Dec 11
23
New Grad Job Network and the List
Now that you are done with college and looking to break into your career, you had better have some goals in mind other than just finding a job. That is everyone’s goal, in the end. So, you had better have some specifics to help along the way. A list of goals, whether they be written down or in your mind, will help you find what you are looking for as you push yourself in areas you want to improve, and, show off strengths you have other may lacking.
It may surprise you, but many people actually pursue the wrong job titles. However, if they understood their real transferable skills, they could be repositioned for different goals, and sometimes for much more advancement than they thought possible. Regardless of your most recent position, you need to think of yourself as “one of a kind” with diverse potentials.
We all have seen career fi elds change dramatically over a decade. Fields that once offered great opportunity have become fi nancially confi ning with limited growth possibilities. Does print advertising offer the same career possibilities as it did a decade ago? Does selling in the steel industry? Does being a doctor and a general practitioner? Career fi elds change at a much faster pace than most people realize.
Experience has proven that if you take a narrow view of yourself, you could be making a mistake. For example, if you see yourself as a specialist (e.g., a banker), you may believe you are locked into a given career. On the other hand, you may feel you have few options because you are too much of a generalist.
More and more professionals are fi nding that they can have several direct careers over the course of a lifetime. Sometimes you can’t see them and you stumble into them. Someone could be a radio sports broadcaster, then become an actor, then a politician… and subsequently governor of a major state and president of the United States (Ronald Reagan). And, of course, we all know many other examples, many famous and millions not so famous, but successful at many levels.
It may be that you should consider positioning yourself for more than one possible goal at this time, and running what we refer to as a “dual campaign.” For example, a logical step may be seeking a new job as a VP of Marketing. But you might also have accumulated knowledge and experience that would allow you to seek a position as a General Manager, or perhaps Chief Operating Offi cer, or even Chief Executive Offi cer in the right type of organization… in the right industry