Diversions and the GPS: Deciding What is Relevant

The best thing about college is the opportunity to try new things.  This plethora of opportunities serves as a double-edged sword that gives you new insights about yourself and also distracts you from your goals.  Some of you may ask: “how could having so many opportunities be a bad thing?” I’ll use an analogy to explain.  Imagine going to college is like walking into a chocolate store.  You see a large amount of goodies and want to try them all.  Sampling everything in the store most likely will lead to a stomach ache leaving you less happy than when you first walked in.  On the other hand, taking advantage of only some of the offerings will prove most favorable.  College is similar in the respect that if you try everything while there you’ll start to feel burnt out from over-commitment and if you try a few things you will leave more enriched than when you first walked in.  Trust me on this; I had to learn this lesson the hard way.

So the real question is which opportunities are benefits and which ones are merely diversions.   One method of deciding is looking at your end goal for guidance, e.g. choosing activities or position in organizations that are most aligned with your career path. For example if you want to be an accountant becoming the treasurer of your student organization is logical.  If you have not decided on a particular career path, choosing activities that will enhance transferable skills such as interpersonal communication and business acumen is a good idea.  You could also start by assessing your weaknesses and selecting opportunities that would improve them.  I find choosing an equal amount of activities that enhance my strengths and minimize my weaknesses works well.

If you make choices that do not align with your future goals just remember the following advice from my mentor Marybe and her friends: 

Life is like a GPS system. You know where you want to go but sometimes you've got to stop recalculate the directions.

 

 

Have tips or comments on how to decide what opportunities are relevant? Leave a comment below.

Labels R Us

 First let me premise this post by apologizing for my absence last week.  Fall semester has started and I was wrapped up in getting prepared for my classes.  Now that we have addressed that issue, we can move on to today’s topic: Labels.

Class is in session: Career Planning 101

For many of you the first day of classes is fast approaching.  With the start of the new school year comes a new opportunity for self-improvement. Maybe you’ll go to the gym more frequently or make better grades.  Whatever you decide to focus on this semester, make career planning a priority as well. It’s never too early to start.

Head to Toe Series: Sparkle and Shine

In the previous articles of the Head to Toe Series you learned the basics of professional attire.   In this final installment, you learn how to add a bit of sparkle and shine to your career wear.  Adding interest to is easy to do through the use of accessories and colors.  Bear in mind that what is acceptable in a profession depends on how conservative it is, i.e. lawyers: very conservative, graphic designers: liberal.

Head to Toe Series: Call Me Business Casual

During my first year of college I had a huge presentation for my Business Communication class. The syllabus stated to dress in business attire for the presentation so I wore loose trousers and a button-down shirt.  My presentation went smoothly and class feedback followed.  I received mostly positive comments until my professor said “In the syllabus it said to dress professionally.” Confusion set in as I thought “I did follow the instructions.”  What I failed to realize at that time was there are two categories of business attire: business formal (for interviews and fancy dinner meetings) and business casual (for most work days and Casual Fridays).