Tag Archives: finding a job

How to Crack into the Hidden Job Market for Summer Internships, Coops and First Jobs Out of College

Posted on June 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

“Five out of 1000 online job applications ever make it to the hiring manager’s desk.” Career Confidential CEO, Peggy McKee

Bottom Line: Nothing can happen until you meet with the key decision maker. To reach the decision maker, you’ll need to do more than send a resume to a company’s online resume collection system. You need a compelling reason for that person or their closest gatekeeper to start a dialogue with you. That first dialogue needs to lead to an ongoing relationship which leads to the right opportunities for you.

It is not unusual for a position that would be ideal for you not to exist when you initially contact those key decision makers. That fact means the job isn’t posted either.

Start by identifying the ideal companies for your desired career direction. What most students don’t realize is that when a key decision maker sees a value in you, they have the power to create the opportunity. That won’t happen with a shotgun approach to resume distribution. And it won’t happen without a face-to-face meeting.

A REALITY CHECK: NETWORKING IS THE ONLY STRATEGY

2013 Update: We’ve posted a presentation called Job Hunting in the 21st Century for Students and Recent Grads that you might find helpful.

Networking is the #1 most effective tool to get to key decision makers and land that job. Most of your immediate contacts do not realize how helpful they can be in expanding your network.

The first step in networking is to tell each person in your network that you are trying to expand your network – not get referred to a job. It is best to approach a personal contact with the purpose of seeking industry information or to explore referrals who your contact knows who could be of value. Their contact might be a person in a company that you have an interest in or in an industry of interest to you. By using this approach you are not putting your contact in a position where he or she feels obligated to push your resume in his or her company. If the offer is made [to push your resume], accept it but focus more on who he or she knows that could help your cause.

Develop a third party letter of recommendation that your associate can use, as it removes this task from your being assumed by your contact, which can get in the way of the referral. Having your contact send this letter first followed by a phone call from you is far better than simply calling unannounced to the referral.

THE KEY TO GETTING TO THE RIGHT PERSON

As indicated earlier, you must have a compelling message that makes its way into the hands of the right person and then have a means to get directly to that person. You need to either bypass the gate keepers or become successful at going through them. The typical generic introduction letter with a request for the recipient to call seldom works.

You must approach the decision maker positioning yourself as a TALENT VALUE that has the potential to be part of the solution to their KEY CHALLENGES – and not as a person seeking employment.

Too often college students see themselves as “low value” due to the lack of experience. For the employer, the lack of experience may not be as important as the “entry level pay level” that their budget supports. Or they might need your professional potential in 6 months but able to hire you into a “cover” job immediately if you are willing to trust the long term potential. For that reason, targeting your “ideal” employers is critical. You may have to start in a job that isn’t so ideal.

The only reason that an opportunity will be opened for you is that the core competencies, skill sets and accomplishments you bring to the organization are consistent with the immediate needs the organization is facing. As they say, timing is everything. Any good decision maker will look at you as a potential asset and will be looking at the return he or she will get on that asset. Your first mission is to communicate a high enough potential return that encourages the decision maker to open the dialogue. Once opened, the mission is to continue building the potential return. A willingness to start in something that is slightly outside your comfort zone is a plus. Many CEOs will tell you they started in the mailroom, as secretary or as a lowly junior salesperson. Contrary to much of what you read that says job hopping is “ok”, look at each company you target as the company you want to work at for 30 years.

There are two types of job opportunity strategies that you need to use: Individual and Group.

THE INDIVIDUAL STRATEGY

This will be specific to ONE company. Identify the ideal companies and use sourcing strategies such as LinkedIn to find people in those companies. Once you’ve targeted a person you want to reach, identify a strategy for reaching that person that involves those already in your network. Going directly to the person through a social media tool such as LinkedIn can work effectively if you are asking for “their industry advice and to share their experience” rather than “a job”.

Attend Industry Conferences

You can also identify these opportunities at trade shows (keynote speakers, session presenters, other attendees in the sessions you attend). There are usually student discounts available. Attending a conference and making contact with a speaker immediately after their presentation can be effective if you have a follow-up strategy to that first contact.

STUDENT BEST PRACTICE EXAMPLE TIP Within an industry, there are professional associations. Find the association’s website and see if there is a membership list that is openly published. Sometimes a list of member companies (or individuals) may be available. This is a quick way to find companies you might have overlooked if relying just on the college career and placement office. Exhibitor contacts may also be of use.

A Student Best Practice: Daniel Lewis, a college junior looking for both internship/coop opportunities as well as wanting to scout out high-potential employers upon graduation is attending a conference this summer being held across the country. His degree will be in mechanical engineering and his passion is in sports equipment design and manufacturing. The conference he is attending is the ISEA’s 9th International Sports Engineering conference in Lowell, MA.  Many students might feel attending a conference for experienced professionals to be outside their comfort zone. But for the student that goes outside their comfort zone, this can be a huge competitive advantage upon graduation. I salute the college students that take advantage and create these opportunities for themselves. These students will move to the front of the line with the contacts they make – avoiding all the fire walls along the way.

Contact a speaker by email about 3 – 5 days after the presentation. The opening paragraph should state that you attended their session and thought it was excellent. Also share in one sentence some benefit you gained from their presentation. Then request a 10 minute phone call appointment for the purpose of getting their advice about your desire to [find a position in xyz industry] or [find a [intern] position at 123, abc or xyz companies]. Again, your goal is to expand your network. Ask for “who” they recommend you talk with. Ask for their permission to say they referred you.

The next paragraph may come from your resume and include your positioning statement and four or five relevant and impactful achievements including your education. The last paragraph is a call to action in which you reiterate your request for a 10 minute call and confirm a time that you will follow-up. This follow-up time is critical as it is a very powerful tool to help you get by the gate keepers and to encourage the decision maker to accept your call.

