Are you fishing in the right career pool?

One day, after you graduate from college, you’re going to take your fishing pole, add some bait (skills, experience, knowledge) to your hook (resume), and cast it out (searching) into one of the job pools.  Catching a fish (job) is going to be dependent on a lot of things including the quality of your bait and hook, the number of lines you cast and what career pool you decide to try your luck out on.  And as one great fisherman once told me “it’s best to go fishing where all the fish are,” or basically you could have the most amazing bait, the state of the line hook and cast it out a million times and catch nothing in a pool with no fish in it.

For the next 10 years that career pool of STEM, or what is commonly referred to as science, technology, engineering and mathematics related industries is projected to show the strongest growth rates among all other career opportunities.  The period between 2000 and 2010 showed a tripling of job opportunities in STEM related industries compared to non-STEM jobs and will grow to 1.2 million new openings by 2018.  By 2020, that will be a 17% growth in STEM related career opportunities compared to only 14% for non-STEM related jobs.  And best of all (for students in those majors), the US department of labor is estimating a large shortage of newly graduating university students who will be qualified to take up most of those new job posts.  That’s probably not great for the US, but that will represent a great opportunity for new job hunters.  As the current recession is showing, it’s always better to be among the group with scarce resources.  Currently we have too few jobs and too many employees, though that percentage will decrease as we get out of recession, it has and never will hit 0%.   A study by Change the Equation, a non profit that is mobilizing the business community to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics learning in the US, showed that in the last three years, unemployed people out numbered regular job postings 3.6 to one.  During this same time however, STEM related job postings outnumber unemployed 1.9 to one.  That means, during the roughest years of our recent recession, there were still more job postings than there were qualified yet unemployed candidates looking for jobs in the tech, engineering or science/math related fields.

Another reason to look towards the S.T.E.M. career pool; better pay of course.  A recent study by the US bureau of labor showed that 4 of the top 5 paying careers for bachelor’s degree holders are in those related areas.  As always I don’t suggest you only follow the money, but it won’t hurt if you could find your passions in a future career that statistically rewards you with tons more cash than other industries.  By starting a career in a field that continues to add new jobs, you also ensure the chance to continue to climb the ladder of success.  Contrast that with the current market where more and more employees are being let go because of a dwindling need for their specific skills.  They then have to compete against a larger pool of employment seekers that basically creates ceilings for most where they have to either accept lower positions (with lower salaries) or start over in a new career path.

One important factor that should go into the decision of what to major in during university has to be with what industries will have more opportunities in a few years from now. In fact, the US should be doing everything it can to try and get more students to major in any of the stem-related industries because a shortage in these important areas will continue to weaken the nation’s ability to drive innovation and competitiveness, strengths needed to stay the global leader.
I recommend always following your passion, but if you could combine that with a field that will have more opportunities than qualified candidates, that will probably guarantee a great paying job waiting for you after graduation.  Your preparing your self to become a great fisherman one day, make sure you are building up the right kind of bait and casting into the right career pool so you can hook that really killer fish.

Start your career by going all in.

If I had a penny for every time someone told me I couldn’t do something I’d be rich. Well, maybe not rich, I’d have a whole lot of pennies. But if I listened to those people I wouldn’t be as successful as I am.
In life everything worth striving for is impossible, it’s those who overcome the impossible who are the real successes. Everyone else accepts life as it comes to them. They give in to their environment rather than do something about it.

I start with this because I advise students and I’ve had many come to me and explain that they want a job in so and so industry but after looking for a while, they feel it’s impossible. The current job market looks pretty bleak, but this is not the first recession nor the last one we’ll be in.  Even in this terrible economy, some people are still getting jobs; how did they land them?  Relationships, money, better qualifications, outstanding resume, pure luck? Yes, it’s probably a combination of a few or all of those things.  They went all in, and you can do the same to jump start your career.

