By Prof. Robert M. Donnelly
Special to Campus News
Technology/AI is altering the nature of work and in the process is reducing traditional job opportunities for college students like you. Floating through life living from paycheck to paycheck will no longer be a viable long term career option.
That means you must begin planning for how you are going to survive and thrive for the upcoming 40 years of your work life and more importantly for the 20+ years of life after work – right now!
It is imperative that you explore your internal skill set and determine what you are really good at and enjoy the most. It’s a fact that many people never figure that out and spend their careers working at jobs that are not personally fulfilling and financially insecure. Unfortunately, this also results in them struggling in their senior years.
You probably know of some seniors who are currently in this situation, too.
Other factors to consider are that many college students select majors when they begin their studies that their parents advised or they “heard” were good career opportunities. Then usually after their sophomore year they change their major to the next “hot” career trend.
When graduating most take jobs doing something that has very little to do with what they majored in just to get a job. Most often this leads to an unfulfilled work life of jobs, not a career doing what you do best and enjoy the most.
So what should you do now?
The first thing is to take an aptitude test to determine what you are good at. Many aptitude tests are available these days on the internet. Alternatively, you can also take the standard Myers Briggs Personality Test will give you an idea of job types that fit your persona.
These tests should be an indication of the type of careers that are best for you. In some cases the results may also be a surprise.
Next you should do an honest personal SWOT analysis. In other words what are my Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats? The more honest you are the better in terms of being able to formulate your unique value proposition.
Then you need to make a list of between 25 to 30 words that you feel describe you. You then need to cull this list down to just 3 words that capture the essence of you. Once you have these 3 words you need to share them with someone whose opinion you value because others often perceive you in way that’s more valuable than the way that you do.
Lastly, you need to take a personality profile examination to determine exactly what your personality type is, and more importantly to be able to recognize the personality type of all those that you come in contact with personally and professionally.
As you probably already realize, people have a continuum of conflicts and misunderstandings with each other throughout their lives. This is primarily because they do not recognize the personality characteristics of others and behave in a way that is natural to them not realizing that that type of behavior is disturbing to other personality types.
The success in anyone’s career and life is to be able to “get along” with those that they need to develop a positive productive relationship with. So you need to be able to recognize differing personality types and the way in which to deal with them productively and successfully.
The 4 personality types are Drivers, Expressives, Analytics. and Amiables. Explanations of these personality types are available on the internet, as well as the ways to deal with them.
Once you understand the characteristics of each personality type, including your own, the more successful you will be communicating and dealing with others for the balance of your life and career.
Now you have all the ingredients to develop your unique value proposition and persona for a more successful career doing what you do best and enjoy the most, which will result in a much more fulfilling and financially secure career.
You also need to take your unique value proposition and create your Personal Brand to market yourself more successfully in the new world of work on social media.
My last recommendations are that you take the resume’ that your college counselor has helped you develop and use it to create your own website, as well as your LinkedIn profile.
These will be the most effective tools that you will need to promote yourself and your unique value proposition to the right opportunities for you upon graduation.
GET STARTED NOW!
Professor Robert M. Donnelly is a Distinguished Professor at Rushmore University, a global online university.
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