You Majored in What? (22 page)

Now that you have set your intentions, are keeping them in mind and actively seeking the butterfly, you have a great response to
THE QUESTION
.
Just say (with complete confidence and pride): “I am in the process of designing an amazing career.”

WISDOM BUILDERS

1. DESIGNING EACH DAY: ARRANGING YOUR LIFE TO FIT YOUR DREAMS ONE DAY AT A TIME

Your future arrives one day at a time. And we know from chaos theory that it’s a lot easier to plan in a controlled environment, such as a twenty-four-hour period rather than five years out. How you create each day will go a long way toward how you create your future.

Every day you make choices. (Getting out of bed in time for that eight o’clock class is a choice.) And it’s not so much about whether each is a good choice or a bad choice but rather what will be the effect of your choice. Is it going to move you (and your life) forward in some way or is it going to hold you back or keep you further away from your dream? What will happen to you today because of your choices? How will the choices you make today affect you at the end of the semester or in a year? Remember, the butterfly requires almost no time to do her work: one day in your life can be life changing.

• Have you placed the job search in the background? Do you think or fantasize about it occasionally, but then go back to your friends, your activities, or your classes, thinking “I’ll work on it when I have time”? Do you find yourself saying, “I have a life. I don’t have time to worry about this now.” In his book
On Writing,
Stephen King explains how he was able to write profusely even before he was paid for it. He, too, had a job, a family, and a life. But he found, and continues to find, a way to write every day. Before or after work, during his lunch hour, every evening, and every weekend. He arranged his life to fit his dream, not the other way around. You can make time and space for your plans so that they will evolve naturally with much less effort.

• Start your day by setting intentions for what you’d like to have happen. And then be on the lookout for signs that support your intentions. Focus on who or what is connecting you to your future. Who might you see today who could help you with your plans? If you already know you have a tough day ahead, decide now how you’re going to handle it.

• What’s your sound track for the day? On the TV show
Grey’s Anatomy,
whenever the medical students feel too stressed, overwhelmed, or depressed, they put on upbeat music and dance. They’re shaking off any negative vibes and creating positive energy. What theme song plays in your head? How does it affect you throughout the day? Pick a song that will motivate you all day.

• Take your top three goals (some of which are probably not career related, by the way) and write them on sticky tabs. Place them everywhere—on your mirror, on your computer, and so on. As you go through the day, think about whether what you are doing is moving you toward one of those goals. If not, stop and think. Is it worth the time you’re spending doing this non-goal-related activity? Only you know the answer. But if you find yourself continually doing things that take time away from your goals, it’s time to use your analytic mindset to figure it out.

• Finally, can you think of a small object you could use to remind yourself of your goals or intentions? Professional writer Anne Lamott describes using a one-inch-square picture frame to remind herself to just write enough to fit in the frame when she becomes overwhelmed by a writing project. Remember Emily who was considering a career as a comic? A friend photographed her with her favorite comic at a venue recently and she keeps that picture in her notebook as inspiration. Brianna, who hopes to become an archaeologist, keeps on her desk a small arrowhead she found on a dig. Diego, who plans to become a heart surgeon, keeps a small heart-shaped tin
milagro
(a religious folk charm) on his desk. Think about something small that can represent your dream, and keep it where you’ll be reminded on a regular basis.

2. MANAGING YOUR ENVIRONMENT

Now that you’ve set some goals or intentions, take a look around your living space. Have you set it up to make achieving your goals easier? Are your goals and intentions visible? If you have something you want to accomplish (write a paper, read a book, search the Web, play your guitar), can you just walk in and do it? Or do you have to clean up a bunch of junk first and remove last night’s pizza crusts and beer cans? Your personal environment plays a big role in shaping your dreams. If you don’t think your setting makes a difference, try studying in the middle of a fraternity party. Sit in the middle of the party with your chemistry book and see how much you learn.

When you’re trying to set new goals and move forward in your career plans, it’s important that your lifestyle support those plans. The college environment doesn’t always support job searching—students are often working with last-minute deadlines, distractions, and time-wasting activities. With so many choices to make, procrastination can easily become your lifestyle.

Let’s say your goal is to manage a golf resort, and one step toward that goal is to improve your golf game so you can get a job at a local country club where you’ll likely develop a great network. You’ve even found a way to get credit for pursuing golf by taking a phys ed course on golfing. Take a look around—what in your room supports your goal? Do you have some clubs? Are they readily available? Do you have some golf magazines or books?

A professional musician friend leaves his instrument in his hallway and every time he walks past he plays a scale or a short song. He has found that short exercises throughout the day make his scheduled longer practice sessions go much better and he plays much more than he otherwise would. The same idea applies to the job search: are your job search materials easily accessible?

• Keep all your job search-related materials in one place—a notebook or file.