What you call luck, they call exposure. They sent their resume to hundreds, even thousands of recruiters, hr managers, friends, family, teachers, and any other people they could get their hands on. They gave themselves the opportunity to get lucky by being in front of as many eyes as they could be. What you call qualifications, they call standing out.  They understand that they are competing with thousands of other prospects, and for their resume to stand out, they really had to put in the time to make them outstanding.
Their resumes were better because they researched to find out what they needed to include to make them relevant and they adapted their resume to make sure they would shine.  They may not have had years of experience and qualifications but they took the time to express the abilities that they did have in a way that “rang a bell” with the hiring manager.
These successful job hunters didn’t fill their resumes with generic words like great at communications, adept computer skills, team player, abilities that the hr manager’s going to see in every other CV she reads. How many people do you think have the same skills? Who cares. Instead they included 3 to 4 major bullet points of skills with real examples showing how they successfully used them.  And they made sure that these abilities were relevant to the job they were applying for and not a cookie cutter version that the other 99% of the candidates were going to be using. Their resume exudes their hunger, their passion to become a change maker and future leader.

What you call relationships, they call persistence.  In order to start their career they knew they had to go to every person they knew and found a way to build relationships with people that could help them with their job hunt.
They used social networking sites like Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter to stay up to date with companies that they wanted to work for and looked out for potential needs and opportunities. If they found out that a company bought another smaller company, they looked for job opportunities there that might turn into jobs in the new parent company (that they ultimately wanted to work for).

Getting a good job is difficult; the job you dream about, almost impossible. The world’s economy is going to shits, there are less jobs and more people who need them. You have to look at this as an opportunity, you need to come up with a service (that’s you) that the companies need and differentiate yourself from the rest of the masses.  You have to use technology to get yourself in front of prospective HR people.  It’s going to take blood, sweat and tears. It’s going to take creativity, time, and persistence. It’s up to you to start your career on the right path. Go all in or go home.

What career is right for me?

It’s the million dollar question…..Literally, choosing the right career could lead to a successful path towards job happiness and great financial life time returns. Stepping into the wrong industry on the other hand, could lead to an unsatisfying and reward-less future.  With a little planning, you could be learning about the different industries and finding a right match before you graduate from school.

So, what career is right for me?
I work with hundreds of university students and recent graduates who ask this all the time.  And I’d say it’s probably one of the most important questions that they should be tackling while they are still in school.  We all know that once we graduate, it’s off to work we go, and we’re going to be spending a huge chunk of our time working, all to get that cheddar. With so many things to consider including financial factors, the thousands of different types of areas, family and peer pressure, it usually ends up becoming that huge burden that we avoid until the last moment.

So, how do we answer that question; what career is right for me and what can we do now to start the process?  Trial and error of course.  Well ok, part trial, part error and a whole lot of preparation.  Like anything in life, if you want to really succeed, then preparation is a key to help you towards finding the right path.

In 5 steps, I’m going to help you get on your way towards finding that destined career path.

Step 1: Find out what’s in your DNA. Who do you look up to and want to be?  When I was young, I wanted to be like Mike (now a days that would probably be Kobe, or Jeremy Lin).  That was a long time ago and now I want to be more like my dad, a successful entrepreneur.
A role model is a great way to figure out what types of careers might be right for us and starting with our parents is as close to our hearts as we can probably get.  Make a list of all the people in your life that could be good role models.  Your parents, other family members, your parent’s friends, your friend’s parents, teachers, any other people in your community that you interact with. Anyone who you feel is successful.  List out why you think they are successful, what their career is, what values they have that made them choose that line of work and why you think they are successful.
Now go and interview as many as possible to ask them directly what they do and why they love what they do.  If they hate what they do, find out why.  All this information will be useful for you to evaluate and digest to get you on your own glorious path.
You should be compiling quite a list by now so I’d suggest using some software to help you keep track of all your information.  I use a free mind mapping software called Freemind for Mac that helps me keep my information organized yet easily accessible so that I can review and compare different sets of information effectively.

This is a sample of my map that i use to help me figure out what career is right for me.  I have been continually adding to my map and so have includes a few other categories that you probably don’t need yet.