This approach is also used for implementing group opportunity strategies and for approaching a company that has advertised a position of interest. Never indicate that you are responding to a specific position if responding to a job posting. Instead, use the information to customize your resume and cover letter to fit that opening while also expressing broader value (they may see you fitting another position you didn’t know existed).

THE GROUP STRATEGY

This is a highly efficient way of creating opportunities. Again the communication vehicle is not unlike that used for individual situations.

Identify 10-to-12 companies of similar size in an industry and send the group letter with a staggered but specific time for follow-up. As with all letters, use a spreadsheet and MS Word Merge tools to be efficient but be sure you are customizing specific to that industry.

THE PROCESS

Whether Individual or Group, the process is the same. The Group is simply replicating the Individual model.

  1. Using LinkedIn, Hoovers or some other available source, build target lists by industries of highest interest. Keep the industry selection to 3 or 4. Within each target list select 10 to 12 companies of great interest. Within this short list, if there are specific companies of highest interest, mark those for priority research. If you have specific companies outside of the industries you’ve selected that you would like to include, list those separately for an individual approach.
  2. Create a cover letter for each industry. In most cases one will suit all companies in the same industry.
  3. Identify the person(s) and their direct mailing address in each company who would be the most appropriate targets. Typically you would target a person two levels above your target position. If that person’s name is not readily available from LinkedIn or Hoovers, the company website or some other public source, pick up the phone and call the company and ask for the person’s name. If you are asked the purpose simply state you wish to mail a thank you as a follow-up to [a presentation they made at a conference or their recent help].
  4. Set up the letter on your computer and use the mail merge capability to generate the hard copy (always use first class not e-mail for this). Type each letter with a unique and specific “time” for follow-up. Allow four to five working days after mailing date for the follow-up date/time. If you are doing a group campaign leave an hour between each call so that if a discussion is opened you have time to close for the meeting and can take a breather between each.
  5. Send the letter (letters) out and follow up as stated in your letter.

There are at least three firewalls you must get by: the front desk (switchboard), the admin assistant and the targeted recipient. In each case the objective is to get to the decision maker and not simply be sent to HR or told “We are not hiring. The content of the letter is designed to help. If the front desk asks the nature of the call, simply confirm you are contacting the recipient per a scheduled time. If the admin assistant asks, respond in the same way. Engage with the admin assistant and respect their power. You can often turn a gatekeeper from a major roadblock into a willing helper if done properly. If you get directly to the recipient, confirm receipt and immediately steer the conversation.

DO NOT COME ACROSS AS A JOB SEEKER AS YOU WILL BE SENT TO HR. POSITION YOURSELF AS LOOKING FOR ADVICE.

Once the dialogue is opened, respect the time of the recipient. The objective is to get a face-to-face meeting. Speak long enough to achieve a high enough level of interest to get the recipient to agree to a meeting. If you get the target recipient’s voice mail simply confirm you are calling at the time indicated and that you will try back at the same time tomorrow. Do not go into a “sales pitch” as you will come across as just one more person trying to waste their time.

The key to success is persistence. Continue contacting people to grow your network in each target company until you are successful in getting to the decision maker or it becomes very clear that it is not to be.

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.

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Six Mistakes Made on Resumes

Posted on April 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

It has been over 20 years since I was in the corporate HR world handling 200 resumes for one job opening and handling 50 job openings at once. Today, being focused on organizational development consulting and coaching for the corporate world  I still get involved in helping mid-career professionals as well as provide the Career Coaching for Students program to high school and college students. Whether you are a college grad hoping for that first break out job or looking to make a 5th job change due to lay offs, mergers and acquisitions, a resume is more of a show stopper  than a qualifier unless you are utilizing relationships to get that interview.

Your network, statistically speaking, will most likely be the way you obtain the job, but every once in a while your resume is one of the 250 resumes that HR filters through before handing off 100 to the hiring authority. So your resume must be right.  I’ve compiled six reasons from my own experience and that of other bloggers in “corporate HR/recruiting”.  I’m amazed at how the reasons for going in the trash haven’t changed in 20 years. Here are six reasons your resume will get thrown in the trash.

#1 You don’t meet the minimum criteria. From a hiring manager: “It took only two minutes to find that first red flag in my four-inch stack. I saw an application on which someone from human resources had written ‘experience may not qualify.’ The candidate had spent two years working at a work-force-development agency, but the HR staff member didn’t know if that would count toward our need that the applicant have experience in vocational education. After reading the job summary on the résumé, I knew the experience wouldn’t count. Case closed.”

The first step in the application process is understanding whether or not you even qualify for the job. Your application typically will not go straight to the hiring committee. Instead, it will first go through the filter of the human-resources staff members who won’t forward unqualified applicants or will flag someone whose qualifications are uncertain. If you don’t have the job’s minimum requirements, the process is over. Note those minimum requirements and clearly demonstrate how you meet them.

#2 Employers fail candidates for bad grammar. It’s sad that I have to write that. The number of misspelled words, incomplete sentences, and other cardinal sins of writing is shocking. While the average employer would certainly drop you for such transgressions, some employers get twice as irritated about it. Misspellings signal laziness, inattention to detail, and just the overall sense that you aren’t taking this seriously.

Here are three pieces of advice: proofread, proofread, proofread. Every word processor on the planet has spellcheck. Is it that hard to click the little button? You’ve already (I hope) spent an hour or more writing the thing. Would taking another five minutes for a once-over be too much to ask? Ask someone that is known for their editing prowess to review your writing. One final question: Would you take this article seriously if I butchered the wording? Of course not. The same perspective applies.

