I am one of those college students that has no idea what they want to do with their life. If choosing a major wasn’t hard enough, everyone has moved on to obsessing over finding the perfect internship that will lead to the perfect job which will lead to the perfect life. However, a few weekends ago I attended a workshop for college students and recent college graduates about figuring out what the right career path is for you and how to get there. The workshop opened my eyes to some things that makes the whole daunting process of figuring life out a bit easier.
I’ll admit I was nervous going into it. There’s always so much pressure on college students to not only know what you want to do with your life, but to have the extracurricular activities and internships that complement your desired career path perfectly. This leads me, however, to one of the first things I learned from the career workshop:
1. No one’s path to success is linear. The women who ran the workshop, all extremely successful in their respective fields, agreed that they didn’t get to where they are in one powerful upshot. Everyone faces setbacks. Sometimes they felt on top of the world in their careers only for outside forces to come in and cause their companies to shut down or let them go. Yet, despite these obstacles, they always found their ground again because they’re hardworkers who know that the path to success is not a straight line. This was comforting to hear. It lessens some of the pressure that every move you make has to be the right one, or you will never find success. Directly hearing from people who are successful that it has not come so easily makes the whole process of figuring life out a lot less daunting and lonesome. This brings me to the next point I learned:
2. Become comfortable with the uncomfortable. Life is going to get stressful. If you recognize that it won’t always be easy and comfortable, it’ll be a lot better to manage. Sometimes, becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable will also help you grow, in both your career and in life in general. I know I have trouble recognizing the importance of the uncomfortable a lot, but it’s an important part of self-growth. And speaking of self-growth, the next thing I learned is…
3. Answering the “what are your strengths and weaknesses” interview question isn’t as hard as it seems. This question is almost inevitable in any interview, but I never feel like I know how to answer it in a way that is honest, but doesn’t make me look self-deprecating. During the workshop we took a personality test via an app called Thinking Talents that told us our strengths and our gaps – rather than our weaknesses. By focusing on our strengths and where we didn’t have any (our gaps), it helped us learn about ourselves and it basically gave us the answer to the question of “what are your strengths and weaknesses?”
4. Your network is bigger than you think. This point is more for when you might have an area of interest, but have no idea how to get there. The workshop, however, made us realize that just by attending college we have a lot more resources than we realize. Between friends, classmates, professors, etc., relationships and networks are already formed and you never know who might have a connection that can possibly help you.
5. It’s okay to still not know what direction you want your life to go in. This final lesson is probably the most relevant to me, and probably many others, right now. When the women who ran the workshop shared their success stories, they all agreed that they didn’t see themselves where they are now when they were in college. As a college student, the future seems very overwhelming. There is so much possibility and failing seems scary. But going back to the first point, it’s essential to remember that no one’s path to success is linear. There will be bumps in the road, but that doesn’t mean you’ll never make it to where you want to be. Right now, I am still very much lost in terms of a future career plan, but the workshop made me realize that the possibilities and opportunities I have are more exciting, rather than daunting.
Featured Image via @CFashionista