By Lily Henderson
We are asked from a very young age what we want to be when we grow up. Our parents and teachers don't really expect us to know what we want to do for the rest of our life, but that doesn't seem to stop them from asking. Most of our answers are far fetched and unrealistic (I think my answer was that I wanted to be a princess). As I got older I really didn't give much thought as to what I wanted to be "when I grew up," not until my freshman year in college was I forced to make the decision to choose a major. At the time I chose nursing because several of my friends had chosen nursing. I never gave it a second thought as to whether or not I wanted to be a nurse. I figured it was wise to go into a profession that seemed to be recession-proof. After graduating with my degree, passing the licensing exam, and began looking for work did I realize that I absolutely had no desire to be a nurse. What had I done? All of this education was a waste. I often wondered, if I had taken more seriously their question of what I wanted to be when I grew up, could I have set forth the motions to get there far sooner than three weeks after college graduation?
Laying the Ground Work
I have been a writer since I was 5 years old. And before I could write the words down I would tell stories for hours to anyone who would listen. Creativity has flowed from my fingers for longer than I can remember. When I had told my mother that I had chosen nursing as my major in college she was shocked. She thought that I would have chosen Journalism, or at the very least, English. But I never thought that it was practical to make a living as a writer. I had heard the term "starving artist" enough time to know that I didn't want to wait until after my death to be recognized for my literary contributions. If only I had laid the ground work beforehand I could have been published before even leaving high school.
The first step is to answer the age old question: what do you want to be when you grow up? Its okay to be unsure of what you want to be, or even to be unsure of what you would excel at. Discovering what you are good at may take some time to figure out. When I took the first few steps from transitioning from nursing to a career in sales, and then to a career in writing, each step was a far greater challenge for me than what it would have been had I prepared myself beter for the future. If I would have taken the queues from my childhood I would have known to begin looking for intership opportunities at the local paper or newsroom, or any place I could have been able to find experience in writing and the publication process.. Interniships are successful in preparing you for your future because it allows you to find your niche, the career field for which you would be most successful.
Opportunity Favors Those Who Prepare Themselves
When planning for your future you will find greater opportunities come your way if you are the one with more experience. The most challenging thing that I found when I first became a writer was that the compitition was stiff. Agencies and Corporations where hiring for entry-level positions and wouldn't even offered an interview to anyone without a portfolio. If this was an entry level position, why was I expected to have enough experience to have a portfolio? Thats when I realized: I wasn't prepared. I had to start from the bottom and work my way up, and "entry-level" was NOT the bottom. Before attempting to apply for another position I began to compile some of my work. I was surprised in the areas in which I already had writing experience. In sales I was often required to create my own marketing collateral. I had even found sales letters I had written that were perfect for my portfolio. It wasn't until I had put together all of my work that I realized that I had already been a writer, I just wasn't getting paid for it directly. I offered my writing services at no charge for a few small businesses in my local area so that I could continue to add to my portfolio. After I was confident that I had the portfolio that might just land me an interview for work as a writer I put myself back on the market, and before I could even get an interview I was hired for my first paying, freelance gig. The snowball rolled down hill from there. I never did land the corporate job, but I have been able to find consistant work for myself, and in this economy, I count that as a success. It was more of a struggle than it needed to be, but that was simply because I hadn't started early enough. I hadn't gotten an intership that would have taught me the skills necessary to advance more quickly in my field.
Volunteer Work is Experience Too
Another great way to find out what it is that you may want to do as a career would be to volunteer. Local orginizations are always looking for someone who can donate some time, and in exchange offer valuable work experience. Any job that involves dealing with the population, whether paid or unpaid, teaches you customer service skills, and fundamental qualification that almost ALL employers look at in a potential candidate.
Volunteering is valuable for more reasons than just the experience that you gain from on-site training. It looks good to college admissions boards as well as potential employers. It allows you to fill your resume with experience, and skills, and provides you with a way to network yourself, long before you are even ready to join the work force.
When planning for your future you must consider the big picture. You don't have to get paid for learning certain skills to be able to reap the benefits of learning those skills. Whether you are working as an intern or as a volunteer the responsibilities that you take on in that position can offer you fundamental skills required to be better prepared in the future. Finding internship programs aren't difficult. You may ask yourself where would be a good place to begin looking these opportunities. High school guidence counselors will have information about internship programs offered to local students. There are even websites dedicated to finding these programs for students as well. You could even talk to your parents about opportunites offered at their place of employment. There are many different programs offered, you just have to take the initiative to put yourself in a position to be better qualified then the compitition that you will soon face when entering the work force.