#3 Did you even try to tailor your résumé? The next red flag comes from an excellent, well-crafted résumé. Clearly demonstrating the candidate’s expertise in accounting, it included specific accomplishments in previous accounting jobs. It was without flaw. The HR screener may have even said aloud, “This is the best I’ve seen in a while.” There was one small problem, though. The company isn’t hiring for an accounting position. On to the next candidate.

I’m sure many of us have either used or heard of the “spray and pray” method of applying for jobs. It means rapid-firing your résumé to every opening you can find. I have rarely seen that strategy work. In fact, one of the best things that applicants can do is demonstrate that they know what they are applying for. Mentioning specific programs or people you know that work at the company will be seen very positively. But the biggest desire is that HR wants résumé that deal with the company’s specific needs as a department line by line. You can’t do that if you haven’t bothered to notice what the department or company has open.

#4 I know you’re lying to me. Here’s a great rule of thumb—don’t lie on your application or resume. In fact, don’t ever lie, because the truth eventually surfaces. With social media, networking everyone to everyone, employers can chat with someone who will know you didn’t do half of the things listed on your application or will have very different dates of employment. Once that happens, into the shredder you go. Even worse, you might get hired and the truth will get you fired quicker than you can say “oops”.

Even if your lies help you make the first cut, you should know that HR and hiring managers (in small and large organizations, with or without HR expertise) will do research on you before the call for the interview. If they sniff deception, you’re gone.

#5 You didn’t speak our language. Here’s a strategy connected to #3 above used to land jobs: Copy specific phrases and buzzwords from the job posting into your résumé. Then build them into the bullet points. “Instructional design a plus” from the posting becomes “experience in instructional design” on your application. (Obviously, only do that when the statements are true.) Don’t refer to the descriptive term (instructional design) as something else not relevant or valued by the employer (such as “building course materials”).

Hiring Committee members who quickly scan résumés often look for the specific phrases they put in the job posting. Using other phrases to describe the same activity might cause a committee member to unknowingly pass over critical parts of your experience while they speed read. Many corporate employers are now using an automated filter that electronically weeds out applications if they lack the right number of “keywords,” which essentially are the words from the job posting. That is why so many refer to the online job posting systems as the “black hole”.

#6 You used too much personality fluff. This one is claimed to be a common mistake as reported by HR recruiters. It happens when candidates use descriptive phrases about themselves like, “dedicated worker,” “innovative thinker,” “cares about …” Those read like fillers you stuck in because you didn’t have enough concrete work experience to fill a page or perhaps you were trying to populate your resume with key words.

The problem is that the descriptors must be substantive and job-related. I coach my clients to add descriptors that come from their talent assessment results. For example, the following are from a mid-career client assessment and are listed on the first page of the resume prior to the Experience section:

Here is the challenge in using these descriptors. As one HR person stated, “I don’t care if you think you’re ‘motivated to succeed’ or ‘enjoy new challenges.’ Anyone can say those things and most people do, to the point of being cliché. Furthermore, just because you can say them doesn’t mean they’re true. I will be able to read your personality from the interview. That’s what the interview is for.” The person was making a fair statement until the end. “I will be able to read your personality from the interview” was arrogance and ignorance at its best, however, explaining why that statement totally discredited the HR person is outside the scope of this article. For each “talent descriptor” you include in your resume, be prepared with a job-related story that supports the claim. For example, in the list above, “Likes to bring people of common interest together” is something that came from the assessment report but is a huge strength for this person. She is in sales. She has many examples of how she not only exceeded sales quotas but connected others in her organization to selling opportunities – because she enjoys it.

Your résumé should show why you have the best background and skills for the job. Your “talent” as I refer to it includes your personality. That is part of why you have the best “total talent” for the job. As the arrogant/ignorant HR person stated, “If you are good at written communications, I should be able to glean that from a perfectly written resume.”

As you assemble your application, remember: When employers sift through a giant stack of applications, they look for excuses to end the relationship quickly. Don’t give them one.

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 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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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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Posted in career choices, career exploration, Career Exploration and Career Coaching, career interest, career options, career quiz, career test, Find a Job Advice, Job Search, student career counseling, Student Career Exploration, Teen Career Exploration, Uncategorized

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For-Profit Colleges Mislead Students

Posted on August 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

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On May 4, 2010, we posted an article on this blog and at the home page of Career Coaching for Students™ entitled PBS Frontline Exposes Fraud at For-Profit Schools. Obviously we have to give PBS credit for the story. Now it seems the General Accounting Office (GAO, United States Agency) has published their findings which are both confirming the PBS story and very damning for the “For-Profit Educational Industry”. These “for profits” offer “extensive career planning and placement programs” which has been the enabler for the “for-profit college industry” to secure significant market share in the higher education industry.

According to the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), nearly two million students attend for-profit colleges, pursuing bachelor’s and associate’s degrees in disciplines that range from cosmetology to nursing and engineering. In 2009, for-profit colleges received more than $20 billion in federal loans and grants. These are powerful institutions that students, the government, and employers have trusted with a significant part of our society’s future. Knowing this information, you can imagine the outrage and shock that accompanied today’s GAO report that implicated 15 for-profit colleges in deceptive recruiting & career planning practices.

