Submitted by RDHodgson on
in
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Summary: I'm unsure of where I want to go with my career, and I'm worried how this will impact my job search, and who will want to hire me.
PREAMBLE:
So, it seems a lot of people here are either well into established career paths, or at the start of something fairly well defined - 'I want to be a software engineer', 'I want to work in Navy logistics', that sort of thing. I'm... pretty unsure. I went through University pretty much set on continuing on in a life of academic philosophy. It seems/seemed like the best fit. But then I got rejected from every grad school I applied to and so I'm reconsidering my options.
Now, one option is carry on working crummy low-level, low-responsibility, low-pay job(s) for another year, readying my applications and going in again. But... I don't want to waste these crucial years of my life. And, having had time to re-evaluate things, I'm not certain academia is where I want to be. Academia is rough enough as it is, but academic *philosophy* is probably at the height of perilous career paths (in terms of being able to measure and estimate where your career will go relative to work and energy put in - a lot of it is very much up to chance).
So, that's not completely off the table, but it's something I'd like to defer until I've had some more time in the real world, and cut my teeth trying a variety of more steady and surer things. If nothing else, it'll give me some real-world experience to philosophise about. ;)
THE MEAT OF THE PROBLEM
I'm a recent graduate with a good degree from a good university, with work experience in a variety of low-level jobs (leafletting, demonstrating products, sales, teaching, kitchen work), but as far as things go this is gonna be my first Real Job that I'm now looking for. And I don't know exactly where I want to go. What I do know is that I don't want to suffer from analysis paralysis, and would rather learn by trying something that looks appealing. And my fear is that this will make me appear flighty.
Now, I am prepared to stick with any job for a decent amount of time. If I realise I'm not cut out in a certain place, I'm not gonna bail after a month - or if I discover this 12 months after benefitting from my time with them, I won't just bail then. I'm willing to stick things out for as long as is proper given everything they have taught me and all they've afforded me.
TL;DR:
What do I tell recruiters and interviewers when they ask me about why I'm applying? Whenever I look at various job roles, I see a lot that bores me, but some that look interesting (e.g. analyst, market researcher... basically, anything to do with tracking and understanding people, how they respond to various things, why they commit to purchase something, etc), but not because I think, "Yes! That is the career for me!" Rather, my thinking is, "Yes! I don't fully understand what I'm required to do in this position, but the jist of it sounds like something I have the skills to do, and which I'd learn a lot about myself!"
And again... I'm just worried that I come off as - or worse, that I *am* - flighty, and that I'm just using these companies, rather than being a serious professional. But the problem is I just don't *know* what I want to do, and the only way I'm going to learn is by doing and trying stuff!
Kudos to you for wanting
Kudos to you for wanting some real world experience. The best teachers I've ever encountered in academia were those who brought their own life lessons to the table as a learning experience.
My suggestion would be to look at industries or companies that might be of interest to you and pursue an entry level position there. Use the position to learn about the industry or company and about the different roles there. Make connections, work your hardest on the responsibilities you're given, and figure out what might be a good future fit for you.
If you're willing to stick with a role for more than a year, I wouldn't worry about appearing flighty either. My rule of thumb is generally two years minimum but I left my last position after 16 months because I had an incredible opportunity land in my lap.
I'd suggest listening to The Career Tools Rule of Job Applications – 75% and making the investment in the Interviewing Series. It really is an investment as you have lifetime access to it through your account here and I'm convinced it's why I landed the job I have now.
Good hunting.
--Steve
Thanks - I'll give that
Thanks - I'll give that episode a listen. And I'd totally buy the Interviewing series, but it's out of my budget at the moment. A a month or so more and I can afford it. :) I already found the resume guidance thingy immensely helpful.
I was actually chatting with a recruiter today, and she was saying that the best thing to do is to (a) understand exactly what you want right now, and commit to it 100% - worry about if things change when they do change, and (b) just get out there and interview and get to know the market, more to learn what's out there right now, rather than just to get a job.
I'm looking into the world of market research at the moment. Everything to do with consumer research, advertising, all that stuff. I was reading Little Bets recently, and Good To Great before that, and one thread that interests me a lot is the way that successful businesses depend upon lots of feedback from small, empirical tests, and studies of what their consumers are actually like and really want. I don't know what career that implies exactly, but I'd like to be involved in that world! Who knows, maybe I'll run my own small business myself one day, and it'd be very useful to know all this stuff!
feedback from small, empirical tests
" one thread that interests me a lot is the way that successful businesses depend upon lots of feedback from small, empirical tests, and studies of what their consumers are actually like and really want. "
Sounds like usability testing to me (the discipline of software testing that looks at what happens when someone actually tries to use the product, and tries to iron out the problems). Steve Krug has a page here that, yes, promotes his book but also has a video of how he runs a usability test - see what you think:
http://www.sensible.com/rsme.html
Jakob Nielsen's site at http://www.useit.com/ would be another place to go
Just a suggestion - hope it helps
For more general research, you might also like the mass market paperback careers book "What Color is Your Parachute" It covers the idea of researching what you want to do, if it happens that you don't know. I've owned several copies & given them away to friends thinking about redirecting their career, and grappling for some place to focus. You can probably find a copy to inspect in most bookshops , or you could check out the author's website http://www.jobhuntersbible.com/
best of luck