How do you know if career planning help for college students is needed or if you should wait and give them time to figure it out themselves? I’m going to give you some signs to watch for today so you know when to reach out for help for college students.

I know a young individual who graduated from college two years ago, was a good student and well-respected by his instructors and peers, very involved on campus, and had talent galore. He is now a Barista and struggling with what he is going to do with his life. Hear me loud and clear, Baristas are my favorite; they keep me and the rest of the world running with their magical caffeinated potions! The shame here is that this young man is working a job that he could have had just out of high school without the $100,000 of student loan debt he now has as a burden. I am confident this scenario could have been avoided. All this young man needed was a little help with career planning.

Five Signs Career Planning Help for College Students is Needed

The student is an undecided major or is taking general education courses and will declare a major later.

This one is very common. I know very few students, I actually can’t think of one as I’m writing this, that has had a career epiphany while sitting in a general education course. The idea of dabbling in some coursework seems logical. However, the truth is the general education core at most colleges is filled with math, English, science, art, history, etc. There is little to no career exploration going on in those classrooms. Once in a while, a student will engage in a College Success course where he/she will scratch the surface of career planning. The issue here is that there are probably 50+ students in that course and one instructor. It is likely the student will not get the challenging questions and one-on-one attention that such a serious life decision requires unless he/she is motivated and confident enough to seek out one-on-one help from the instructor during office hours. And, as a college student, I know I was not!

The student has not gained career-related experience.

Unfortunately, many students think that they are planning for their careers by going to college and earning that degree. This is not so. While academic planning and career planning are related, they are much different. Each student should have a set of academic goals and a separate set of career goals. In a competitive job market, employers aren’t going to be impressed with a college degree and no relevant work experience. Job shadows, internships, and part-time employment coupled with the degree make a candidate rise to the top. The student candidate with a 4.0 and no experience is rarely going to beat the 3.0 candidate who has experience working in the industry.

The student is not actively involved in networking opportunities.

When I teach a course, I always offer extra credit opportunities to students that revolve around networking. Yes, it is intimidating, but it is crucial. Some students, especially those with more introverted personality types, need extra help identifying good networking opportunities and coaching that will help them feel more comfortable and confident communicating in these situations. If a student is entering their second year of college and hasn’t explored opportunities to network, they are missing out on key opportunities! Whether they get involved on-campus, in community-based networking events, or in student chapters of professional industry organizations, students need to be making an effort when it comes to professional networking the moment they begin their post-secondary education.

The student has changed majors or has chosen a versatile degree.

Changing majors, especially more than once, is essentially a cry for help. I’ve seen many students who are unsure of what major/career they want to pursue, so they change several times and then end up settling for a degree that they think is versatile. The issue with a versatile degree is that other candidates have more specific and relevant knowledge. If a student expresses that they have chosen a major because of its versatility, challenge them to get connected with someone who can help them pinpoint a fulfilling and rewarding career path.

Need Help Choosing a Major?

Get my guide, “How to Choose a College Major!”

The student is pursuing a degree that does not align with opportunities in the job market.

A crucial step in the career planning process is the financial reality and job outlook piece. Many students skip this step. Communications and fine art degrees are two examples of degrees that graduates in 2018 had difficulty finding related employment. Here are some questions to get students thinking about how well their degree will translate to a viable career:

• Does the degree I am seeking align specifically with the requirements listed in job descriptions currently on the market?
• What is the projected growth of the career field in the next ten years?
• How many expected job openings in the next five years?
• What’s the average wage for my state/geographic region?

For students who struggle to answer the above questions, consider directing them to the US Department of Labor’s website, ONET, for at-a-glance data and statistics.

The sooner the better but, no matter the age of the student or recent grad, it is never too late to seek career help. Don’t invest thousands of dollars in education without a thorough career plan!

How can my career planning help for college students benefit your child?

My name is Loren Kelly and I have 10 years of experience in high education coaching students through career and education decisions. My approachable and empathetic demeanor makes my career planning help for college students effective and powerful! I specialize in helping students get clear on a career path and plan the education, training, and experience they need to excel AND I love this work! Book a no-obligation, free consultation today! I enjoy chatting about careers with students!

Book a free consultation today!

5 Signs Career Planning Help for College Students is Needed!
Loren Kelly

There are students currently in college pursuing degrees in hopes of having a bright career, and then there are students who are taking action to make that bright career a reality. Meet Kevin; he is one of those students who is taking his career fate into his own hands and making things happen. Did I mention he is a freshman? Oh, and he already had his summer internship lined-up before Thanksgiving break.

5 Actions Kevin Took to Jump-Start His Career

1. Took career-relevant courses his first semester.
When he applied to college, Kevin declared Construction Management as his major. Instead of only focusing on general education courses, Kevin enrolled in two career-relevant courses “Construction Industry” and “Construction Graphics” his first semester. Apart from the great perspective, Kevin gained about his future career field, these courses also provided him with the opportunity to connect with the professors of the program and his peers during his first semester. These networking connections and the support system will prove valuable to him throughout his four years.

2. Revised his resume with a professional focus.
That resume from high school just won’t cut it once you are in college. Remove your high school information so you can use that precious space on your resume for information more relevant to your future career field. That is exactly what Kevin did. With his polished resume, printed on professional resume paper, he sought-out opportunities.

3. Attended a career-relevant networking event on campus.
Kevin’s college hosts a Construction Career Fair each semester for students to interact and network with companies across the region. When he saw the opportunity being advertised, he began planning for the event. He attended with his polished resume, just in case the opportunity to provide it presented itself, and a list of the companies with which he was most interested in speaking. Prior planning, such as having a target list of companies to speak with, prior to a career fair or networking opportunity will help you yield the best results!