Of the 15 colleges tested, four institutions were guilty of fraud in their aggressive and misleading marketing techniques. As part of the GAO’s undercover investigation, four agents posed as prospective students and met with admissions staff for financial aid, tuition, and career planning information. The test revealed the following questionable marketing practices:

  • One for-profit college encouraged an applicant to hide $250,000 worth of assets on a federal financial aid application
  • According to The New York Times, another college encouraged a student to lie about dependents on a financial aid application 
  • Admissions representatives misrepresented tuition costs, quoting the price of classes for nine months instead of one full year
  • Students were provided with false career planning advice. For example, one program mentioned that barbers could earn up to $250,000 annually. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 90 percent of barbers earn $43,000 per year.
  • One admissions representative undermined the financial burden of student loans, implying that defaulters cannot be held accountable for missed payments
  • Admissions representatives engaged in aggressive marketing strategies, pressuring the undercover agents to sign contracts even if they weren’t ready to make a decision.

Although the names of the 15 for-profit colleges remain confidential, the surveyed programs were in a number of disciplines, offering both associate’s and bachelor’s degrees in subjects ranging from business to cosmetology. This information coincides with an education record.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 70 percent of high school graduates from the class of 2009 were enrolled in a two-year or four-year program when surveyed in October ’09 — the highest number in United States history. While this is a figure worth celebrating, it is also indicative of a growing issue – proper career exploration and planning.

How many of these students are making informed career decisions when choosing a program to attend? How many of these students will position themselves to guarantee a return on investment, and how many will drown in debt upon graduation, falling victim to aggressive marketing practices, false career planning advice, and unrealistic expectations about career prospects? Whether or not students have fair access to objective information, they are still responsible for the costs and consequences of their education and career planning strategy.

Of all the concerning questions, how many students, by taking the bait at these fraudulent institutions, are missing out on a career that would have been much more fulfilling and resulted in greater success?

Students have to make adult decisions with real consequences at a very young age. The issue isn’t whether students are mature enough to choose and plan their careers. The issue is around access to solid, credible career coaching for students. As a society, as parents, as teachers, and as students, it is more important than ever that career coaching be provided to all students.

If you’re not investing a substantial sum of money, you are investing a substantial amount of time, so be an educated consumer when shopping for a college. Just as you would compare the economic implications of buying a car, you should compare the economic implications of your degree, college, and program relative to career interests. In addition to looking at rankings, prestige, and marketing materials — regardless of whether you are looking at a nonprofit or for-profit college — weigh the economic and educational return on investment. Our students are our future’s most valuable asset, so let’s position them to be successful.

A GREAT OFFER TO READERS OF THIS BLOG – UNLIMITED ACCESS TO STUDENT RESOURCE CENTRAL™ FOR ONLY $19.95: The Career Coaching for Students™ website has an extensive private area for career and educational research that is normally reserved for our individual and workshop clients. Each resource has been evaluated for its quality, value and ethical representation of information. We call it Student Resources Central™. Due to the new, alarming information about corrupt “for-profit” institutional practices, we are offering the full Student Resources Central site to parents** and students for $19.95 per access license. This is a unique offer and the access has no expiration. If you are a high school administrator or teacher and would like to gain access to the site for all of your students we offer the same price to you also. This one-time purchase provides access with no expiration. To buy an access license go here. Aren’t sure it is worth it? We guarantee your satisfaction* or we’ll give you a full refund and we’ll eat the credit card fees.

*Guarantee will be honored for 30 days. After 30 days we figure you found the site helpful.
**This offer is not available to professionals or organizations that offer career guidance services, tools or products. For more information on becoming a Career Coaching for Students™ Licensed Facilitator which includes full rights to use Student Resource Central  with all of your customers contact Carl Nielson at 972.346.2892 or visit our Coach Facilitator information page on the website.

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Insights for Parents: The Pressure of Choosing a Career

Posted on July 27, 2010 | Leave a comment

As a parent of a college student and a teenager in high school, one of my biggest questions in my mind is “Am I helping my children with the right information and career guidance?”  Am I helping them understand their unique talents, skills, behaviors and motivators and translate these into identifying a career path that is motivating and fulfilling for them?  

I’ve worked with many teenagers, high school and college students for several years and have gained a few insights. As a full time management consultant, executive coach and executive & student career coach and as a parent, I’m sharing “insights” that I hope are useful to parents. The focus of these insights is specific to parents of teenagers (or college students) who are struggling with helping their son or daughter with career guidance.  So instead of this being advice, please consider these, at best, my insights. 

Here are a few points to consider to reduce the pressure of Career Guidance: 

  1. Be a good listener. Listening with open ears and an open mind is one of the most powerful ways you can help your son or daughter. Listening means “not talking, telling or judging”. Listening means asking open ended questions to learn what is in the mind of your son or daughter?
  2. Observe and create an awareness of their talents and skills. Become very observant of your teenagers skills and talents in their day to day activities at home, schools and in social gatherings. Open ended discussion around these observations creates a heightened awareness among the teenager. This new awareness also motivates them to explore and learn more about these talents and skills on their own.
  3. Be understanding. Choosing a career is a process of exploration and takes time and effort. When helping your son or daughter explore their own talents and the potential careers that will be a good fit, don’t push for an immediate decision, it has to evolve over time in the mind of your child. Choosing a career is not a healthy objective in the short term. A better “parental objective” is to support your son or daughter in exploring their interests, attitudes, motivators (self awareness) and the careers, industries, companies and people that might help them “find” their place in the world. Developing a strategy that ensures they are positioned to pursue the best career for them is an admiral goal and a less frustrating proposition for you and your child.
  4. Approach career exploration as a fun journey. The journey is as certain as life itself. To make career exploration fun means eliminating all of the things that makes it not fun. We parents are very good at telling. Please don’t tell when it comes to career exploration. Parents are very good at sharing their opinions. Please avoid sharing your opinion until your teenager asks for it. Offer support in whatever way your son or daughter wants that support. Remind yourself often how intimidating an exercise this is for son or daughter. Remind them that you were totally blind about careers, that you had no idea how to go about exploring and choosing a career when you were their age and that you were intimidated by the thought of “choosing a career”. Help them create an environment that puts them in control. Within that general guideline, do not allow your son or daughter to put it off (a natural occurrence when we feel intimidation, fear, and incompetent). With little effort, they can learn a lot during the high school years that will put them way ahead of most college students.

