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Author – John Rindy, MPH
The University of Northern Colorado has hit the nail on the head. I recently inherited a tumbler (see photo) that was a premium from the Career Services office at the University of Northern Colorado. On a snowy, Ohio day, I sat down with my glass of ice water to do some reading and glanced at the graphic on the glass. The graphic depicts an array of different sized and colored lines, capped off by arrows weaving amidst one another. What a fantastic representation of the various career pathways that the college students of today will be taking.
Students often come to me with dreams of what they would like to “be”. Truth be told, we career professionals know that today, most college graduates are going to “be” many different things, occupationally, during their lifetime. The idea that an individual is just going to be one thing for the rest of their life may apply to some careers, but certainly not many, these days. At the same time, the pathway to various jobs varies to a great extent. I recently worked with a student who conveyed his dream to eventually become an athletic director, possibly at the college level. So we jumped onto LinkedIn and examined the profiles of college ADs. Some came from business. Others came from sport management backgrounds. Others were high school ADs before they moved to the college level. A good number served in jobs such as sports information and intramural program coordination before their career really took off. Once again, Northern Colorado’s (NCU) graphic representation holds true. There is not one, absolute pathway to reach a certain career goal.
So this begs the question, with so many twists and turns in our career lives, is there any way to direct our career pathway? I believe it is more about creating a path of least resistance, much as a stream seeks, and even alters its own pathway as it meanders downhill over the years. John Krumboltz’s Theory of Planned Happenstance suggests that we are faced with many situations throughout our lives where we cross paths with those who have hiring influence; again, reminiscent of NCU’s graphic. Krumboltz would describe this as the “happenstance” part of his career theory. The “planned” part is knowing your strengths, weaknesses and constantly being prepared to recognize those opportunities and then say “Yes” to those opportunities, even if accepting an opportunity might take us down a path that we had not anticipated.
People’s lives are not linear. The world of work is not linear. Career pathways are not linear. I recently heard someone recite a stat that went something like this: Seven out of 10 advanced professionals, with Bachelor degrees, who have been in the world of work for at least 10 years, are no longer working directly in the same area that they studied in college. Now, I have no way of measuring whether this is true but I have certainly encountered a wealth of anecdotal evidence suggesting that this might be fairly accurate. I would be one of those examples. I have a business degree, an environmental studies degree and a public health degree but I am a career counselor. I said “Yes” a lot, throughout my career.
So, if you are encouraging a youngster as they face a multitude of college choices, or if you are helping an advanced professional deal with a job loss, or a career change, remember that the route to a job, or to a specific career, is not typically scripted. We never know where the word “Yes” will take us. We just need to be ready to say it with confidence, while being keenly aware of our skills and knowledge. But it is best to first sit down and deliberately inventory these as we seek to continuously build the network of professionals to whom we might reach out for advice and assistance.
It’s your future. Take charge!