asks you to describe something that someone else screwed up. When put in that awkward situation, always share a situation or problem that you were at least partly responsible for delivering the solution – even if you were the one that screwed it up. Being part of the solution is what everyone wants.

Show a little of your personal side – Personal interests help others to identify and remember you. For many interviewers, asking the proverbial “tell me about yourself” can lead to all kinds of responses. Stay focused on the purpose of the question and environment you are in. If the interview is a standard 30 minutes, and you talk for 10 minutes about “who you are”, it is likely you won’t be getting the job or internship. Be prepared for how to “share a little.”

Work harder than everyone else – There is a book titled “Only the Paranoid Survive” by Andy Grove, ex-CEO of Intel, that gets this point across and then some. If you are in the right major and career for you, (or soon will be) this isn’t a hard thing to do. If you feel apathetic about your major/career choice, now is the time to do the work to find your passions. Working harder than everyone else should not be a chore. Look for the career that you can say “I can’t believe they pay me to do this stuff.”

Carl Nielson is an organizational development consultant, professional career and executive/leadership coach and creator of the nationally recognized program Career Coaching for Students™ . Career Coaching for Students is available as a district-wide high school program and in group and on-one-one offerings through certified career coaches throughout the United States, Canada and other countries. Contact Carl Nielson at carl@successdiscoveries.com or call 972-346-2892 to discuss specific needs. Or visit us at http://www.careercoachingforstudents.net

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Choosing and Changing Majors: Status Quo or A New Standard?

Posted on July 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

The following graphic is from The College Board. We’ll start the discussion here.Is Changing Majors OK?

From the quote in the green bubble, “It’s okay to change your plans even if it means changing your major.” Well, yes, if you find yourself going in the wrong direction, change direction. But The College Board position, and that of most colleges and universities, is that changing majors multiple times to “find yourself” is okay. It isn’t. What it tells me is that the student didn’t do the work to determine a career path prior to showing up at college.

Many colleges and universities report the statistics that support the 2005 article by MSNBC.com that indecision about what major to choose can prove very expensive.  According to Dr. Fritz Grupe, founder of majors.com, eighty percent of college-bound graduating high school students have yet to choose a major before arriving on campus.

With tuition averaging $18,000 or higher in 2012-2013 at public universities, and much higher at private universities, indecisiveness can drain college savings accounts as students restart course sequences or transfer schools – losing credits in the process. Ultimately the result is that the student extends their college days beyond the four years parents planned to finance.

According to College Board, five- and  six-year students are not uncommon. Roughly 40% of those who start a four-year degree program still have not earned one after year six!

There are a variety of good reasons for dragging a college career into its fifth and sixth years—from taking time off for foreign study, to taking advantage of internships and co-ops or needing to balance academics with part-time employment to pay tuition. But changing majors is the one thing that drives up an education’s cost while potentially driving down a student’s self-esteem. It is also the easiest to avoid.

Bad Advice?

There are many (too many) assessments that aren’t valid and reliable. There are also “exercises” that professional counselors recommend if you don’t have access to professional tools such as valid and reliable assessments.

Kate Brooks, director of liberal arts career services at the University of Texas at Austin, thinks surveys can help focus a student’s attention on potential courses of study but she warns about the the students tendency to apply the results too inflexibly. “Often a student will say, ‘the test says I should be a florist, so that’s what I have to be,’” she says. A valid and reliable assessment and process doesn’t result in one career choice. A student that has that belief wasn’t counseled properly and was most likely not using a valid and reliable assessment instrument.

“Nationally, we see statistics quoted that as many as 80% of all college students change their major or that the average college student changes his/her major an average of 3-5 times. If you were able to count how many times students change their mind about what they want to do after graduation, it would be much higher. “
University of Missouri • MU Career Center, 2010
Student Success Center

Rather than properly designed, validated and reliable assessments, Brooks favors an exercise to help undecideds identify and translate interests into majors and eventually careers they will succeed in and enjoy.

She sends students to the nearest Barnes & Noble to browse the magazine racks. They are instructed to buy the three magazines they find most interesting. “We then discuss what prompted them to buy those magazines. It may be they chose Newsweek because they are interested in current events and politics. Or possibly there was an article in ESPN about nutritional sports bars. We talk about how pursuing chemistry could lead them to create a better bar or sports drink. Or maybe it is the marketing aspect that appeals to them — the ads. The point is to help them understand what things excite them and what careers are connected to those things, and which majors would lead them to those careers,” explains Brooks.

That exercise is wonderful but too simplistic. Choosing a career and the best major for that career direction is a little more complicated than that.