You’ll end up turning your frustration into fun and excitement when you watch your son or daughter talk, act and succeed with passion because they own their career choices. This way they not only find their career choices, but are very excited about it and motivated to go the extra mile to succeed. 

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), an international corporate 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.   Carl speaks to groups on request and offers parent webinars and seminars for communities. 

If you are looking for true career guidance for a student, check out http://www.careercoachingforstudents.net. Are you past the high school and college years? Check out resources and services at Success Discoveries. Professional career coaching services offered.    

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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Is it time to revamp career guidance in schools?

Posted on July 16, 2010 | Leave a comment

As a corporate management and organizational development consultant with over 25 years of hiring, firing, training, coaching and development, I find a mixed population when it comes to people with clear, passionate career direction and those without that clarity and passion. My observations and various academic, corporate and government surveys suggest more people fall into the latter category. Yet those in positions of authority within the secondary and higher education career guidance field seem satisfied with the status quo.Is it time to revamp career guidance in schools?

What has changed over the past 30+ years in career counseling in most schools can be summed up in three letters: WWW. Schools are now offering students an online portal to career information. Most of these programs offer personality assessments that point the student to Holland codes.  So if that is an appropriate assessment for students, how many employers use Holland code type assessments to match people to jobs? My informal scan came up with zero. 

Why revamp career guidance in schools?
I’ve listed some reasons (goals and rewards) that support an effort to revamp career guidance in schools.

  • Higher student self-esteem
  • Higher academic achievement across all student populations
  • Better choices for higher education
  • Shorter time in higher-ed (a change in majors delays a student by at least one semester)
  • Lower student loan debt
  • Higher quality workforce
  • Greater job satisfaction
  • Improved society
  • Higher personal income
  • Higher quality of life
  • and greater employability in a passionate career

Career Guidance redefined.

Career guidance starts with bringing self-awareness to the student. This is minimized by schools, or, if attempted, counselors use personality assessments with relatively low validity and reliability. The typical public school administrator thinks they do not have the budget to consider highly reliable, valid assessments and properly conduct counseling or coaching with each student. As one administrator explained, “we need to leave something for the parents to do”. Colleges and universities are found to have very few resources as well. Many continue to use the Myers Briggs Type Indicator as the tool of choice for expanding students’ self-awareness.   

With solid self-awareness, a valid connection needs to be made to career possibilities. Most students get off the train at this point. They didn’t find the “personality assessments” valid (face validity is critical) and found the career suggestions from the assessment report made no sense. The reality is that making the talent-to-career connection requires the help of a professional career coach or a well-developed career coaching program that guides the student through the process.

From initial investigative research to in-depth career analysis, the ability to research careers has been improved drastically thanks to the Internet. However, left on their own, students find the Internet is a rather large, disorganized information bank that has the potential to get the researcher distracted or totally lost and confused. Students don’t need a Google list of Internet resources or school marketing website disguised as a career guidance site. Internet resources need to be found, evaluated, vetted and categorized in a way that allows the student to stay focused with their research and avoid chasing links to questionable or low-value content.

Career research can’t be defined by Internet resources. At some point, the student must meet people in careers of interest, interview these people, go on job shadowing ventures and get internships working for companies that employ people in his career of interest.  There are several other strategies students can take to learn and identify career choices. Most students don’t complete any of these steps. A very few might do some of this.

Researching ideal careers is half the battle. Today’s students lack skills such as decision-making. Life skills that are learned early support students as they go to college or enter the work world. Life skills are just that, skills learned by experiencing life. However, our culture has changed significantly in the past 30 years. Students do not live in an environment that enables them to develop these life skills the way kids did 50 or 100 years ago. Yet school administrators and parents seem unaware of programs they can use to introduce students to key skills required for success. What are the key skills found in highly successful people? Here is a short list of 18 skills. Which of these aren’t needed to be highly successful? 

  1. Continuous Learning (try this one!)
  2. Personal Accountability
  3. Self Management
  4. Decision Making (Conceptual Thinking, Theoretical Problem Solving, Role Confidence, Balanced Decision Making)
  5. Goal Orientation
  6. Proactive Thinking
  7. Initiative
  8. Project and Goal Focus
  9. Planning and Organizing
  10. Flexibility
  11. Problem Solving
  12. Persistence 
  13. Creativity Innovation
  14. Futuristic Thinking
  15. Influencing Others (Conveying Role Value, Gaining Commitment, Understanding Motivational Needs)
  16. Interpersonal Skills (Evaluating Others, Personal Relationships, Persuading Others)
  17. Written Communication
  18. Personal Drive

What are the chances the typical high school student is being developed in these skill areas? I think it is time to revamp career guidance in schools? Please leave your thoughts in the comment box.

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), an international corporate 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.   Carl speaks to groups on request and offers parent webinars and seminars for communities.

If you are looking for true career guidance for a student, check out http://www.careercoachingforstudents.net. Are you past the high school and college years? Check out resources and services at Success Discoveries. Professional career coaching services offered.   

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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Career Talk for Students with Dr. Bruce McLaughlin webinar series starts July 7, 2010: New, Emerging and High Demand Jobs for Students

Posted on July 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

I am very honored to be Bruce’s first “guest” for Career Talk, a free program for students and parents available by registering at http://tinyurl.com/yk7nfw9.

My topic is New and Emerging Careers for Students. Please forward the info to any parent or student interested in the future (that should cover just about everyone).

