{"342971":{"#nid":"342971","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Your Student\u2019s Career Plans: Tips for Keeping the Peace during Holidays\u2026or Any Time of Year","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen the family of a college student gathers for the holidays and during school breaks, the subject of careers is likely to come up. For some families, these discussions are as smooth as Thanksgiving mashed potatoes and gravy. The student is on track in terms of career planning and employment opportunities, with a clear path for success after graduation. But for other families, when the student is not quite on track in terms of career development, that conversation can feel more like lumpy gravy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs a parent, it\u2019s understandable that you have lots of questions about your daughter\u2019s or son\u2019s career plans. If you\u2019re footing the tuition bill, you might be worried about the return on your investment. If you packed your child off to college with high hopes for the doors a Georgia Tech degree can open, you are likely to be eager to see those doors flung open. But, before you pepper your student with questions about her or his career plans, make sure you are well informed about how careers develop and what the resources are on campus to support students in their career planning and job search.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHere\u2019s a look at how parents and other family members can best support students who are approaching career planning in various ways:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Hyper-focused Student\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany Georgia Tech students begin their university years with exceptional focus. They come here because they know they want to be a chemical engineer, an architect, a business leader, or a public policy expert. They come here for the opportunity to blend rigorous academic training in their chosen disciplines with practical experience through the myriad research, co-op, and internship experiences available.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany do keep this focus throughout their years at Georgia Tech. They are satisfied with their major. They engage in experiential education to develop practical skills. And, they can envision themselves working in their chosen field.\u0026nbsp; Such straightforward paths make for easy conversations at the holiday dinner table.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStrategies for parents of the hyper-focused: Don\u2019t fix what\u2019s not broken! One caveat, however\u2026don\u2019t let your expectations run wild. Just because your son or daughter is on track toward a successful career doesn\u2019t mean there won\u2019t be bumps in the road. A clear focus in second year could start to waver by third year. Or a graduating senior who\u2019s done all the right things might find the job search a little more challenging than anticipated.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith career counseling and job search advising from the Center for Career Discovery and Development (\u201cC2D2\u201d), as well as guidance from faculty and departmental advisors, your student \u003Cem\u003Ewill\u003C\/em\u003E get over the bumps and be back on track.\u0026nbsp; For now, be grateful that your student is on the right path, but don\u2019t let yourself be lulled into complacency only to be blindsided by a deviation in the future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Rudderless Student \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat about those students who are not so focused? Maybe they began college with a clear direction but have begun to doubt their choice of major or area of specialization. At spring break your son told you he wants to go in a new direction, then after testing out that direction through a summer internship he decided to go in a newer direction, and by Thanksgiving or winter break he has a \u201cnewest\u201d direction. Your head is spinning with all the changes and you\u2019re concerned he is floating along without a rudder.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOr, maybe your daughter does have a career objective but isn\u2019t doing anything to work toward it. She complains that there is no time left after studying and extra-curriculars to look for an internship or attend career workshops put on by C2D2. Maybe she started a resume sophomore year and never got past the first few lines. You fear that she\u2019s going to reach graduation day having done nothing to secure employment or apply for graduate school, should that be the desired option.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStrategies for parents of the rudderless: In either of the cases above, your best strategy is to be understanding and patient, as well as to remind your student of the support available on campus. When students flounder in terms of career focus or seem unmotivated to work on their career plans, parents aren\u2019t automatically doomed to a lifetime of kids living in the basement working odd jobs after getting an expensive college education.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EC2D2 has career counselors on staff to help students assess who they are and explore what\u2019s out there for them in the world of work so that they can make sound decisions. And for those who say they don\u2019t have time to think about career planning or use campus career services, encourage them to spare 30 minutes to speak with a career advisor who can help them break down career planning activities into manageable, bite-size chunks. Your students \u003Cem\u003Ecan\u003C\/em\u003E keep up with schoolwork, do a sport, play in the band, and enjoy Greek life while still working gradually toward their futures!