• Keep your résumé near your phone or maybe in your wallet in case you get a call on your cell phone.

• Keep the materials you need for an interview in one place so you don’t forget them.

You Majored in
What?

Here are some areas to assess and possibly change in your environment:

•
Time.
There’s an adage that says we don’t manage time; time moves on regardless of what we do. We manage ourselves. Do you have a system for managing your time? How’s it working for you? If it’s not helping you, or you’re constantly late or missing events, it might be time to find a new system.

•
People.
Your roommate or friends may be great, but may not be your best support system unless they share your goals and values. It’s not unusual for others who aren’t working as hard as you on the job search to be jealous or resentful. So enjoy their friendship, but look elsewhere for support if necessary. All sorts of people can help you: professors, coaches, alumni, career center staff, advisers, family members, supervisors, older students in your major, even clubs devoted to your interest areas.

•
Health (Diet, Exercise, and Sleep).
You probably know what’s going to be said here. Is there a way you can eat healthier and stay away from too much fast food? Are you staying fit and getting enough sleep so that your energy level stays high? Nothing will torpedo your goals faster than being too tired to take action or even think about your plans. College is hard and intense, and you need to find a way to restore your energy without relying on supercaffeinated drinks to keep yourself awake and energized.

•
Other Distractions
. Are there areas of your life that are distracting you, causing worry, or keeping you from focusing on your job search? Does your car need repairing, is your room a mess, are you in a troubled relationship, are you having financial problems such as overdue bills or maxed out credit cards? Worrying can deplete any energy you might have to tackle the job search. If you can’t fix the problem on your own, figure out who can help you and seek the help. Colleges are filled with people who can assist you at no charge from financial aid planners to mental health counselors to academic advisers.

3. PSYCHOLOGY AT WORK: PREMACK’S PRINCIPLE

Keeping yourself motivated is the key to the job search process. For that matter, if you hope to supervise other workers, it’s important to start thinking about how you might motivate them. Consider Premack’s principle. It states that a behavior is more likely to occur if it is
followed immediately by a more preferred behavior.
What this means is that you (or those who might be working for you) will accomplish more if you set up a reward system for each of your goals and objectives. Certainly one reward is how much better you’ll feel when you can check another item off your to-do list. But sometimes special accomplishments require special rewards. This can be the fun part of planning if you turn it into a brainstorming session.

By finding reinforcements that are similar in nature to the task involved, you could apply Premack’s principle to your current job search. Conducting research related to a career interest might be worth a coffee break. Completing your résumé and uploading it to ten carefully selected employers is probably worth an afternoon off pursuing your favorite hobby.

FINAL QUESTION

What could you do in the next twenty-four hours to move forward with your plans?
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PAGING DR. FRANKENSTEIN

EXPERIMENTAL WANDERINGS WITH BIG PAYOFFS

Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.

—JULES VERNE,
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH

Are you ready to wander? Ready to take action, have fun, and pick up job leads at the same time? One misguided notion about the job search is that it consists of an onerous set of tasks you have to take on in addition to all the work you’re already doing. Make no mistake: the job search is challenging at times and it does require you to do certain tasks well, but there’s no reason you can’t have some fun along the way. And that’s what experimental wanderings are all about—doing things that are sometimes fun and sometimes related to your goals and intentions, and always being ready to say yes to the butterfly.

Through your wanderings you will get to experiment with all sorts of environments and people and make wise choices based on what you learn. You may be surprised to read some of the suggested wanderings because another myth about the job search is that you have to be extra careful and pick the “perfect” experiences in order to succeed. For instance, if you want to work in banking, then you must do an internship in banking. Obviously, that’s logical and a great idea. But what if that’s not an option for you? What if you can’t find a banking job? Where else could you wander that might add value to your potential banking career? From your Wandering Map, you know you can build skills and develop networks in a variety of locations, and experimental wandering will allow you to do that.

Experimental wanderings are designed to help you with four main goals: identifying the best prospects for finding jobs, finding hidden opportunities, developing your network, and positioning yourself as the best candidate. Whether you’re on a probable path, pursuing several Possible Lives, or seeking the butterfly, the actions provided in this chapter will propel you quickly forward. Experimental wanderings will strengthen your vision of the future, possibly provide interesting résumé entries, make you stand out from your peers in the job search, and very likely help you encounter a butterfly or two.

The chart below demonstrates the key results of experimental wanderings.

So how do you achieve these results? By wandering two ways: first, by using traditional research methods such as books and Web sites, not unlike what you’ve done when you’ve researched a paper for a history or English class, and second, by putting yourself in situations where you are likely to acquire needed skills and knowledge or meet people who can help you.

As you prepare to start experimental wanderings, consider what you hope to uncover:

• Is there a specific body of knowledge you’re seeking?

• Are you hoping to find someone who can help connect you with your field of interest?