Career Talk is a series of free conference calls hosted by Dr. Bruce McLaughlin. Topics cover a wide range of issues important to students and parents of students in high school and college.

Career Talk Series One (July through September 2010)

Format: Interactive conference call (phone) with online screen sharing.
Call in instructions:
1. Call the conference line (one-time register at http://tinyurl.com/yk7nfw9) to connect to the call using your unique PIN
2. At beginning of call go to http;//www.successdiscoveries.glance.net. A session key will be provided at the beginning of the call. Follow the online instructions to connect to the presentation screen.

Interactive Q and A with guest experts will be included on each call.

Wednesday 7/7/10 (7:00 P.M. central) – New and Emerging Careers with Carl Nielson
What careers are going to be in demand in the future? How can you prepare yourself to move into the new job market? This session will address careers and their requirements that are relatively new (non-traditional) or anticipated to be developing over the next ten years. We will discuss the differences between ‘New Occupations’, ‘Emerging Occupations’, and ‘Evolving Occupations’. Carl Nielson is founder of Success Discoveries and the Developer of the Career Coaching for Students program.

Wednesday 7/29/10 (7:00 P.M. central) – College Costs & Funding Strategies Part One
Your family’s security depends upon careful planning for college expenses. A typical education can cost over $100,000 and leave the young student in debt for years. Prepare in advance for one of the most important events of your life. Dr. McLaughlin will be joined by Susan Young, CPA to cover this important topic.

Monday 8/30/10 (6:00 P.M. central) – Know the Score on Standardized Testing
Learn about the role standardized testing plays in the college process and gain simple tips to assist you in preparing for the SAT/ACT.

Monday 9/27/10 (8:00 P.M. central) – College Costs & Funding Strategies Part Two
Your family’s security depends upon careful planning for college expenses. A typical education can cost over $100,000 and leave the young student in debt for years. Prepare in advance for one of the most important events of your life. Dr. McLaughlin will be joined by Susan Young, CPA to discuss and share valuable information.

At the end of each call, Bruce will answer questions and explain some of the specifics about the upcoming St. Louis-area career workshops specifically tailored for students in high school or college.

Bonus: As a Registered Call Participant, we’re providing you access to the Life Skills for Students Continuous Learning module (one of the 16 Life Skills for Students modules included in the workshop).

Bonus #2 for Students: Complimentary “Parent User Manual” assessment. Students are being “assessed” and “tested” constantly. Let’s turn the tables and have the parent take an assessment. Participating parents on the call will be invited to take a complimentary behavioral style assessment. The report will be enlightening for the parent and the entire family. Instructions will be e-mailed after the call.

To learn more about upcoming workshops http://www.careercoachingforstudents.net/career-coaching-for-students-events/30-st-louis-student-career-workshop.html

Career Coaching for Students workshop is highly recommended for high school students:

Incoming Freshmen
Sophomores
Juniors*
Seniors*

*This workshop is critical for Juniors and Seniors if they are making college and major choices without a clear career plan., Talent Development: Hire,Train & Retain the Best. Executive Coaching, Team Development, Student Career CoachingTriMetrix, CPVA, CPBABy Carl Nielson,

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Free Career Counseling is the Most Expensive Option

Posted on June 21, 2010 | 2 comments

Yes, we’ve all had that experience where “free” turned out to be the most expensive option. When the risk is low, it is a great first strategy. When the stakes are really high, taking the free approach may not be the best way to go. When it comes to student career exploration, that free career counseling received in high school and college has generated some interesting statistics for those adults now trying to reap the benefits of that career counseling. To be certain, while these offerings may be free to the student and parents, there is a cost for the time and resources assigned. In addition, student feedback and national data suggest traditional career counseling strategies used by most high schools and colleges are not effective.     

US Job Satisfaction Trend

US Job Satisfaction Trend

 

According to The Conference Board, as reported January 5, 2010, of 5,000 households, finds only 45 percent of those surveyed say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from 61.1 percent in 1987, the first year in which the survey was conducted. “While one in 10 Americans is now unemployed, their working compatriots of all ages and incomes continue to grow increasingly unhappy,” says Lynn Franco, director of the Consumer Research Center of The Conference Board. “Through both economic boom and bust during the past two decades, our job satisfaction numbers have shown a consistent downward trend.”     

The drop in job satisfaction between 1987 and 2009 covers all categories in the survey, from interest in work (down 18.9 percentage points) to job security (down 17.5 percentage points) and crosses all four of the key drivers of employee engagement: job design, organizational health, managerial quality, and extrinsic rewards. 
Trend Percent by AGE of US Satisfied in Job

Satisfaction Trend by Age

 

“Challenging and meaningful work is vitally important to engaging American workers,” adds John Gibbons, program director of employee engagement research and services at The Conference Board. “Widespread job dissatisfaction negatively affects employee behavior and retention, which can impact enterprise-level success.” In fact, 22 percent of respondents said they don’t expect to be in their current job in a year. “This data throws up a big, red flag because the increasing dissatisfaction is not just a ‘survivor syndrome’ artifact of having co-workers and neighbors laid off in the recession,” says Gibbons.     

Chart 4 on the left makes a strong statement. Those in the workforce under age 25 (group most recently having received career counseling as a student) are the most dissatisfied with their job. That was the case in 1987 as well but the amount of dissatisfaction has changed dramatically. Is there a correlation between job dissatisfaction of the younger adults and career counseling strategies being used by high schools and colleges? All age categories show drastic shifts downward in job satisfaction. Yet, we can assume that within all age groups it is likely there are people that are experiencing very high job satisfaction. Is there a common denominator for those that are experiencing high job satisfaction? The short answer is “YES”. Everyone with high job satisfaction have found the job and career that matches to their passions and talent.     