Tips for helping your student choose major

What can parents do to help their children get through college in a timely fashion while staying passionate about their choice of major? Here are some suggestions I think are worthy of considering:

  • Refrain from pressuring children into making quick choices or pursuing majors associated with high income professions. Not everyone should or can be a doctor or a lawyer.
  • Focus attention on pursuing courses of interest based on a career direction, even if the immediate relationship to a major or career is not obvious.
  • Double-majoring is a great way to keep opportunities open. With good planning in high school, double-majoring is not only very doable, it may very well be more interesting and provide an extra level of motivation and self esteem.
  • Encourage participation in job shadowing — going to work with people to see what their jobs actually entail and asking people they meet how they got into their careers. While in high school, interview people in the career of interest that are passionate and successful. Parents can help set this up.
  • If they do enter school undecided, engage in a career coaching program that provides professional-grade (highly valid and reliable) assessments and a process that leads to clarity and good decisions. It doesn’t hurt that the program will also assist in a broader sense of creating success across the bigger picture of life.
  • Refrain from giving advice based on the job market of twenty-some years ago or the “parent ego”. Today’s employers need a different kind of worker and favor different degrees. Many parents see their own career as a great direction for their son or daughter. Genetics may have played a part in creating that awesome son or daughter but choosing a career is a highly individualized event.
  • Urge them to take full advantage of campus advisory services to avoid floundering, shifting from one course of study to the next, and prolonging their dissatisfaction and their academic careers. While I am generally strongly negative in my bias about college advisory competencies when it comes to assisting students in choosing a career direction and then matching potentials majors for that career, if you are taking any of the other advice above, this may not be necessary but it is usually the first option. students rely on and is the one option with the greatest gap between expectation of value and actual value. Just keep in mind, you might be told to go to the local magazine store to find your career.
  • Help them understand that a major is not a career. There are multiple paths to most careers, just as there are multiple careers that can be had from a single major. Encourage them to explore their options. Having a career direction is much more powerful than choosing a major.
  • Help them prepare academically before arriving at college to avoid spending their high-priced time on remedial or review classes.
  • If a child is undecided, consider seeking out a college with the resources to acquaint them with all the options to make a well-founded decision. Not all schools have or emphasize such programs.
  • Understand that the student-to-counselor ratio averages 450-to-1 nationally at the high school level. Do not rely on high school counselors to guide children through the exercise of choosing a major.

However they get there, encouraging children to think through their career interests before choosing a school or program can help them avoid future frustration, academic let-down or feelings of failure. It is also key to helping them graduate in four years and move into their ‘real’ lives before they out-spend their college savings accounts.

A more up-to-date and informative article is available.

2015 national webinar to be held in July for career exploration and planning that leads to choosing a major

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Parents Guide to Career Exploration and Planning

Posted on June 8, 2012 | 4 comments

It isn’t possible for every high school student to benefit from the Career Coaching for Student program (maybe some day). If it were, you’d be sure to receive assistance in all of the areas listed in this article and your teen would be on solid footing for the path ahead. Short of that honorable goal of serving every student, the following ideas are for parents of incoming high school students and any teen ready to consider and explore their future.Happy Teens

Parents are a teens primary counselor. As much as teachers, school counselors and other professionals try, parents play a crucial role in drawing a study plan and shaping the career direction and future of their children. Entry into high school is the time parents need to acquire knowledge about educational options, objectively understand their teens interests and skill sets and “parent” them through the exploration and decision-making process. Decision making doesn’t have to mean “choose” a career while in high school. Decision making needs to be focused on strategic direction. That may result in a career decision or it may set the student on an informed path to explore and evaluate the best potential opportunities that lead to happiness and success.  Either way, a good career choice will be made.

Why parents’ guidance is important for student career exploration

  1. Because parents have rich knowledge and experience. The teen’s interests and talents may be very different from a parents, however, the parent has the knowledge and experience to bring greater wisdom to the process.
  2. Many students choose their school or college of study after a brief, mostly subjective look at a few choices, without research and due diligence, often times going by just the hearsay. In this situation, parents can encourage their teen to gather all relevant information to make a more informed choice, considering both the short- and long-term benefits and prospects.

