A Career Planning Course for Parents
Your son or daughter just left for (or is returning to) the University of Minnesota, Crookston, but still doesn’t seem to know what he/she wants to major in, let alone choose a career. Don’t worry this is not unusual, even though you might wish that your son/daughter had a little more sense of direction!
Please know that their ultimate success and career satisfaction depends on a careful, systematic exploration of who they are, what they want to do and how they will get there. The time for them to do this exploration is now. Working together, we can help them achieve their career dreams.
Choosing a career is a process students (and adults!) need to go through--and students go through the stages of this process at different rates of speed. The steps include:
1. |
Assessing personality, skills, interests, and abilities
(this is an important first step to choosing an appropriate career)
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2. |
Exploring majors and career options;
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3. |
Experimenting with possible career options
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4. |
Organizing and conducting a job or graduate school search. |
You can assist and support your students in each of these stages. But what can-or should-you do? Below are some career planning timetables to help you:
Careers 101 - For Parents of First Year College Students
Careers 201 - For Parents of Second Year College Students
Careers 301 - For Parents of the "Mid-Career" Student
Careers 401 - For Parents of Graduating Seniors
A Few Final Thoughts
The college years are a time of exploration, experimentation, and learning on many levels for students and their parents! Some student challenges may seem more positive than others, but all contribute to the educational outcomes of the University experience.
Throughout these years, students are developing a "record of achievement" which will be evaluated by employers and graduate schools as they move beyond college. There are several pieces of this record:
Academic Achievement. Although it is not (and should not be) the primary factor in determining a candidate's success, the grade point average (GPA) is one factor considered by competitive employers and graduate schools. It is one of the few tangible indications of a student's ability to learn and perform effectively, at least in the academic environment. Therefore, students need to do as well as possible in the classroom, especially in courses in their majors.
Responsible Work Experience. In today's competitive employment market, many employers seek students who have related internship, summer, or part-time job or volunteer experiences. In fact, employers often look to their own such programs as primary sources for their new hires. These experiences are particularly critical for liberal arts students whose majors may not appear to be directly related to their areas of career interest.
Responsible Involvement Outside the Classroom. Extracurricular activities provide the opportunity for students to gain many valuable and career-related skills such as the ability to work effectively with others in a team environment; leadership; planning and organizational skills; and priority-setting and time management. These are part of the package of skills employers seek in their new hires.
Best of luck to you in navigating the challenging waters of parenting your University of Minnesota, Crookston student!