Step 2: Figure out your passions.  What are your personalities and priorities.  What do you think your priorities will be in 10 years, 20 years, so on.  What did you always want to be?
When I was growing up I always wanted to be a ninja and basketball player.  Luckily I realized that these were not great career choices (because these days there’s no money in being a ninja, and I suck at basketball). Instead, I went on to travel to China after college and kind of fell into an internship in marketing.  If I knew what I know now, I’m sure I could have shaved  many years off of the experimental path I had to take to find where I wanted to be.
You should also include your interests, hobbies, values, goals and anything else about you that will be helpful to map out who you are.  You’re looking for anything that is going to help spark your passion. If you’ve already worked, what were the areas that you excelled at.  What type of work did you really enjoy doing and what tasks made you squirm.  What about other activities, team sports, band, debate class, volunteering or any other organized activities where you had some responsibilities.
I had  you first go and review your role models to help inspire more relevant ideas in case you draw any blanks. In college, I’ll be the first to admit that my priorities were not always in line with what were really important with who I wanted to be or become.  Hey, like you, I thought just enough about how to get good grades in college and the rest of the time thinking about having fun. As I mention before, I ended up not knowing what I wanted to become and wasted a few years working and figuring that out.  Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t change those experiences that I gained living in China, I now know I could have taken advantage of my time a lot better and accomplished more had I prepared a bit in between all of the partying.
You can also take one of the numerous personality tests available online that usually assess your character and traits and match you up with job types.  I would only use this as a tool to help find some more job options that you haven’t thought about, opportunities that might be very interesting for you.  The Meyers Briggs personality test is one the best known but there are a lot out there that are free and can give some great insights about you.  In the end, they are just stats and figures, and the human being, especially those of the college type, are extremely complicated and hard to just square away in a box.

Step 2.5: Think about the money. In my humble opinion, money should be only a small part of the equation.  I’ve met quite a few people who bring home amazing pay checks but are unhappy and unfulfilled with their jobs.  While others bring home more modest incomes but seem to be extremely satisfied and happy with their current status.  Money is just a means to an end, it shouldn’t be the end all goal.  If you find something you love to do, you will have a better chance to succeed and ultimately if you succeed you are adding value that will be compensated with a good income.
Money is still important, so figure out how much money you need to be happy.  What amount you need to live on now and in the future.  What about in the future for a family, this will also affect how much you need to make

Step 3:  Match your self up with potential careers.  You should have already thought of some jobs that you might like through working out the first 2 and a half steps, keep brainstorming ideas and try to include as many areas that you might be interested in your future.  Now is a great time to go and speak to a career councilor or adviser.  Your university has a career center so go in and make an appointment to get some help.  All the information you compile is going to help because the adviser is probably going to ask you to list some of them out, imagine how surprised they’ll be when you show up prepared.

Step 4:  Test out those careers through an internship or part time job.  There’s no better way to “test drive” a possible career than through a short term internship.  You not only learn what that industry is all about, but you build valuable experience, a network of contacts and if you’re lucky a job opportunity waiting for you after you graduate.  And if you realize that you didn’t like that area of work, at least you know now what to avoid when your real job hunt begins.
I know, I know, it’s been tough these days to even get a non-paying internship so you’re going to have to really work hard to find any opportunity you can.  Ask your peers if you could intern in their office or if they have any contacts that could help out.  If not an internship, what about a day where you volunteer in their office for a day doing random chores and at the same time learn what it is that goes on there.  Again, use your university internship and careers center as they should have a wealth of information and contacts. Go online to job forums and see what others in your interested fields have to say. If you can get an internship, oo all you can to try and get a good feel for what jobs, tasks or projects you would have, what the environment is like and what type of people seem to thrive by asking around and using Google.

Step 5: Evaluate and try again.  You will need to review the experiences and information you gained, add notes to your personal map and keep trying out new jobs until you find that one you know you’re going to be passionate about.  The earlier you start, the more trials you run, the better your chances of finding that job your going to love and succeed in.  Make sure to keep adding to your map and include what you liked, disliked, your strengths, weaknesses and any other information that’s going to be helpful for your career search.

Spend the time to figure this out as you will be spending a large percentage of your time in your job so it’s important to really find a niche that you will love and really succeed in.  Remember, it’s all about finding something that you are going to be passionate about, a job you’re going to love to go to every day.  Nothing is guaranteed and you might still end up in a career you don’t like but through this process you will also identify other niches that might fit and you can quickly move to other industries to try them out.
Ok, by now you have probably decided that my 5 steps are definitely not easy and is going to be a lot of work, maybe even too much for you to want to do.  If you are deciding to just jump in and hope for the best, by all means, go ahead.  Hey you only have a slight chance of joining the over 50% of Americans that are currently not satisfied with their current jobs.

We are an international entertainment company with a full lifestyle service platform looking for ambitious summer interns, living it up to our slogan: “Don’t just look good, feel good”. After operating from Amsterdam for many years, we’ve just set up a second office to serve the U.S. market. We chose the beautiful island of St. Maarten, which is less than a two hours flight from Miami.