How parents can help in career selection

  1. A parent’s attitude matters a great deal! Stay positive and focused on a future of success. The work place today is always changing and may seem scary. Don’t make the past seem perfect and the future terrifying. Encourage your teen to develop a positive attitude and learn about a variety of industries. Many career choices can be applied in diverse industries which present very different experiences.
  2. Do not shoot down ideas that your children may come up with on their educational and career choices. If you react negatively, it will likely shut down or reduce the communication process. Keep the lines open as you encourage information gathering and informed choices rather than “your” choices.
  3. Jump on opportunities. Informal discussions about the world of work with your teen can be productive. Current news and websites like www.ted.com can be a catalyst to a rich discussion.
  4. Provide guidance and blind encouragement. Do not impose your ideas against theirs. Your goal is to help your children find their own way based on their interests and skills and not follow your ideas and interests, which could prove counter-productive. By discussing interests, dreams and goals, you can get to know your children better, which will help you guide them.
  5. Encourage your teen to set goals. By starting early with goal setting and action planning, simple and rewarding goals will lead to extremely valuable skills for life and more consistent achievement of goals as an adult.
  6. Be practical and realistic in your approach but don’t assume something isn’t possible. Examine and find out whether their interests are genuine, or mere aspirations influenced by external forces.
  7. Encourage your child to explore their options through work experience and by talking to people in occupations that interest them. Visits to relevant businesses will help. Putting your teen in contact with those in a career of interest is extremely valuable. Meeting multiple people to gain “inside” career information can be more valuable than a summer job.
  8. Let your teen identify and select their area of interest. Parents can help students to identify the broad area of work that interests them, what sort of environment they would like to work in and then link it to their skills, interests, abilities and values. Be wary of popular assessments used for students. Many are not effective and can create confusion. Their validity and reliability may also be questionable.

How to begin

1. The best way to begin career exploration with your children is by talking about your own career. What do you do in your job. What decisions did you make that led you to this point in your career. Teens aren’t always overly interested when parents begin to share their wisdom with them. Be patient. When it comes to “telling”, asking questions more often is a better strategy for opening the door to rich discussions. Discuss a variety of occupations that you observe in everyday life and what those jobs may involve.

2. Emphasize personal accountability and self management. These are two critical skills consistently found in highly successful people – regardless of what career they choose to follow.

THE ACTION PLAN

The career decision-making process described below includes activities that can begin pre-high school and go through high school and post-secondary education.

Action 1 – Enable self-awareness through valid and reliable assessments. When it comes to assessments, start with yourself. Evaluate the assessment administration experience and the results.

Action 2 – You and your teen may also want to consider lifestyle implications and the overall impact that lifestyle preferences will have on career choice. For instance, will the job require irregular hours? Will the salary support the lifestyle your child wants? How much education does the occupation require vs the desire for continuing education? It’s important for your child to understand the relationship between lifestyle, personal preferences, occupational choice, and educational pursuits. Help your children understand and balance the difference between wants and needs.

Action 3 – Help your teen stay focused on career exploration.
Help your child to explore a variety of options with the goal of narrowing those options to a manageable few. Most students want to look at college choices first, major second and career third. Help them avoid that mistake.

Action 4 – Evaluate educational strategies that support a career direction. Evaluate educational options before looking at college choices. Schools vary greatly in their reputation for different areas of study. The best employers know which schools are at the top for a subject and which are not.

Action 5 – Research school choices based on career direction and desired post-secondary education. No school has everything for everyone. Even the most prestigious schools such as Harvard might not be the best school for what your teen is interested in. Choosing a college or university takes a little work.

Action 6 – Make choices based on quality information. Encourage your child to explore a variety of career areas, before making a choice. The economy, demographics, and technology will continue to change the workplace. Some jobs become obsolete while other new jobs emerge. Some occupations may maintain the same title, but they may change or evolve so drastically that they no longer resemble what they were a decade earlier. As the workplace continues to change, it will be more important to focus on personal soft skills and how they can be applied. Some soft skills are more important than others depending on the career. Decision making has been identified as one of the most important soft skills required for career success. It has also been identified as the weakest of soft skills of incoming Freshmen in college.

Action 7 – Create an action plan

Planning is much easier to do when a passionate future view exists. The passionate future view serves to motivate your teen to take challenging courses.

Action 8 – Begin planning for the expense of college. Motivation goes up when a teen sees that excellent grades will pay off in significant scholarship money and improved odds of being accepted to their first school of choice. Don’t think you can afford the most expensive colleges and universities? Explore all options available to get scholarships, financial aid, fellowships and interest free students loans. Why? Many of the scholarships will be based on achievement and required courses through the high school years. Many students of lower income families are provided significant financial support.

Action 9 – Take action. Encourage your child to stick with a rigorous school curriculum to build a strong foundation in math, reading, writing, computer skills, and science. The stronger the foundation, the more career options will be available later in life.

Action 10 – Review and revise. As your child matures and gains more knowledge and experience, his/her interests may change.

Course selection in high school will determine what opportunities are presented and the available course of action after graduation. For instance, if your child wants to go to college and she/he hasn’t taken the required advanced level courses, remedial courses may be necessary.

Help your child to stay on target by taking the necessary courses. Remember that all plans should be flexible in case your child wants to change some of the goals she/he set earlier on.

It is your child’s future, not yours! It is your role to separate your innermost desires and wishes from that of your child. Help them reach their own dreams.

Carl Nielson is an organizational development consultant, professional career and executive/leadership coach and creator of the nationally recognized program Career Coaching for Students™ . Career Coaching for Students is available as a district-wide high school program and in group and on-one-one offerings through certified career coaches throughout the United States, Canada and other countries. Contact Carl Nielson at carl@successdiscoveries.com or call 972-346-2892 to discuss specific needs. Or visit us at http://www.careercoachingforstudents.net

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New College Grad Survey Finds High Hopes for First Job

Posted on April 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

Reposted from Workforce Online magazine.