Is the economy to blame or is the cause more stealth?     

The Stealth Bomber from the movie StealthLooking at the different Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data, earnings were flat for most of 2009. That might explain a dip in job satisfaction in 2009 but not in 1987 – 2008 (Chart 1 above).  A closer look at hourly compensation, manufacturing output and business output do not show a correlation between economic indicators and job satisfaction.     

Real Hourly Comp Business 1987 - 2010 BLS

Real Hourly Comp Business 1987 - 2010 BLS

 

While the 2009 recession could be “predicted” by some of the previous year data, it doesn’t seem to matter what is going on economically. Job satisfaction is dropping. The only data that might give some correlation to the economy is Real Hourly Compensation. From 1987 to 1998 there were wide swings both up and down. Those wide swings could explain a level of job dissatisfaction. From 1998 to 2009 the Real Hourly Compensation shows a steady drop.    

We could easily make a correlation between dropping compensation and job satisfaction. In 2005, we see a high point    

Output per Hour Mfg 1988 - 2010 BLS

Output per Hour Mfg 1988 - 2010 BLS

 

for job satisfaction in the first decade of the 21st century that contradicts the correlation between compensation and job satisfaction. We also see a spike in manufacturing output in 2005 that might suggest that is “the” driver of job satisfaction.    

So with contradictions in the data, we are left searching for better explanations. Those of us working in the organizational development and human capital management field like to point to the intangibles of work. Within that realm, there is a body of knowledge and hard data that suggests “job fit” is the real “controlling factor” for job satisfaction. This implicates high school and college career counseling programs as not only being ineffective but perhaps detrimental to future job satisfaction.    

Output per Hour Business 1987 - 2010 BLS
Output per Hour Business 1987 – 2010 BLS

So back to the point about “free is the most expensive option”.  When  it comes to career exploration, there are three possible ways to receive free career coaching as a student:    

  • in high school
  • through the government’s military recruitment program
  • at college/post secondary school 

The first  free opportunity comes in high school.
High Schools are signing “career Internet portal site licenses” with companies like Kuder, Bridges by XAP or Naviance to meet state graduation requirements related to career exploration and career planning. Teachers or counselors are providing guidance to the students that ranges from a PowerPoint presentation on how to use the career portal to one-on-one meetings to “guide” the student in choosing AP classes and taking the SAT or ACT exams. English teachers may assign a writing assignment to focus on career exploration. Some high schools like Eugene Oregon’s school district have a comprehensive suite of tangible offerings and a career coordinator to coordinate the offerings. For most high schools, the counselors will say the last thing they have time for is to provide quality individualized (or even group) career coaching. Carol Christen, coauthor of What Color Is Your Parachute? For Teens: Discovering Yourself, Defining Your Future states, “Academia seems to be stuck in the 19th century. They have polarized the discussion into parts that are nearly irrelevant. Research shows that all students do better when they have a plan. A detailed and well vetted plan is as necessary as good grades for success, and that students with a plan go on to and graduate from higher education in greater numbers.”    

ASVAB Wants YOU

ASVAB is the Dept of Defense's Military Entrance Exam

 

The second free opportunity is the Department of Defense ASVAB Career Exploration program.
The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is a timed multi-aptitude test, which is given at over 14,000 schools and Military Entrance Processing Stations (MEPS) nationwide and is developed and maintained by the Department of Defense. The military is offering free career exploration that includes the ASVAB assessment and a full personal debriefing of the ASVAB assessment results. The people providing the assessment debriefing are not career coaches. They are Recruiters working for the military. If you are already considering or want to look at careers in the military, take advantage of this free offer. To access a wider student population (top students), the military has dressed this program up as a “taxpayer benefit that everyone should use”.    

 The third free opportunity is the college career placement and counseling office.
College Placement and Counseling OfficeEvery college or university has an office of Career Placement and Counseling. Trade schools and “for profit” institutions also have a similar office. The “for profit” organizations use the name to cover their true purpose to use the “career counseling” for recruiting new students.    

Like high school, universities and colleges have more of an advisory system in place that is offered to students. Unfortunately, most of these institutions use similar assessments used by high schools – not the kind of assessments used by companies to match people to jobs. Advisors in colleges and universities rely on the student to come to them. Based on college staffing of career advisors, less than 5% of the student population actually utilize the services. The services utilized look much more like a high school offering than actual career coaching. But lately, colleges are introducing classes like those listed at Cleveland State University. An example of a Law School career counseling services video go here. Watch the Career and Job Fair video to see the typical college student admit they did no career planning before choosing a college  major or delayed thinking about career and jobs until their graduation year.    

The best advice I can offer to teens or parents is “find and enroll in a credible career exploration program that takes a career coaching approach”. Do this before you leave high school. Do this before you choose a college. Do this before you choose a college major. Pay for it unless you know someone that will provide it to you for free. If you can’t find a local program, consider Career Coaching for Students™ Home Study Personal Edition. With parent assistance, students who seriously pursue career planning using credible methods can gain an advantage that impacts academics now and avoids missteps down the road.    

The second piece of advice is for students. Take your high school “career” writing assignments seriously. Take full advantage of any career counseling that is offered if you feel it is credible and helpful.  

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), an international corporate 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. Are you past the high school and 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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2 Ways Students Get Mentoring without a Mentor

Posted on June 2, 2010 | Leave a comment

A mentor is a great resource for career advice, feedback, and help in building your skills and capabilities. However, it’s not always possible to find one person who has the time or expertise to help you with all of the above. Try these two approaches to getting the mentoring you need: 

  1. Ask adults within your personal network (friends’ parents, teachers, parents’ friends)  for advice. Reach out to a person who you respect for advice or coaching on a specific challenge. Busy people are more likely to have an hour to spend with you than to be able to commit to a long-term mentoring relationship.
  2. Create a personal board of advisors. Line up a group of adults who are willing to give you periodic feedback on things like career options, choosing a major based on a career interest, college choices, etc. This type of quick, periodic input can be especially valuable when it comes from several adults with diverse backgrounds and perspectives.