We are looking for talented international interns who will support the international artist-bookings department:

• Manage the calendar of our artists
• Manage artist bookings
• Sales and promotional activities
• Online Marketing

Besides organizing international shows, we also produce a radio show and a TV show.
We are looking for two interns who can support:

• Content creation (video / music)
• Editorial support
• (Online) Marketing / promotion
• Project management

The requirements for our summer intern are:

• Fluent in English, speaking and writing
• Hard working and pro-active
• Operate independently
• Willing to live on St. Maarten for five months or more
• Driver’s license
• Willing to sign a confidentiality agreement
• The interns are responsible for:
• Booking and payment of their flights
• Arranging their own housing (because of our network on the island, we will help you find a suitable accommodation)

We will be responsible for:

• A suitable allowance, according to life on the island
• Providing you with the necessary information for your school assignment if they are consistent with the confidentiality agreement

Please contact Gabriella Pap for more information at pap_gabriella@ymail.com

Real estate internships in China are popular as the country’s largest market is currently booming.

Each intern comes from a different background, but shares the same the wonderful staff to guide and support them while in Shanghai. Overall, the staff has been a tremendous help, like listening to my problems and helping me find a solution to my issues. Also, whenever visited the NSC office, I was always warmly welcomed. The NSC dinners tends to be a huge event, which allowed the interns to meet each other. Not only is Next Step helping you connect with the world through your internship, but also helping you make connections that last a lifetime.

2.       Shanghai food – Pass the chopsticks!

From donuts to dumplings to everything on a stick, Shanghai has some of the tastiest food I’ve ever had. For breakfast, I would have baozi, soymilk, porridge, and convenient store food, but I can still find my donuts, cereal, and oatmeal. So, you may cringe when you hear chicken’s feet, duck blood, and pig liver, but you’ll never know what it taste like until you try it. It’s awesome!! One of my favorite experiences is walking down the street with a long row of people with grills cooking meat on a stick or frying something in a pan and you basically want to eat everything. Although there is a 50% chance of getting a stomach ache, it is still something worth eating. Also, there are also other great appetizers like stinky tofu (not that stinky!), xiao long bao, and fried dumplings you should try. With the picture menu and the art of pointing, ordering food can be simple even though you might not know what you actually ordering. Whether you are eating dumplings, rice, or noodles, you have to use chopsticks because when in China do what the Chinese do.

3.       Shopping and street – Hey lady, Purse, Watch, Handbags??

Probably the popular phrases you learn when you arrive in Shanghai is “duoshao qian? (How much?” and “bu yao (I don’t want it).” When shopping in tourist areas you will always find someone trying to sell you fake designer stuff and with so many shop and boutiques to choose from it can be overwhelming, but overall it is a fun experience. You just have to learn the art of bargaining. However, always watch out for pick-pocketers!

Furthermore, as you stroll down the street on your right, you see modern, unique architectural style buildings and then to your left you see poor, old alleyways and shops. But, be careful crossing the streets because for cars, buses, and taxis green means go and red means pedestrians need to move out of the way or get run over. One of my favorite experiences was going to the Bund at 5 in the morning just as the sun is rising. You will also see old people exercising and little kids flying kites. Shanghai is one of the cities where you can get by without having to know the language because most signs and menus are in English, which it makes things easier. So, when you shop till you drop, don’t forget to bargain!

4.       Personal Growth – You’re finally on your own as an intern in Shanghai, so what?

Having a strong passion and motivation to learn about the Chinese culture and language, I reflect on the work I’ve done, the lessons I’ve learned, and my purpose of coming to Shanghai. Nevertheless, being on your own is harder than you expect.  Although at time it feels lonely, I had the opportunity to step outside my ordinary life and see things from a new perspective. I might not like the overcrowded streets or people constantly bumping into me and not apologize, but if every time someone stops to say I’m sorry then I would hear it all day.

I might not know how to speak Chinese, but I do understand body language and try to listen to what they are saying. Whether it is talking with my coworkers, strangers on the street, or even other interns, I know I have improved my skill at communicating with others. I might not know it now, but I believe my stay in Shanghai has allowed me to grow and be a better person than I was before I came here.