Despite spending most of their college years at the depths of the Great Recession, new graduates have high expectations of their earning power. About 40 percent said they expect a starting salary of $50,000 to $75,000 for their first job out of college.

The Class of 2012, soon to be spilling out of colleges and universities and applying for jobs, has high expectations for their career prospects.

In a new joint study by websites Experience and Achievers, this new batch of millennials is shown to be career-minded, loyal, brand-savvy and likely to know from the get-go at which company they want to work. Further, they’re most likely to simply pick up their smart phone and apply for a job online at that company’s website.

And apparently money isn’t everything to new graduates. Even though the Class of 2012 collectively is graduating with more debt than ever from student loans, 54 percent said career advancement opportunities were more important than salary, according to the study, which is in its third year.

Despite spending most of their college years at the depths of the Great Recession, new graduates have high expectations of their earning power. About 40 percent said they expect a starting salary of $50,000 to $75,000 for their first job out of college.

According to an annual survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, new grads may be aiming a bit high. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania-based NACE’s April 2012 Salary Survey report—the first report on salaries for the Class of 2012—shows the overall median starting salary for a bachelor’s degree graduate has risen 4.5 percent to $42,569 for the Class of 2012 from the last median salary of $40,735 for the Class of 2011.

“The overall median salary increase is the result of gains throughout most sectors,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. “Even in those sectors that showed decreases in median starting salaries, the dips were very slight.”

Education and communications majors are seeing the most significant increases to their median salaries over last year. Graduates with education degrees are entering the work force with a median salary of $37,423, 4.5 percent higher than the $35,828 earned by members of the Class of 2011.

Hiring of graduates is up as well and is improving. NACE actually revised its figures upward in April, showing that businesses expect to hire 10.2 percent more graduates this year.

Razor Suleman, founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Achievers, said the study also uncovered a disconnect between statistics and reality when it comes to millennials. Twenty-two percent of respondents expect to stay with their first employer more than 10 years.

“According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, they stay 18 months on average” in a job, Suleman says. “But that’s not what they’re telling us their intent is. They’re entering this relationship with their employer, and on average they’re telling us they want to stay for 4.7 years.”

Knowing what this new generation of workers wants vs. what they do in the workplace is an opportunity for companies to change their approach to millennials, Suleman says. Most companies tend to be stuck in the past, using antiquated notions of performance review and recognition that don’t cut it with Gen Y workers, Suleman says. For example, a gold watch after 25 years of service means nothing to them.

“Gen Y grew up being praised, getting gold stars, getting trophies just for participating,” Suleman says. “When they enter the workforce, they’re not going to change; companies need to. If you want to keep them engaged in a workplace, feedback and recognition on a weekly basis is paramount. Of the nearly 8,000 respondents to our study, 84 percent said that is what they wanted.”

Suleman adds that employer branding has never been more important to the recruiting process. The study notes that 87 percent said they would apply for their first jobs at a company website. “These students already know who you are. You need to fish where the fish are biting, which is online.”

Carl Nielson is a professional career and executive/leadership coach and creator of the nationally recognized program Career Coaching for Students™ . Career Coaching for Students is available as a district-wide high school program and through certified career coaches throughout the United States and other countries. Call Carl Nielson at 972-346-2892 to discuss specific needs.

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The College Essay Strategy – Got One?

Posted on March 13, 2012 | 1 comment

Student Resource Central - Explore Careers, Choose Majors, Find Colleges

Student Resource Central provides high-quality, unbiased resources for career research, choosing educational options and finding colleges.

The folks at Best Colleges Online asked me to write about or reference their article on 10 Admissions Essay Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make. Before I get to the 10 mistakes (they did a good job on covering the subject matter in the article) let me be clear that Best Colleges Online is funded by those colleges and universities that pay them money. So, finding the best colleges is really a little misleading which is par for the course in most “free”online resources (as is the case with those “free” assessments). Part of the mission of Career Coaching for Students™ is to provide high-quality, unbiased and complete information. The resources that you will find in Student Resource Central™ are stringently vetted to meet our requirements. Students automatically have access to Student Resource Central when they attend one of our workshops or purchase either the Home Study program or a subscription to Student Resource Central.

Now for those top 10 Mistakes Students Make with their Essays:

  1. Spelling and grammar errors
  2. Sending it in Late
  3. Over-sharing personal information
  4. Going over the Page or Word Limit
  5. Flirting with Controversy
  6. Using Cliches
  7. Being too Confident
  8. Being too Humble
  9. Trying to Suck Up to the Reader/School
  10. Not Lining Your Essay Up With the Rest of the Application

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The Worst and Best Paying College Majors – Are we asking the right question?