Looking for an after school job? Visit http://www.absoluteknowitall.com
We are asked from a very young age what we want to be when we grow up. Our parents and teachers don't really expect us to know what we want to do for the rest of our life, but that doesn't seem to stop them from asking. Most of our answers are far fetched and unrealistic (I think my answer was that I wanted to be a princess). As I got older I really didn't give much thought as to what I wanted to be "when I grew up," not until my freshman year in college was I forced to make the decision to choose a major. At the time I chose nursing because several of my friends had chosen nursing. I never gave it a second thought as to whether or not I wanted to be a nurse. I figured it was wise to go into a profession that seemed to be recession-proof. After graduating with my degree, passing the licensing exam, and began looking for work did I realize that I absolutely had no desire to be a nurse. What had I done? All of this education was a waste. I often wondered, if I had taken more seriously their question of what I wanted to be when I grew up, could I have set forth the motions to get there far sooner than three weeks after college graduation?
Laying the Ground Work
I have been a writer since I was 5 years old. And before I could write the words down I would tell stories for hours to anyone who would listen. Creativity has flowed from my fingers for longer than I can remember. When I had told my mother that I had chosen nursing as my major in college she was shocked. She thought that I would have chosen Journalism, or at the very least, English. But I never thought that it was practical to make a living as a writer. I had heard the term "starving artist" enough time to know that I didn't want to wait until after my death to be recognized for my literary contributions. If only I had laid the ground work beforehand I could have been published before even leaving high school.
The first step is to answer the age old question: what do you want to be when you grow up? Its okay to be unsure of what you want to be, or even to be unsure of what you would excel at. Discovering what you are good at may take some time to figure out. When I took the first few steps from transitioning from nursing to a career in sales, and then to a career in writing, each step was a far greater challenge for me than what it would have been had I prepared myself beter for the future. If I would have taken the queues from my childhood I would have known to begin looking for intership opportunities at the local paper or newsroom, or any place I could have been able to find experience in writing and the publication process.. Interniships are successful in preparing you for your future because it allows you to find your niche, the career field for which you would be most successful.
Opportunity Favors Those Who Prepare Themselves
When planning for your future you will find greater opportunities come your way if you are the one with more experience. The most challenging thing that I found when I first became a writer was that the compitition was stiff. Agencies and Corporations where hiring for entry-level positions and wouldn't even offered an interview to anyone without a portfolio. If this was an entry level position, why was I expected to have enough experience to have a portfolio? Thats when I realized: I wasn't prepared. I had to start from the bottom and work my way up, and "entry-level" was NOT the bottom. Before attempting to apply for another position I began to compile some of my work. I was surprised in the areas in which I already had writing experience. In sales I was often required to create my own marketing collateral. I had even found sales letters I had written that were perfect for my portfolio. It wasn't until I had put together all of my work that I realized that I had already been a writer, I just wasn't getting paid for it directly. I offered my writing services at no charge for a few small businesses in my local area so that I could continue to add to my portfolio. After I was confident that I had the portfolio that might just land me an interview for work as a writer I put myself back on the market, and before I could even get an interview I was hired for my first paying, freelance gig. The snowball rolled down hill from there. I never did land the corporate job, but I have been able to find consistant work for myself, and in this economy, I count that as a success. It was more of a struggle than it needed to be, but that was simply because I hadn't started early enough. I hadn't gotten an intership that would have taught me the skills necessary to advance more quickly in my field.
Volunteer Work is Experience Too
Another great way to find out what it is that you may want to do as a career would be to volunteer. Local orginizations are always looking for someone who can donate some time, and in exchange offer valuable work experience. Any job that involves dealing with the population, whether paid or unpaid, teaches you customer service skills, and fundamental qualification that almost ALL employers look at in a potential candidate.
Volunteering is valuable for more reasons than just the experience that you gain from on-site training. It looks good to college admissions boards as well as potential employers. It allows you to fill your resume with experience, and skills, and provides you with a way to network yourself, long before you are even ready to join the work force.
When planning for your future you must consider the big picture. You don't have to get paid for learning certain skills to be able to reap the benefits of learning those skills. Whether you are working as an intern or as a volunteer the responsibilities that you take on in that position can offer you fundamental skills required to be better prepared in the future. Finding internship programs aren't difficult. You may ask yourself where would be a good place to begin looking these opportunities. High school guidence counselors will have information about internship programs offered to local students. There are even websites dedicated to finding these programs for students as well. You could even talk to your parents about opportunites offered at their place of employment. There are many different programs offered, you just have to take the initiative to put yourself in a position to be better qualified then the compitition that you will soon face when entering the work force.
Looking for an after school job? Visit http://www.absoluteknowitall.com
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