\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Know-it-All Student\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat if you see that your student needs career help and isn\u2019t willing to ask for it, much less accept it? Or, perhaps your son or daughter is on track with career planning but you know you have something more to offer. Perhaps you are well connected and have contacts to share. Perhaps you\u2019ve worked in roles that enable you to give advice on how to look for a job or how to perform well on a job (or on a co-op or internship). You are chomping at the bit to share what you know but your student isn\u2019t receiving.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStrategies for parents of the know-it-all: Recommended strategy here? Don\u2019t beat your head against a wall. Know that your child is probably going to have to hear it from somebody else even if that somebody else is saying essentially the same thing you are. When they come home telling you about the latest, greatest idea they heard from an advisor or maybe in an employer information session held on campus, and it\u2019s exactly what you\u2019ve been trying to tell them, just do that thing we parents hate to do but have to do sometimes \u2013 bite your tongue and resist the urge to say, \u201cI told you so.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAnd those great contacts you have? Offer up the names, explain why you think your student can learn something from each contact (remember, Georgia Tech students love to learn!), and then leave it be. If follow-up is going to happen, it will. Gentle \u2013 or not so gentle \u2013 nudging from you is unlikely to make it happen any faster.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Rescue-Me-Please Student\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGenerally speaking, Georgia Tech students are a focused, motivated, and ambitious bunch. The qualities that enabled them to be accepted at our institution often serve them well when it comes to developing a career. But even the brightest, hardest working students can find it difficult to take initiative when it comes to their career planning and job search. Unlike the \u201crudderless students,\u201d the \u201crescue-me\u201d students usually do know what they want and do have time in their days to work toward what they want, but they just don\u2019t see that it\u2019s up to them to make it happen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWho can blame them? No one\u2019s ever taught them how to manage their careers. They haven\u2019t had enough experience yet to see that careers don\u2019t manage themselves and opportunities aren\u2019t always going to be handed to them on a silver platter. Sure, in some fields the demand for qualified candidates to fill hot jobs is so strong that co-ops, internships, and full-time jobs at graduation practically land in their laps. But this isn\u2019t true for all fields and all majors, and this won\u2019t necessarily be true long-term even in the \u201chot\u201d jobs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EStrategies for parents of the rescue-me student: If you\u2019re a working parent who\u2019s had twists and turns in your own career \u2013 perhaps an undeserved layoff, being passed over for a promotion, starting a business that failed \u2013 you know what this is all about. You know that you have to pick yourself up and keep going. No one is going to rescue you. So, how can you help your student who seems to think that opportunities grow on trees? You can be sure not to perpetuate that myth. Don\u2019t coddle and protect. Instead, encourage your student to start early participating in career services offered by C2D2 and any career support offered in their departments or colleges. We don\u2019t just hand over jobs; we teach the skills needed to find jobs and develop a career.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlso, you can tell them about your experiences, but do so in a way that is relevant to your young adult and doesn\u2019t come across as just \u201cwar stories\u201d from your life.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhat if your student is close to graduating and didn\u2019t start early? It\u2019s never too late to take ownership of one\u2019s career.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile you daughter or son might not fit perfectly into one of the composite types above, consider elements of these types and strategies as you interact with your student around the topic of careers. The key is to strike a balance between being supportive and interested without hovering. Your student \u003Cem\u003Ewill\u003C\/em\u003E find his or her place in the world, and Georgia Tech\u2019s Center for Career Discovery and Development, along with our faculty and staff colleagues across campus, is here to help make that happen.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor more information on career development support, visit the Center for Career Discovery and Development at \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/careerdiscovery.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/careerdiscovery.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E. By clicking on \u201cAdvisors\/Majors\u201d on the home page, students can locate and contact the career advisor on the C2D2 team assigned to their major. If you\u2019d like to hire a Georgia Tech student, contact our Employer Relations team at \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:employer.relations-request@lists.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Eemployer.relations-request@lists.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"L. Michelle Tullier, Ph.D. Executive Director, Center for Career Discovery and Development"}],"field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Your Student\u2019s Career Plans: Tips for Keeping the Peace during Holidays\u2026or Any Time of Year"}],"uid":"27244","created_gmt":"2014-11-07 14:08:14","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:17:26","author":"Sara Warner","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-11-07T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2014-11-07T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1298","name":"Parent and Family Programs"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}