Posted on January 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

Are you driven by high earning potential? I mean real money. Payscale.com recently published their 2011/2012 salary survey by college major. I guess when you have data you can do anything with it.

For some college majors, for some people, the Payscale.com survey data is meaningful. For it to be useful, it has to be a specialized major that connects (strong correlation) to a specific type of work. For example, it is likely that those who complete an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education are teaching elementary education. In that scenario, the Payscale survey is meaningful and helpful. If you are fully self-aware, understand what a career in elementary education entails (what soft skills, continuing education, etc. are required)  and see yourself as a good fit to the job/career, then you can expect to earn right around the median (geographic differences will explain most of the higher or lower pay range). Money won’t be a personal motivator for that career. However, helping others is a personal motivator for the Elementary Education Teacher career path. What that means is that the job of Elementary Education Teacher rewards “work” that helps others.

If you look at the survey list of college majors, there is one fundamental flaw. The data does not take into account what the person is doing job- and career-wise. Isn’t that the better (more valid) question? How you get there is insightful but not predictive of your potential income as much as “what” you do in your career.

I had a boss back in the ’80s by the name of Don J. Redlinger. He was actually my bosses’ boss. Don was business unit VP, Human Resources. His income, including stock options, put him on a trajectory to being a millionaire. He later was promoted to SVP, Human Resources for the entire multi-national Allied Signal corporation. He was in his 30’s at the time. What degree did Don have? A B.A. in History. Looking at the listing of college majors based on mid-career median income, Don should have been at about $69,000. If he had received a degree in Human Resources, his salary might have been around $62,600. Both are wrong. His degree was a strategic choice along with the college he went to. “What” he was doing was most important and relevant to his income. The industry he was in, and the career path he pursued are much greater predictors of income. How he got to the VP position early in his career has a lot to do with the “total package” which includes your “talent” as well as what you did back in high school, college, internships and early jobs out of college.  My learning – a B.A. degree in History can be extremely valuable across a broad range of careers. Your talent and your strategy determine how well you leverage the degree.

Let’s look at another example – a long-time colleague and client of mine, Freddye Silverman. Freddye has a B.A. degree in  Spanish and M.Ed in Spanish and Education. So what is she doing today, 20+ years since her completion of her education? She is Vice President, Eastern Region at Jeitosa Group International. She is a respected and recognized leader in the HR technology solutions field who has more than 25 years experience as a practitioner and consultant in HR IT.  Freddye also has a teaching background in foreign languages which “enhances her global view”. Prior to Jeitosa she was VP, HR Technology Solutions for Cendant Corporation.

Because she has been a long-time client of The Nielson Group (corporate consulting where we use assessments to coach professionals and executives and assist with evaluating candidates during the hiring process using assessments), Freddye has been assessed using the same assessments used in the Career Coaching for Students program. When she reads her assessment results, she quickly says, “this is who I’ve been all my life“.

We know a great deal more than we did 20+ years ago about measuring personal talent and job matching. In Freddye’s case, what we now know, if used back then, might have suggested she look at a double major, Spanish (foreign language is a passion of hers) and Business Management, specializing in IT project management. Instead of starting her career in teaching (she is “behaviorally” a good fit for teaching/training as well) she might have gone directly into a corporate environment where her income in those early years might have been higher and she would have experienced much greater passion for what she was doing.

Hierarchy of Personal Motivators

Freddye's Personal Motivators

Behavior Insights Wheel

Freddye's Behavioral Style

For Freddye to have remained in teaching (lower pay, help others), her Social motivator (see chart above) would have needed to be much higher and her Utilitarian much lower. While Freddye may not have recognized the forces at work, she has the kind of behavioral style that “easily recognizes and accepts the need for change”. She isn’t one to stay in a situation that doesn’t excite her. She made a career shift early on. Over 50% of the population (including student populations) do not have a behavioral style that can shift as easily and dramatically as Freddye’s.

Many adults are in roles they chose while in college – by default. For those where the choice was a good one (the job’s talent demands fit the person’s talent make-up) it worked out well. For those that weren’t so lucky (around 50%), the chance of watching ten or more years tick off while they feel less than fulfilled and mediocre is high. Choosing a major based on “earning potential of that major” isn’t a good strategy.

We can’t predict the future. But we can do a much better job of helping students look at careers/jobs that match their talent design (behaviors, motivators, sometimes referred to as personality). If a student has a clearer idea of what makes them excited to get up in the morning and how the work they do feels natural to them, they will be much more likely to be successful. Money is one type of reward. There are other types of rewards that are equally powerful and important for success. Look at the job or career-match to your talents rather than the income potential of a major as a first step. Then look at the possible educational strategies that will support your career aspirations. If your career choice is aligned with your talent, any major that allows you to enter that career will work.

