One mistake that I made when I was going to school was not getting any experience in the field until after I had finished and that made me realize that I didn’t love what I was learning and the career that I had chosen for myself. It took years before I started to not feel down about my lack of direction. If you feel like you are in the same position either as a high school student about to graduate, a college student, or a college graduate these are some of the things that I learned helped me find my sense of direction.
#1 Use Google
Google is such a powerful tool we should all use for our benefit. For Instance, if you have ever been interested in becoming a photographer there are bloggers, sites, companies hiring photographers and there are schools that offer programs for photography. Take advantage of the internet and it’s vast information to help you navigate your interests and answer all of your questions. With Google, there are no right or wrong answers. Therefore, do some research about jobs that you never thought were possible and learn what steps it takes to get there.
#2 Dust off your resume
When I started applying to jobs away from the field that I had studied I learned that you have to be creative in the way that you market yourself because that is what a resume is there to do for you. Make sure you update your resume at least every six months or every year. Sites like Indeed are great because you can upload your resume and put in the jobs that you are searching for and it gives you a match for your resume and matches it with potential employers.
#3 Network
Sometimes it’s about knowing the right person who knows another person who is working at your dream company or is already doing what you want to do. Networking is great because it’s a way for employers to get to know you and who you are and not just what is on paper (your resume). Many jobs that don’t require a resume such as blogging that is more about reaching out to people and working with people who are already doing great in the industry. There is so much you can learn from having a mentor or a friend in the business and networking brings that to life.
#4 Use social media
Another aspect of networking is social media. Social media is not just you sharing pictures of what you had for lunch or a picture of your cat (Although, that is also very important to share). Social media is like a digital resume or portfolio. So many jobs have started because of social media from influencers to various kinds of content creators.
You might think, “well, I’m not a content creator so it’s not that important.” However, social media is for everyone from owning a pet business to being a realtor, a vet, owning a restaurant, etc. Having a good online presence is important because that is where most people are. If you are a photographer this is a perfect place to share your work so that others can hire you for their graduations, birthday pirates, weddings,etc. Maybe you want to own a bakery, well sharing your baked goods, and having other people share them too means more people are seeing your products. Social media is for all.
#5 Create a plan
All of the previous advice will not work unless you create a plan to reach your goals and do them. I know because I have been there before. Create a plan or a goal that you want to reach. Write each step even if it seems small or insignificant because when you complete that small goal and work towards your bigger goal it will make the world of a difference. Have those goals front and center at all times, place them on your bedroom walls, create a collage, and put it as a screen savior on your phone. And remember that a goal is always evolving when you have completed that goal, it evolves into a new goal, a new mountain to climb.
Hope you enjoyed this post and that you found it useful? Have you felt like you want to choose a different career path? Or that you felt lost about what your next career move should be? Follow my blog Candidly Yadi for weekly updates and also a community of people who are also in the same boat as you.
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