Career objectives – a word of advice for collegians

“When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream.”  - - - Paulo Coelho

          A few years spent at college are an experience of a lifetime. Besides academic attainments, you broaden your horizon and get set for your career. Though in no way can you claim to be a specialist, however, you acquire basic skills that facilitate a take-off. But the degree that you are armed with cannot be regarded as ticket to commence your career voyage.

            Today, highly qualified youth fail to get an appropriate job. While individual luck, links and flair do play a role, it is largely their determination that stands them in good stead. What you need to have is a plan, sans which, your future will hang between the devil and the deep sea. And before you make a plan, you need to take a decision. The college offers you a horde of opportunities to prepare yourself for your career.

As you walk your career path, the going gets tougher and the importance of your plan gets further accentuated. But most college students do not comprehend this fact. The bare truth is that your maiden job generally propels you on a path and direction that are difficult to alter subsequently, largely because of financial considerations and even at the cost of job dissatisfaction. And if you change your job or career, your difficulties increase manifold as suitable jobs will be hard to come by. Therefore, you need to discern what you are cut out for early in life. Following your passions; taking up a job that is in line with them is the only solution. 

You need to set objectives for yourself – something that you are determined to attain as per your timeframe. In case your objectives are not pragmatic or your grit not adequate or you do not have a time schedule, you would be basing your moves on thoughts rather than anything else. Therefore, you need to decide where you need to go; otherwise you would not go anywhere. .

Objectives also need to be prodded because they keep us heading in the right direction. They also influence our decisions. But objectives alone are not sufficient. What you need is a line of action to select the best option to attain them. In other words, your objectives signify what you want to do and the line of action how you should be going about attaining them.

The fundamental issue is to know what you want to do. After school, most students are vague about it. If you repeatedly reflect on what you regard as important in your life, perhaps you will be able to discern it. And the years you spend at college definitely help you to demystify any confusion that may be prevailing.

Having discerned what you want, you need now to prioritize. Most of your desires will be in line with your actual penchants; therefore, you should set yourself objectives relevant to them. Continuous evaluation will help you prune the list and eventually you will be left with few pragmatic options. Thereafter, you can research them in detail, including informational interviews to make your grounds strong.

All successful men and women opine that true education starts from college and that your maiden job will always be a monumental accomplishment. What you should never forget that it should be regarded as the start of a long voyage. Hence, after landing up in a job, your objective should be to excel in it.

The journey thus goes on with you setting newer objectives, acquiring newer qualifications and encountering newer job opportunities. It is imperative that as you move forward, you keep updating your aims and plans to attain them, because that is how things will happen. And most importantly, you should remember that wherever your heart is, you will find your treasure there.