Degrees
Degrees
Methodology
Annual pay for Bachelors graduates without higher degrees. Typical starting graduates have 2 years of experience; mid-career have 15 years. See full methodology for more.

By the way, there is no “best major” for a Sales career (see article about groundbreaking research on top performing sales professionals) yet, sales is one of the highest median income career paths. The type of sales and choice of industry are much greater predictors of potential earnings.

Best and Worst Undergrad College Degrees by Major - Are we asking the right question?

Carl Nielson is a professional career coach, creator of Career Coaching for Students™ and managing principal of The Nielson Group, a management consulting firm specializing in hiring and selection, team effectiveness and executive coaching.

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Ask for a Favor

Posted on October 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

Career Coaching for StudentsMost people often hesitate to ask for help because they worry about being intrusive or appearing needy. The truth is that it’s innately satisfying to help others, and most people want to help. Adults especially enjoy helping up-and-coming teenagers that are showing personal accountability and self direction. As you evaluate potential careers, ask adults for favors.

Ask for help in finding and meeting people in your area of career interest. Asking can be a powerful way to get people become invested in your success.

Most people don’t realize the size of their network. And for those that do, very few leverage their network effectively. How large is your network? To find the answer, write down in three columns all of your friends‘ names, your family‘s names and your “professional contacts” that you can think of in a 10 minute timed period (set a timer). For example, I am considered a professional contact, feel free to put me down on your list.

Work on this list until you feel you’ve exhausted your thinking. How many people did you list? Now consider this, what if every person you wrote down had an equal number of people in their network that you have in yours? Some will have more. But let’s use your list count. Take your list count and multiply by the same number. The answer is your true available network.  For example, if you have 45 people in your list multiply 45 x 45 = 2,025. You now have a significant network that will most likely help you contact the right people in your area of career interest.

Be bold enough to use your network. They want to help.

Carl Nielson is a professional career coach, creator of Career Coaching for Students™ and managing principal of The Nielson Group, a management consulting firm specializing in hiring and selection, team effectiveness and executive coaching.

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Career Exploration Requires Developing a Personal Idea Network

Posted on July 1, 2011 | Leave a comment

TED logoSteven Johnson has a great presentation on where ideas come from that has been made available on TED. Taking his message and applying it to career exploration for high school or college students seemed like a fun exercise.

At the end of his presentation, Johnson states “chance favors the connected mind”.  Now shift your thought to people who are successful and happy in their careers. How did these people find their career? Did it come to them in a dream when they were very young? Perhaps it came to them through a high school class. Or from a discussion with one of their friends. Johnson’s research suggests eureka or light bulb moments, a single event, isn’t how people “found” their career match.

The key to success is in the connected mindInstead, Johnson makes a case for the development of an idea network in the brain that leads to “favor”. So if you can make the assumption that the hypothesis “chance favors the connected mind”  is true, you might find that most people that are in highly successful and enjoyable careers didn’t have a eureka moment. Instead, they experienced a process or journey that promoted exploration of career choices in a networked environment.

The idea of a “connected mind” for career exploration suggests the combination of self-awareness about what in the world motivates you, how you like to do things, people that can offer expanded perspective about careers and information resources such as Student Resource Central on the Career Coaching for Students website and a students’ extended social media network.

A Common Misstep
Exploring potential careers of interest comes before researching educational options including choosing a college. Many students choose a college, university or trade school based on many invalid considerations such as football team success, where friends are choosing to go or the beauty of the campus (I could go on).  Why do they do that? I see two primary reasons:

  1. No access to credible career exploration tools and strategies
  2. Effective career exploration requires work
  3. Without “credible” career exploration tools and strategies, blind faith about what that work will produce is required

What if there were personality and interests assessments that were so valid and reliable for increasing self-awareness and identifying potential career choices they eliminated the need for “blind faith”? What if that led to motivation to do the work to investigate high-potential career interests?

So you’re ready to research educational options and choose a college
One exercise that high school students can do to expand their connected mind for choosing a college is use their Facebook extended network to find students attending a particular college of interest. With Facebook for finding those students and Skype for connecting easily for a chat, it is easy to learn about a particular college or university from the inside. Even better, ask those students attending your school of interest to help you connect with students in the specific major that you are targeting.

Remember, “chance favors the connected mind”. What are the chances you are choosing a career direction and education strategy that will favor you ten years from now?

Carl Nielson is the developer of Career Coaching for Students™, the premier career exploration program for high school and college students. Nielson is the founder of Success Discoveries (www.successdiscoveries.com) and The Nielson Group (www.nielsongroup.com), a global organizational management consulting firm. Prior to consulting, he served over 20 years in corporate human resources management. He holds a degree in organizational psychology from Texas A&M University. Find Carl on LinkedIn.

