It is not surprising that COVID-19 has thrown a wrench into many of our plans, goals, and trips. The world made swift adjustments to online classes, virtual hangs, and remote jobs. While it may have knocked you off balance, it is crucial to get back on track.
A huge challenge you face as a college student is getting ahead. It is a lot of pressure to keep up with internships, networking, student organizations, and preparing for your future job search. It is crucial to find sustainable ways to adapt and advance your career amidst the pandemic. Here are tips and ideas you need to help reorient you and your goals.
Get Started
Are you overwhelmed by planning and envisioning your career goals? It can seem like an enormous task, but the key is to start small. Reflect on your interests, passions, and career inspirations. Take a chunk of time to brainstorm and write out what you want to do, even if you only have a rough idea. You can use this exercise to evaluate where you are, where you want to go, and the steps you need to take to get there.
Learn from Others
Seek out people in your field that inspire you and research their path to success. It helps you to gain perspective and learn from people’s unique journeys. There are many ways to get where you want to go; you just need to find your own way. Your goals may shift with time and experience, do not get too stressed when doing this task. It is exciting to grow and accomplish things you could not have imagine 1, 5, or 10 years prior. Setting goals is a necessary and ever-evolving practice for your career and life!
Goals can help to guide your professional development. For example, you might want to work in tech, a field that experiences rapid growth and constant change on an almost daily basis. Skills like adaptability, innovation, and the ability to pivot have always been vital in the tech industry but especially throughout the pandemic. This could mean testing out a new operating system or dev tool or following innovators in your field.
Stay Motivated
Find ways to dedicate yourself to your professional development. With an abundance of resources at your disposal, starting this habit in college is a great idea. Check out events hosted by your university and make use of alumni networks. Most colleges offer career counseling like resume and CV help or assistance with interviewing and negotiating.
“Learn continually – there’s always “one more thing” to learn!”
Utilize Virtual Tools
The world is opening, there is a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, but there are still more virtual opportunities than ever before. There is a wealth of accessible and affordable knowledge to explore! You can attend webinars, tune into live conversations on social media, expand your job skills, or take part in a remote internship. Find the best ways you can learn job skills online in our previous blog post.
Do a little digging on LinkedIn and other social media platforms for Live events with major players across all industries. You can find everything from fintech to fashion and everything in between. Tip: Maximize your time by taking notes during the conversations and asking questions in the comments.
Leading conferences and seminars are even taking place online for little to no cost at all. You can save on in-person fees and expenses that rack up quickly. Virtual programming creates a potential for a broader perspective since people can participate on panels and tune in globally. Some events will even send the zoom recording to registered participants.
As daunting as career-building may seem, the one thing you have control over is yourself. Adopting a growth mindset helps you to appreciate the journey. By being open to change and constantly expanding your skillset and networks, you can be confident in yourself as you navigate the job market.
