The time in college can be a fun and exciting time to make new friends, have great memories and think of the future career you would like to have. A lot of ambitious college women will use this time to plan the successful career ahead of them. Here are some of the steps you can use in your plan to be that go-getting college girl with my experiences from college to help you relate.
Knowledge is Power
Use your time in college wisely and take classes in what you are interested in. Do you have multiple interests in different subjects such as art, business, or journalism? Think about taking those classes to explore your interests and to see if you enjoy it. This is away to gain knowledge and skill while preparing for your future.
When I was a sophomore, I was not sure of what major I wanted or career. I took an introduction to journalism class and it was a survey of the different types of journalism and topics. When the semester was over I knew that I wanted my major to be media and communications and have a career in media.
Get Involved
Joining activities such as student clubs and organizations can help you gain leadership skills. You will develop skills while you are a part of student activities such as being president, editor of the campus newspaper or being a part of an e-board. You will work on your management style, delegating duties to fellow members. These can be transferable skills you can use in your future career.
During my time in college, I am involved in student affairs, with different positions. When I joined the public relations department at Old Westbury Web Radio (OWWR) I had to take imitative and suggest ideas for promotion. I did not have an official title, but I learned to work with different people, become responsible for projects, and at times delegate work to other team members to complete a task.
Internships
Internships can be a great way to explore possible career paths. Use this time to learn about different industries, learn different industry jargon and network. Spending time doing this will help you understand what you would like to do with your career, because you put work into figuring out what you want in the future.
My previous internship is working at a local government office in Long Island, New York during the summer. This was a great internship to see how local government work, how the office has a small budget and how to work past it to complete tasks. The summer internship was a way for me to understand what a 9- 5 job in a cubicle is like. After that experience, I realized that is not what I want in the future. I started thinking of changing my major to media and communications. I realized if I end up in a cubicle, I should at least be doing something I love.
Vision
After you spent time with personal development by taking classes, being active on campus clubs and organization, and internships. Vision what you want your life to be like. Do you see yourself leading a boardroom meeting? Running for a political office? Teaching a classroom of students? These are examples of long term goals. Think backwards, you know what your long term goals are. Make them short term and think what you need to accomplish now to reach those goals. For example, if you are going to be a teacher you need undergraduate degree and apply to master’s degree program and graduate. Take the moment to make a vision board, to motivate yourself to reach your goals.
I try to make a vision board for the fall semester and update in the spring semester. A vision board is a collage of pictures and words to motivate you to complete your goals. I made mine with old magazines, a scissor, and a glue stick. You can chose a theme of financial success, weight lost or any personal goal you would like to accomplish. My vision board is about academic success, my dream of being an entrepreneur, weight lost, meeting Oprah and much more. So I would cut out words: healthy, fit, be your own boss and paste it on a cardboard paper. The pictures I cut out will visualize those goals: a picture of Oprah, fruits and vegetables and a graduation cap that says May 2016. Having a vision board, has been helpful in motivating in the short term goals and the long term goals. I would recommend in trying a vision board for yourself to see its helps you.
I hope these tips will help you being an ambitious collegiate. This will help you on your journey in developing career and discovering yourself.