If you are looking for true career coaching for students, look at http://www.careercoachingforstudents.net. We offer a high school program and college program. Are you past the college years? Check out free resources at Success Discoveries. Professional career coaching services offered.

Copyright © 2011 Success Discoveries, LLC
Career Coaching for Students™ is a trademark of Success Discoveries, LLC
Life Skills for Students™ is a trademark of Success Discoveries, LLC

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My Graduation Speech…for incoming High School Students

Posted on May 29, 2011 | Leave a comment

Your personal white board is clean. Write on it wisely.

I posted this as part of another post last June 2010. I’ve updated it and gave it is own post. Incoming high school freshman have a clean white board and an exciting opportunity. As a Dad of a college junior and a high school junior, it is so clear how choices made as an incoming Freshman high school student (not to minimize a foundation for self management and personal accountability that was established years ago) play a significant part in how the student graduates. This isn’t based on just my two kids, it is based on observing them and all of their friends and classmates. So based on my observations, along with my experience in the work world, I offer the following graduation speech for those moving from junior high to senior high school.

As you aim for high school, you have an incredible opportunity before you. Think of this time as a clean white board. I don’t mean to suggest your past doesn’t matter. Your past is a part of your future . If you perceive your past as positive, you can choose to carry those thoughts forward. If you consider your past to be less than you desire for the future, you can make choices about that too. You see, you have choices you are making right now.

But let’s test your perception of your past. Close your eyes. think about your first kiss (if that has happened already). Your favorite book you’ve ever read? Your favorite TV show… and movie? How do you see your parents? Your teachers? Your coaches? Your grades? Your study habits? Your desire to be involved?

All of this is going to impact your future. If you see your past positively, it will serve you well as a foundation for the future. If your past was personally less than ideal, it can serve you well as a motivator for creating that better future for yourself. Either way, the future is totally in your control – others do not have control of your future – only you do.

Even though you’ve taken several history classes already, you relate most easily to events that have occurred in your own past – your own past is like a drop of water in all the oceans of our great world. What that means is, don’t let your personal experiences limit you. Don’t let your current self perception dictate what you do tomorrow. The majority of teenagers feel inadequate and insecure. Some show their insecurity through shyness. Others through egotistical behaviors. This insecurity comes partially from being intelligent and partially from giving too much power to the concern for others’ perceptions. The intelligent part refers to the fact that you recognize your current ignorance about yourself and the world around you – that’s smart.

Giving too much power to others comes from a lack of sense of self. A lack of self understanding is easily changed. The more you do…that is, the more activities you engage in – especially outside your comfort zone, and the more you do for others, will give you a better sense of self. If you choose to disengage or to follow others rather than lead yourself, you’ll still get a sense of self but it won’t be accurate. Also, personal development experiences will come along slower and they will probably not be as beneficial.

Give yourself permission to study and enjoy learning world history. To give you an idea of how important history is, place yourself into the future, let’s say about 30 years. Today becomes the past. Your entire high school experience has already happened. Now let’s say you are extremely successful 30 years into the future. How did that happen? How did you become extremely successful? Was what you did in high school a part of why you are so successful 30 years out? Did any world events during your school years frame your thinking and shape your motivators? Now that you are successful, how do you define success?

As you emerge into adulthood, life experiences will be overwhelming at times. For some of you, that time has already happened. If your life has been hard already, I salute you and send you a big hug. I promise you will be rewarded. For all of you, you will experience tough times and overwhelming events through your entire life. It isn’t a matter of “if” you have a hard life. You will have a hard life. Let me say that again. “You will have a hard life.” The real question is “how will you lead your life?”. Will you see your life with happiness and gratitude? To answer the question for myself, my life has been a journey. Not an easy journey. I’ve come to realize that hard work isn’t good or bad. I’ve chosen my view of acceptance of life’s hard work. I’ve also developed a great appreciation for what I do and for so many people that have been in my life.

So, what’s your opinion?

Does money create happiness? Click on the link to answer the survey question.
Answer with either yes or no or I don’t know.

I think my happiness increased the most when I stopped judging and started learning. Do you judge your classmates? Or do you learn from your classmates? Do you judge your teachers or learn from them? Do you judge your parents or learn from them?

There was a time I thought I wasn’t very intelligent. It was during my elementary and junior high school days. I learned many years later that I had many intelligences and in fact some were much higher than average. Instead of being egotistical about my abilities, I am humbled by my abilities. I also see everyone else with the same colored glasses…each of you are extremely talented and above average.

How do I know that? You see, I’ve been running a quasi-experiment for 30 years without really knowing it. In my work as a consultant to corporations, I help CEOs and managers select the best person for a particular job or position in those companies. In all of my work, I never measure IQ or “intelligence” to  predict how well a particular candidate or employee will perform. What I measure has more to do with something you already have right now. Your personal talent.

