Finding a job or internship while attending university can seem daunting. Life gets busy when you start juggling classes, clubs, social events, and applications. If you aren’t careful, the threat of a busy schedule might dissuade you from staying motivated.
If this worries you, then intentionally tailor your schedule to include your professional aspirations before your fire dies, and opportunities are missed through stagnation, or the failure to move forward and develop.
Don’t Remain Passive in Your Pursuit
Motivation can be lost to time if you wait for “the right moment” or the “right opportunity” to set a plan into action. Intentionality and being proactive are both important in capturing opportunities. But what happens when opportunity doesn’t come knocking?
The unconventionality required to pursue your passion can seem wonderfully unexpected. It’s thrilling to see someone intentionally kindle their motivations instead of hiding them under a tin can and waiting to strike gold.
If you’re passionate about something, don’t let your fire burn out by remaining passive in your pursuit, waiting for solutions to come to you. Re-kindle your fire, take on an entrepreneurial spirit, and make your own opportunities.
In high school, I had a desire to show others a slice of their neighbors’ lives, opening eyes to what it was like to walk in someone else’s shoes. I started a grassroots project called “Perspectives,” where members of the community could anonymously share short bits of advice and stories. I was intentional with what I wanted to do and prioritized doing it.
Perspectives never got off the ground as much as I wished it had; I got tens of responses, not tens of thousands. However, in adopting an entrepreneurial mindset and pursuing my passion, I developed skills in web design, product pitches, social media management, and woodworking.
Sometimes, the pursuit of opportunity is a learning opportunity itself.
Openness to experience is one of five entrepreneurial drives, according to the University of South Carolina Dornsife. Don’t discount little lessons. Be intentional about learning and trying new things. Staying motivated is no easy feat and may require heaps of adaptability.
You Don’t Have to Chase The Breeze: When to Wait
Now, making your own opportunities isn’t to say that every opportunity is worth chasing or needs additional effort to capture. Sometimes, opportunity does come knocking, and letting it come to you is the best course of action.
This happened to me last summer. I was having a difficult time filling my schedule with work and was forced to open my hands, letting volunteerism and educational opportunities come to me. If you wait long enough, ideas will hit, people will offer you a job, and a new passion will emerge. Just be warned: the result might not be the opportunity you were originally looking for.
Campus Resources
It’s difficult to know where to start. Consulting someone who knows more than you do can help. Consider taking a trip to Florida State’s Career Center and getting a new, professional wardrobe at the Professional Clothing Closet. After looking your best, get a new LinkedIn headshot at the Professional Photo Booth. Finally, tap into the NoleNetwork, where you can apply to jobs and internships while receiving training on the best methods of application approach.
These resources are out there; you don’t have to always have to wait for them to come to you.
Chase it. Fuel your passion yourself. If you’re motivated now, don’t let that passion die in stagnation. Take initiative to create the opportunities you want, especially if they aren’t coming to you or if they don’t exist yet.
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