The Career Coaching for Students™ program includes building a board of advisors and leveraging a network of contacts that has long-term benefits for the student.

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

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Preliminary Study Shows Critical Skill Missing in College Freshman

Posted on May 31, 2010 | 3 comments

One of the most valuable relationships I have is being part of a professional family called TTI Performance Systems Ltd (TTI). TTI is the worldwide leader in personal and professional assessment tools. With years of research and validation, TTI assessments are time-tested and proven to provide timely solutions for today’s personal talent and business challenges. TTI tools are utilized in over 50 countries and 26 languages to help individuals, businesses and organizations. TTI assessments are used in my Career Coaching for Students™ program for high school and college students. I’ve been a member of TTI’s Chairman’s Club for several years now. This has enabled me to learn about different studies and stay in touch with one of the true thought leaders in personal talent measurement,  Bill Bonnstetter.

Bill Bonnstetter, Founder and Chairman, TTI Performance Systems, Ltd.Bill Bonnstetter, Founder and Chairman of TTI keeps his finger on the pulse by doing research. This not only keeps TTI in the leader position but gives me the ability to apply and share critically significant findings.  Bonnstetter recently conducted a preliminary study of incoming Freshman students in college that showed among other things a significant lack of competency in a particular skill – “Decision Making“.

Why is this skill important for students?
One characteristic that “successful people” share is the ability to make sound and timely decisions. The best student decision makers are able to synthesize a variety of factors, such as personal opinion, group needs and professor instructions, and make decisions that at least come close to satisfying the major requirements of all involved parties.

People who are good at Decision Making do not suffer from an imbalance in the amount of focus they place on any one factor. They will most likely make decisions that place equal emphasis on all involved parties or concerns, therefore, making decisions that are more likely to satisfy all needs.

People whose Decision Making skills need work typically don’t place equal importance on all aspects of a situation and don’t utilize proven processes. Instead, they make decisions that satisfy some, but not all, of the factors or people involved.

Let’s say that a college professor has assigned a research paper that is due in two weeks. A student who is a strong decision maker considers the scope of the professor’s assignment, total class work load, other projects, what part-time work schedule is coming up and next weekend’s social events to decide that it is best to start immediately on the paper and to cancel one of their social plans for the upcoming weekend.  A student who is weak in decision-making may ignore the assignment altogether for the first week and then ignore critical elements of the assignment as they write the paper. Which student is likely to get the better grade on their paper, the one with good decision-making skills or the one with weak decision-making skills?

What skills are associated with Decision Making?

Someone who has mastered skills associated with Decision Making:

• Demonstrates an ability to make difficult decisions in a timely manner.

• Gathers relevant input and develops a rationale for making decisions.

• Evaluates the impact or consequences of decisions before making them.

• Acts decisively despite obstacles, resistance or opposition.

• Accepts consequences of decisions.

• Is willing to correct incorrect decisions when necessary.

• Defends rationale for decisions when necessary.

How do students develop their own skills in Decision Making?

• Don’t make hasty decisions unless the situation requires some type of immediate reaction.

• If the situation requires you to make a quick decision, consider implementing a temporary solution and revisit the issue, incorporating all relevant factors and individuals, when the immediate crisis has passed.

• Don’t always get bogged down in details. Force yourself to look at the situation from a big-picture perspective.

• Practice being a good communicator. Share information as often as possible and be open to suggestions, comments and opinions from others.

• Be sure that everyone who will be affected by the decision you are trying to make has an opportunity to state an opinion about it.

• If you determine that a decision should be made with the help of others, create formal opportunities for the decision-making group to discuss and analyze options.

• Brainstorm to create a variety of potential solutions for each problem you face.

• Don’t be afraid to change your decisions if new information clarifies issues or presents new options.

• Look for creative ways to approach the situation by determining how others have handled similar situations in the past.

• Carefully evaluate the options you have identified based on relevant criteria. How well does each option address the issue at hand? What resources does each option require to be successful? Which options can be completed within the relevant time frame? Is each option a realistic, workable solution?

• Be sure to create potential solutions that are easily put into place. The solution or decision should make things easier, not harder!

• Be educated about the consequences of your decisions. Try to determine how each option you have identified affects others, the budget, the goal of the program or company, and even people outside the organization such as clients or suppliers.

• If you don’t feel that you have enough information, determine what is the worst possible thing that could happen if you made a decision right now without getting any new information. This may help you feel better about making a decision, or it may strengthen your resolve to gather more data.

• If a course of action is unclear and you cannot make a truly informed decision, choose what seems to be the best solution and implement it temporarily. The temporary solution may work well, or it may help you determine an alternate course of action.

• If you make an erroneous decision, be willing to improve it or take corrective action to solve the problem in a more effective manner.

• If others are affected by your decision, not only involve them in the planning process, but also keep them informed of your final decision as well as the results of your decision.

• Always behave ethically. Don’t let stress, time pressures or other people convince you to make decisions that don’t fit within your value system.

Decision Making is one of the Life Skills for Students™ e-learning modules, a highly effective self-directed 12-week program that includes 16 critically important skill learning modules. Each module was selected based on studies of highly successful people and includes simple exercises to develop each skill. Life Skills for Students™ is also included in the Career Coaching for Students™ program. Click on this link for more information about Life Skills for Students™.

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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