Your talents are already established. All you need to do is add a little ingredient called passion. Of course you need Life Skills and knowledge and use your moral compass. But with passion, your talent, knowledge and a solid foundation in specific life skills guided by a moral compass will take you to a successful future – I guarantee it! Without passion, the other stuff won’t matter much. Don’t let anyone convince you that you aren’t smart enough. You are smart enough – regardless of your grades today. What will count most is that you find what excites you and that you always act with integrity. Because what the world needs is more people who have come alive. For success to find you requires you finding what excites you. There are many paths. You will take several of them to find your success in life. You can do it by chance or you can take control. Either way you’ll get there. For example, you’ll probably have the opportunity to do some career exploration in your Freshman year. You can blow it off or see it as an opportunity. One choice is a slower path than the other path. But in the end it is your choice – to take control of your life or not.

In closing, remember the words stated by many including Quarterback Drew Brees at the Loyola University New Orleans, 2010 Commencement: “Love what you do. You will know it when you find it. Enjoy the journey.”

Now is the time to invest in quality research about you – who you are, what you want to do. You are at the beginning of your journey. The white board is clean. Create the journey that fits you.”

Link to Drew Brees’ speech: http://www.loyno.edu/news/story/2010/5/3/2115

I hope you found this entire article helpful including the links to the full commencement speeches. More 2010 commencement speeches are available at http://www.forbes.com/2010/05/03/commencement-graduation-speakers-2010-leadership-speech.html. Also, if you are in search of an effective student career exploration program, please visit http://www.careercoachingforstudents.net.

Carl Nielson is the developer of Career Coaching for Students™, the premier career exploration program for high school and college students. Nielson is the founder of Success Discoveries (www.successdiscoveries.com) and The Nielson Group (www.nielsongroup.com), a global organizational management consulting firm. Prior to consulting, he served over 20 years in corporate human resources management. He holds a degree in organizational psychology from Texas A&M University. Find Carl on LinkedIn.

If you are looking for true career coaching for students, look at http://www.careercoachingforstudents.net. We offer a high school program and college program. Are you past the college years? Check out free resources at Success Discoveries. Professional career coaching services offered. See what a real career coach looks like.

Copyright © 2010 Success Discoveries, LLC
Career Coaching for Students™ is a trademark of Success Discoveries, LLC
Life Skills for Students™ is a trademark of Success Discoveries, LLC

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Robbing the Talent Cradle

Posted on December 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

Amanda Lewis, an Analyst at respected Human Capital Institute, a consulting firm, wrote a blog article about the new Recruiter 2.0. In the article she poses the question “When is it too early to start looking for tomorrow’s leaders?” 

Here is her article:
The military has the ability to recruit public high school students for the armed services because of the Federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. I’m not suggesting that we start hiring straight out of high school or even current college students, of course, but this made me start thinking about the branding that occurs before and during military recruitment. This practice is making the actual act of recruiting attractive to a younger generation.

In a recent blog post I talked about the new recruiter, Recruiter 2.0—who is part recruiter, part marketer who understands the need to create an engaged brand to attract, retain and engage candidates. So how early is too early to start? When you were a child what did you want to be and why? Most likely, your job of choice seemed super-cool. You probably saw a movie or TV show or heard stories about someone in a given profession and wanted to be just like them when you grew up. How can we make corporate jobs seem just as appealing as being an Astronaut?

The use of the internet and social media forums is helping the cause. They are enabling recruiters access to a younger generation who may have an idea of what career they would like to start and grow. So when do we start? Is a “HR Professional Dora Doll” out of the question?

Based on the revelations in Amanda’s article, career choice is approaching the status of buying a car. Personal preference is part of the consideration – or is it? If marketers can manipulate anyone into buying a certain car, companies and recruiters can certainly manipulate students to “want” a certain career. The military has been doing it for years. The only thing holding back companies is the lack of aligned marketing synergy around a particular career.

For example, let’s say Microsoft and Apple decided to put marketing dollars together to create an attraction around the Systems Architect Engineer career. Or perhaps Mobil/Exxon decided to pay the entire tuition for anyone who signs up to major in Petroleum Engineering.  Is that a good thing, bad thing or a non event? With the average tenure in a job and company trending downward at epidemic speed, would “Recruiting 2.0” be setting up even more young adults for low job satisfaction and mediocrity of life?

The question I’m raising is: Does it make more sense for the person to control their own destiny, including taking an assertive approach to investigating and choosing the career they want or simply dance to the song that sounds the best in the moment? One way generates personal accountability, intention and high probability of success and happiness and the other promotes corporate need.

About the Author: Carl Nielson is an executive coach, organizational development consultant and career coach. He developed the program, Career Coaching for Students™ for high school students in 2005 which happens to align with 100% of recently published GWU Freshman Transition Initiative guidelines. A college version was just released in June of 2010.

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