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By Zenaida Serrano
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Veteran career strategist Carol Christen believes not enough is being done to help young people choose careers.
"They're really just tossed out there in the ocean of the world of work, and it's sort of sink or swim," Christen said.
On Saturday, the author of "What Color Is Your Parachute? for Teens — Discovering Yourself, Defining Your Future" will share her career-planning tips with teens and parents.
She'll cover topics such as the importance of getting an internship.
"Employers are going to hire someone who looks like they will become productive the fastest ...needs less training and needs less hand-holding," Christen said, "and they certainly don't want people doing career exploration on their time and their dime."
Her book, based on the job-hunting book "What Color Is Your Parachute?" by co-author Richard Nelson Bolles, teaches students to zero in on favorite skills and apply that knowledge to get the most out of school, set goals and find their dream jobs.
"Parents have great concerns right now because the job marketplace is so volatile," Christen said by phone from her home in Atascadero, Calif. "I don't think they quite know how to help their kids, and there's a great number who really want to."
It all comes down to preparation, Christen said.
"One of the keys to success — not just work success, but life success - is doing a little bit of planning."
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| Career questions and advice PCareer strategist Carol Christen says there are 13 questions and concepts — she calls them her “baker’s dozen” — that teens should get a handle on to get started on a career path: 1. By what age do your parents expect you to be partly self-supporting? When do they want you to be fully self-supporting? 2. A job finances your life. What kind of a life do you want to have as a young adult? 3. You are not picking a job for life. Experts predict that you will have three or four careers and have at least 10 jobs. (On average, you’ll be job hunting about every five years.) So remember, you are picking what you are going to do first, to earn a living when you leave school, at whatever level that turns out to be. 4. Jobs are like clothing; you have to try on quite a few in order to find a couple that fit really well. 5. To learn what a particular job is really like, you need to talk with nine to 15 people. If you take the time to do this, you’ll learn about new jobs you never knew existed, create a network of people who know you — and can tell you about vacancies — and develop skills that will help you do well in employment interviews. 6. About 75 percent of today’s jobs require training or education, or both, after secondary school. Most formal education is academic, and not everyone learns well that way. How do you learn best? If you are going to take on more studies, make sure they fit how you learn. 7. Are the jobs you most want to do in places where you would like to live? 8. What are the starting salaries for work that interests you? Most reports about salary use averages. Starting salaries are much lower. If you are going to borrow money to cover educational expenses, don’t borrow more than 66 percent of your likely starting salary, or you won’t be able to pay your bills. 9. No one is a success at something they don’t like. What are the most repetitive tasks of the jobs you most want to do? How will you feel about doing those tasks day after day? 10. Talk with the youngest people you can find who are doing the jobs that most interest you. The experience of recent hires can be very different from those who have been doing that job for a while. 11. Learn effective job-search techniques. No matter how great your education, training, skills or experience, if you can’t get a job in the field you most want to work in, you won’t have a career in that field. 12. Finding a job you’ll enjoy — one that matches your ambitions, education and interests — is your responsibility. Lots of people can help you, but don’t expect someone to do this for you. 13. Leave room for the unexpected. Sometimes plans or goals must change. Learn to be flexible, so you won’t be devastated by setbacks. — Zenaida Serrano “What Color Is Your Parachute? for Teens — Discovering Yourself, Defining Your Future” By Carol Christen Ten Speed Press $14.95 Learn More: www.carolchristen.com |
Join our discussion: http://forums.hawaiimoms.com/viewtopic.php?t=955"> Career advice for teens.
Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@honoluluadvertiser.com.