5.       Internship – Intern in China, what is that?

I knew going into this internship I would have trouble with the language barriers and difficulty understand Chinese business etiquette. Nevertheless, I never understood how lonely and difficult it can be to not understand a language. I guess that is how foreigners feel when living in a new country. The language barrier makes it difficult to building a relationship with the employers, when you work harder to build the relationship you may end up having a friend for life.  My internship may not be everything I thought that it would be, but I gained a wealth of knowledge about Human Resources and improved my communication skills on a professional and personal level. I gained a new perspective of Chinese business etiquette and understanding the similarities and difference of Human Resource in China and the US such as the office structure and rules.

 Cam Huong Huynh, United States –  Program Duration: 2 months – blog after 7 weeks in Shanghai

So far in China, I have loved every minute of it. Every second is a learning experience from interacting with Chinese people to crossing the roads (Trust me even crossing the roads are very eventful). The biggest thing here to try and adapt to is the culture and how the people are. They can be seen as rude to Westerners but it is normal in their culture.

My recent travels in China have been around Shanghai and Beijing. The two cities are different and you get a whole different kind of feel. Beijing was more of an old cultural city. I would recommend going to the Great Wall (of course) and trying the Beijing duck! Unfortunately I did not try the amazing duck I’ve been hearing about all week due to stomach problems. But make sure you get the chance to try the scorpion or any other creatures they have for sale crawling around. Beijing was more spread out and it seemed more relaxed than Shanghai.

Of course Shanghai is the business city and its fast pace and high end style is what all the fun is. The view from The Bund in Shanghai is unbeatable and lifestyle seems to be more fun for foreigners. I have experienced both Beijing and Shanghai nightlife and I can tell you; there is nowhere like Shanghai. Of course Beijing was a lot of fun but Shanghai just has that feel to it that I can’t describe.

The internship that NSC has helped provided for me is at a company called ET2C international. I am dealing with marketing. So far the experience has been exciting and knowledgeable. I am doing something totally new so it is a great learning experience. So far I am marketing products to other companies like Procter & Gamble, Nike, and Unilever. I do the research and development on the products given to me and other companies. If you’re only in Shanghai for 2months doing an internship like me, do not let any opportunity pass you by especially if you have a chance for a job or a good reference for the future from your internship.

NSC has provided me with a great place to live! I have a great room mate. The living style here is livable! The food is very cheap! I had a meal the other day for 10RMB – that’s just over a dollar! As long as you’re not a picky eater and are willing to be open minded about the food then you will be fine. You can also find a nice Western restaurant all around and if it’s that much of an emergency there is always a McDonalds around the corner. The McDonalds tastes exactly the same as in the states and is a little cheaper then the states.

You may also find that traveling on the Metro/Subway is quite interesting. You will be going to work during rush hours! Depending on where you are interning be prepared to squeeze and push into the train. You will be side by side with Chinese people without your own space at this time. Be careful and keep your belongings close to you at all times. This may not sound as fun but in my opinion this is a great experience since I do not have this type of experience at home. Using the Metro/Subway is very easy.

I have learned a lot so far being here in Shanghai. From living in Shanghai to the work I do at my internship. I am figuring myself out, what type of person I am and what’s next for me in the future. I know that I should learn Mandarin or have at least the basics as most business is dealt here in China. I have met a lot of great people in Shanghai so far! Networking and getting to know people and staying in contact with them for the future will do you good. Meeting everyone and conversing about each others experience really helps you get an idea of what you may want to do in the future. For me I know I WILL be back to Shanghai either for business or pleasure! I <3 Shanghai!!

Advice I would give for other foreign interns who are planning to come to Shanghai or China in general is to be very open-minded!!! Be prepared for a different culture. If you are not familiar with household skills start getting familiar with them as you will be more independent here. Also you may want to practice your squatting technique! Haha! It is not as common anymore but there are still the hole in the ground in some restaurants and other places. Be prepared! If you choose to come to Shanghai I guarantee it will be one of the best decisions you make.

Last but not least I want to thank the NSC staff! They are all great people! They know how to have fun! They are all friendly and helpful. I want to thank them for showing me a great time in Shanghai and for giving me this great opportunity to be here in Shanghai!!!

Louis Grayson, United States –  Program Duration: 2 months

Kristie talks about her internship at HKSTP from Next Step Connections on Vimeo.

UC San Diego business undergrad explains how she learnt a lot about herself during her two month summer internship. More importantly her internship helped her decide which career to choose.

You can check http://www.smartshanghai.com/ as a very useful website to go around Shanghai.