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If you ask a lot of college students or recent graduates about what kind of career they want to have, you’ll likely get a pretty vague and nebulous response. “I want to be a teacher,” or “I want to start my own business,” will be the types of answers you’ll get.
However, if you ask somebody who has been working in a particular industry for a while, you will probably get a response like, “Well, I’m going to continue at my current position another year, in which time I’ll have the experience necessary to either get promoted here or get a better job at another company. Then, I’ll work my way up the ladder for another five years or so before trying to make the jump to a Division Head position.”
Who sounds more likely to succeed, the vague collegian or the specific professional?
With that in mind, it is a good idea to determine the path that gets you to exactly where you want to be with your career. A great way to do this is to find somebody who has already reached that position. For example, a man I know is a Department Manager of a major hotel location.
He started in that industry waiting tables in the hotel restaurant part time while he was in college. How did he get where he is now? Simple, he walked into the office of the hotel’s General Manager and said, “I want to be where you are someday. Can you tell me how you got to where you are?” The General Manager was flattered that he would be sought out for advice and laid out what he had done to get where he was.
By adapting the General Manager’s experience and guidance, this man was able to attain a management position in the hotel two months before he graduated college and has been climbing steadily ever since.
Long story short, find out the specifics of how people attained a job that you want to have someday, and then use that as guide.
More resources:
• A site with extensive references for career planning
However, if you ask somebody who has been working in a particular industry for a while, you will probably get a response like, “Well, I’m going to continue at my current position another year, in which time I’ll have the experience necessary to either get promoted here or get a better job at another company. Then, I’ll work my way up the ladder for another five years or so before trying to make the jump to a Division Head position.”
Who sounds more likely to succeed, the vague collegian or the specific professional?
With that in mind, it is a good idea to determine the path that gets you to exactly where you want to be with your career. A great way to do this is to find somebody who has already reached that position. For example, a man I know is a Department Manager of a major hotel location.
He started in that industry waiting tables in the hotel restaurant part time while he was in college. How did he get where he is now? Simple, he walked into the office of the hotel’s General Manager and said, “I want to be where you are someday. Can you tell me how you got to where you are?” The General Manager was flattered that he would be sought out for advice and laid out what he had done to get where he was.
By adapting the General Manager’s experience and guidance, this man was able to attain a management position in the hotel two months before he graduated college and has been climbing steadily ever since.
Long story short, find out the specifics of how people attained a job that you want to have someday, and then use that as guide.
More resources:
• A site with extensive references for career planning
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