Careers: Creating A Coat-of-Arms

"CAREERS ARE LIKE TV - If You Don't Like What You See, Change the Channel"

Thus ran the cute little ad in the weekend career section of my local newspaper.

It seems a sacred tenant these days that new graduates will face the prospects of three or four careers and up to a dozen different jobs. The question that's left to be answered is whether these changes will be "reactive" - forced upon them by loss of job, dead-end stagnation or shifting personal attitude - or "pro-active"; e.g., positive changes created by market opportunities, upgraded personal skills portfolio and yes, heart-tugs. In other words, will the career professional be a "victim" or a foreward-thinking opportunist?

I've often considered (and spoken whimsically to educators about) the value of a Coat-of-Arms as a vocational guiding icon. Hold on a sec - we're not (necessarily) talking about shields, arrows and axes here; rather, I'm referring to self-creations of the student that display their core values and aspirations. Symbols and other metaphoric representations, like a company's mission statement and values statement, have power: they are overarching talismans that when adhered to (or simply remembered!) provide a guiding light that can help ensure the transitioning professional is always in touch with his or her "critical success factors" - be they money, creativity, adventure, public service, life balance, subject matter expertise, etc. The iconic symbols and phrases of a coat-of-arms can also provide, in times of turbulence, an anchor of inner peace: we don't lose track of who we are and what we stand for (or desire).

Sounds crazy, I know - just imagine yourself, as a career/guidance counselor, sitting down with your young charges and telling them to go get some canvas, wood, metal or fabric; and proceed to adorn it with figures, colors, scenes and quotes using whatever melange of ink, oil, or other application that calls to them... Ridiculous, indeed - but any more so than all those corporate mission statements which start off with "We strive to"... or "We are committed to..." blah-blah-blah - mantras which, incidentally, are so rarely followed in this chaotic age of globalization and TMI ?

Careers: Career Centers Reaching Out

I just got back from a regional conference of NACE, the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Not being a career center director, it was interesting for me to hear a common lament: that so many students don't avail themselves of the wonderful tools that colleges and universities provide.

I remember how naive - and lucky - I was back in my graduating days. The lucky part was that as an engineering student when times were good, I was able to procure a handful of admirable job offers. The naive part was that I hadn't a clue how to prepare resumes, research companies, interview, follow up, market....all things that good career centers can provide their students.

It seems that many students still avoid these wonderful resources. Why? On one hand, the Internet certainly allows for easier research. Of course, it also can swamp the novice researcher with TMI - too much information. Part also, is that when we "don't know what we don't know" and college (and our affluent society) has come easy, there is often a pre-conception that the job seeker will land in a really cool job with a really cool employer right off. Ah, the dreams of babes...

Many schools I believe could benefit from inculcating this career mentality early on - perhaps (as strange as it seems) even during the intial orientation process. So what if a student doesn't know what her or his major is going to be yet? The career center has resources to help with that! (see my posting of July 24). I would even go so far as to suggest a mandatory one credit-hour class all about the offerings and services of career centers. Hey, the kids can show up and get an A... not bad for discovering things early that can aid and abet the next say 40-50 years of life..

It seems to me that the more that schools can market their services as an integral part of the campus experience , the more prepared their grads will be for the real world. And the more that aggressive employers might be willing to help subsidize the school's career program even more. One such school, Michigan Technological Institute has used this approach to receive private sector funding for large chunks of their career center facilities and resources. A program worth replicating everywhere, don't you think?