The Best Place for Career Advice May Not Be Career Services
by Risa Lewak
No one was more clueless than me when it came to what career to pursue after college. There were many mornings where I wanted to be a lawyer, by lunch I decided that business was a better fit, and by the time I went to bed I figured out that teaching was my true calling.
My career preferences would literally change hourly. It didn't help that my friends seemed to know exactly what they wanted to do while I was struggling to put together a decent resume (difficult for a philosophy major with no real work experience). When the fall of my senior year rolled around, my parents insisted I visit the Career Services office to get a little insight and career direction.
Apparently I was so directionless that the secretary suggested I see the head of Career Services, a crisp woman in her 40s who I was sure was going to tell me exactly in what direction I should take my life. She asked me a ton of questions, from my favorite classes to my special talents to what my favorite dish was in the cafeteria (I'm still not sure where that question came from but I went with it). After a two-hour meeting, the head of Career Services handed me a list of career options that she claimed were "right up my alley" and would provide me with a long, satisfying career.
The list petrified me. Number one was law, because every philosophy major goes to law school. Underneath law was non-profit management, because apparently I seemed like the kind of person who, "cared for the underprivileged." She also listed advertising, corporate communications, and human resources. What? There was nothing on the list that even remotely interested me. I didn't even know what corporate communications was, but because this woman was a "career expert," I took her advice seriously and began to study for the LSAT.
Later that semester, I was watching television in one of the public spaces on campus. A very lovely janitor, whom I knew by face, was watching me laugh at some stupid sitcom. "You really love that show," he said to me. I nodded politely and told him that watching TV sitcoms was one of my few releases from the stresses of senior year. "A lot of the episodes could be taken from my life," I told him. "Then why don't you write for them?" he said. I laughed and went back to my show. Later that night, I couldn't stop thinking about what the man said. Write for sitcoms? It seemed ludicrous. I've never written anything in my life. Aside from my mom and my friends, who else would think I'm funny?
But the more I thought about it, the more excited I became. The next day I looked up alumni from my college who were working and/or writing for Hollywood. A few phone calls and two years later, I landed a sitcom-writing agent.
The point of the story? Career advice can come from where you least expect it. Don't convince yourself that anyone, including Career Services at your college, knows what career is best for you. That's a journey you have to take on your own.
Risa Lewak works with students and parents all over the country to help ease the anxiety of college admissions and other college-related issues. She can be reached at: risalewak@aol.com.
My career preferences would literally change hourly. It didn't help that my friends seemed to know exactly what they wanted to do while I was struggling to put together a decent resume (difficult for a philosophy major with no real work experience). When the fall of my senior year rolled around, my parents insisted I visit the Career Services office to get a little insight and career direction.
Apparently I was so directionless that the secretary suggested I see the head of Career Services, a crisp woman in her 40s who I was sure was going to tell me exactly in what direction I should take my life. She asked me a ton of questions, from my favorite classes to my special talents to what my favorite dish was in the cafeteria (I'm still not sure where that question came from but I went with it). After a two-hour meeting, the head of Career Services handed me a list of career options that she claimed were "right up my alley" and would provide me with a long, satisfying career.
The list petrified me. Number one was law, because every philosophy major goes to law school. Underneath law was non-profit management, because apparently I seemed like the kind of person who, "cared for the underprivileged." She also listed advertising, corporate communications, and human resources. What? There was nothing on the list that even remotely interested me. I didn't even know what corporate communications was, but because this woman was a "career expert," I took her advice seriously and began to study for the LSAT.
Later that semester, I was watching television in one of the public spaces on campus. A very lovely janitor, whom I knew by face, was watching me laugh at some stupid sitcom. "You really love that show," he said to me. I nodded politely and told him that watching TV sitcoms was one of my few releases from the stresses of senior year. "A lot of the episodes could be taken from my life," I told him. "Then why don't you write for them?" he said. I laughed and went back to my show. Later that night, I couldn't stop thinking about what the man said. Write for sitcoms? It seemed ludicrous. I've never written anything in my life. Aside from my mom and my friends, who else would think I'm funny?
But the more I thought about it, the more excited I became. The next day I looked up alumni from my college who were working and/or writing for Hollywood. A few phone calls and two years later, I landed a sitcom-writing agent.
The point of the story? Career advice can come from where you least expect it. Don't convince yourself that anyone, including Career Services at your college, knows what career is best for you. That's a journey you have to take on your own.
Risa Lewak works with students and parents all over the country to help ease the anxiety of college admissions and other college-related issues. She can be reached at: risalewak@aol.com.
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