4. Followed-up with professionals and companies that offered him additional opportunities to connect.
At the career fair, two companies that Kevin spoke to mentioned having summer internship programs for construction management students. He left with business cards in hand and invitations to visit the companies and learn more about the program. The determining factor in Kevin’s success came next, he followed-up with these companies. Follow-up is key! When professionals offer invitations to connect, meet, or visit their company, they are genuine; however, remember that they are busy! Make the extra effort to follow-up; it shows commitment and initiative.

5. Accepted an internship offer for Summer 2019.
When Kevin followed-up with these companies, both of them asked him to interview for their summer internship program. He gladly accepted and was offered an internship on the spot by one of the companies! Not only will he gain valuable perspective and experience this summer, but he will earn a great wage and receive a living allowance in addition.

Join me in congratulating Kevin on his success this semester! If you are a student looking to get started in career planning, consider taking a few of the actions listed above this semester. Parents of students, it is never too early to encourage your students to begin engaging in career planning and career development activities. The perspective gained from these experiences makes all the difference in preparing young people for the workforce!

How a College Freshman is Killing it with​ Career Planning
Loren Kelly

Something magical happened for me this fall, I was able to combine two of my biggest passions: teaching and career development! I just finished teaching a nine-week Career Planning course to community college students. There were 50 students ranging in age from 16 to 46 on a nine-week whirlwind mission to gain clarity and plan for their future careers…and it was AWESOME.

I enjoy getting to know my students and learning from our interactions. As I reviewed their final reflection papers and the comments they left on the course evaluations, I realized they left me with three key reminders that I believe are helpful for every career educator, parent, and mentor!

1. Students crave opportunities to develop stronger self-awareness.
They may not know it or even realize they need it, but students really enjoy learning about themselves. The first four weeks of my nine-week course were devoted entirely to self-awareness as it relates to career decision making. Not one student grumbled. The opposite happened; students appreciated it! There were many comments in the course evaluation about how much the students enjoyed learning about themselves, “It helped me get to know myself better,” “The assignments have opened my eyes to who I am and how it relates to what I want to do with the rest of my life.”

Our society often faults our younger generations for lacking self-awareness; however, maybe we are doing a poor job of facilitating opportunities for them to build it. I challenge you to build-in opportunities for increased self-awareness when working with young people or those in transition. They need this perspective to make informed career decisions and will draw upon this knowledge in job interviews and networking situations.

Here are a few of my favorite free tools to help students build self-awareness as it relates to a career:

• ONET’s My Next Move Personality and Interests Profiler
• 123 Test’s Work Values Assessment
• The ONE Thing Guide to Uncovering Your Purpose

While these self-awareness tools are great, we cannot stop there. After a student has utilized a tool, the follow-up conversation with thought-provoking questions must occur as this is what creates the largest impact on the student. This leads me to my next point.

2. We need to challenge students’ career ambitions intentionally.
During the first week of class, I asked each student to introduce themselves and share their intended career path. Much to my surprise, only three students said “undecided.” My first thought was, “Wow, I’m impressed!” By the end of week two, it was clear that although these students had declared a major and/or career path, many had difficulty articulating why that particular career was a good fit. Their inability to explain why they were pursuing their career field reinforced the idea that we must challenge students’ career plans. Even the students who did not change their intended careers at the end course still appreciated the clarity they gained and their new ability to articulate why the occupation was a good fit for them.

Ask students tough questions. Make students think about what their lives will look like and how that aligns with their values and strengths. Here are a few of my favorite “tough” questions that make students think about why they are pursuing a particular career path:

• What is it about this career path that is really important to you? (Follow the question above with, “What else?” to get them thinking!)
• When was it that you knew you wanted to be an [insert vocation]? Don’t let them get by with a generic answer such as, “I’ve always known.”
• When are you at your best? Describe the situation and how you feel.

After a student has made a career decision, has really thought it through, and can articulate why they are passionate about that path and why it is a good fit for him/her, the next step is a career development action plan.

3. Students need help developing and separating academic and career goals.
Students seem to mush academic planning and career planning together. They think that by going to school and getting a degree or certificate, they are planning for their careers. And, I admit, they are to a certain extent; however, it isn’t good enough. Let me explain.

One of the final assignments of the course was for students to develop an action plan for obtaining their career goal and continuing to grow professionally. [Side note, if you aren’t familiar with Gary Keller’s book The ONE Thing, it is my favorite resource for goal setting. I use it with all of my students and career coaching clients.] I asked students to put their career goal at the top of the page and then list one thing they could do in the next three years to move them closer to that goal. Then, one thing they could do in the next year to move them closer to their three-year career goal, then one thing they could do in the next six months to move them closer to the one-year career goal, so forth and so on all the way down to what they can do right now.

So, what happened? Well, most students made their three-year goal to get a degree and then the rest of the goals from there down had to do with academics. Was it a total fail? No, at least they were planning for something and setting good, measurable goals! However, it was not the outcome for which I had hoped. I wanted students to think about career exploration opportunities, internships, networking, job fairs, resumes, etc.! The examples I provided had modeled that; however, they still seemed to fuse the two seamlessly. The lesson I was reminded of here is that I must be intentional about clearly communicating the VALUE of career exploration opportunities as they relate to career planning. Academic goals are important, but students also need to be setting goals that pertain specifically to gaining perspective and experience in their desired career field. These career planning activities provide perspective that can’t be gained in a traditional classroom or from a textbook.

As a final note, challenge the young people in your life. Ask the tough questions, push them out of their comfort zone, and help them succeed professionally!

For additional tips on career development, connect with me on LinkedIn at

www.linkedin.com/company/loren-kelly-coaching

Career Planning: 3 Tips for Working with College Students
Loren Kelly