Be
Your Teen's "Career Coach"
by
Jim Davis
Most
teens have little idea of what they want to do with their lives when
they finish high school. Those who have decided have often made their
choices based on how much money they think they can make in a
particular job. And, they often have only a sketchy idea of what the
job actually involves or what education and training is required.
This is probably the main reason why so many college students change
their majors at least once before they graduate. That gets expensive!
And, even if they don't plan to go to college, they usually still
don't know what kind of work they want to do.
If
you are a parent of a high school student, you are probably aware
that individual career guidance in most high schools (and some
colleges) is quite limited. Most high school guidance counselors have
hundreds of students assigned to them. Their time is consumed by
students' academic problems, testing, record keeping, etc. In
addition, counseling for personal issues, class choices,
interpersonal conflicts, and other duties leave little time for them
to give your son or daughter the kind of one-on-one help they really
need for career planning. About all guidance counselors usually have
time for on an individual basis is to make sure students have the
right credits for graduation. Most career guidance usually has to be
done in groups.
You
can provide the help your teen needs.
With
free assistance from The Family Corner's Mentor
Service you can help your son or daughter to develop their
career plans, even if they don't know what kind of work they want to
do when they grow up. What most people don't realize about career
planning is that it involves a lot more than deciding what career
they want. It involves examining interests, capabilities, talents,
values, and aspirations. It requires some basic life decisions, such
as what your work ethic will be. When you get down to it, career
planning involves deciding what kind of person you are going to be as
much as it does what kind of work you want to do.
You
can help your teen to assess their interests (see
assessment links,) examine the skills they will need to develop,
and determine the various possibilities they may want to pursue. You
can also introduce them to other potential interests that neither you
nor they may have even thought of. The
Mentor Service can help you with these tasks and can also help
with many other areas you may not have considered.
Then,
together, you and your teen can develop plans for each of the
alternatives you have come up with, including how jobs they have as
students can be part of the plans.
Becoming
your teen's career coach can have many benefits for you and your
family, as well as for the young adult you are helping to start an
independent, successful life. Plus, you'll be able to use what you
learn for your own career development, as well.
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