Are you driven by high earning potential? I mean real money. Payscale.com recently published their 2011/2012 salary survey by college major. I guess when you have data you can do anything with it. We can't predict a person's future. But we can do a much better job of helping students look at careers/jobs that match their talent design (behaviors, motivators, sometimes referred to as personality). Those students that are making fully informed career choices have a significant competitive advantage. Continue reading →

Fear of Failure. Fear of Success. Fear of the Unknown. Any of these can be the handcuffs for teens looking at the future and wondering what it holds. What career direction should I pursue? What educational strategy is best for me? What college should I choose? Any of these questions can play an invisible role in hindering pursuit of our potential. This article provides a few easy steps you can take to eliminate the fear of success, fear of failure or fear of the unknown. Continue reading →

Asking adults for help is a strength. Teenagers in career exploration mode will receive many benefits from asking for help. Their network is much bigger than they think. Continue reading →

My colleague Steve Straus provided this insightful thought provocation to his newsletter subscribers. Adults appreciate the distinction Steve provides around being on the Mountain Top vs. being on a Dung Heap when it comes to one’s career. But do high school … Continue reading →

Steven Johnson has a great presentation on where ideas come from that has been made available on TED. Taking his message and applying it to career exploration for high school or college students seemed like a fun exercise. The idea of a "connected mind" for career exploration suggests the combination of self-awareness about what in the world motivates you, how you like to do things, people that can provide expanded perspective about careers, useful information resources and a students' extended social media network. What are the chances you are choosing a career direction and education strategy that will favor you ten years from now? Continue reading →

Incoming Freshman have a clean whiteboard to write on. Sense of self, level of engagement in what interests you, a sense of career direction and how much you take control of your own life will dictate your success. Junior high graduation class commencement speech. Continue reading →

As Americans, we are fascinated by the launching of space missions by NASA. Achieving momentum is the key to a successful launch. An object in motion tends to stay in motion. And of course, an object at rest tends to remain at rest. If you are a parent of a high school student, or if you are a high school student with a desire to explore the possibilities of your future, I emplor you to take career exploration seriously. Finding the right career won't just happen. Like a shuttle launch, career exploration and career planning take a great deal of exploration, testing of ideas, work, fuel, resiliency and people. Of course you could get lucky. Continue reading →

Recruiting 2.0 Does it make more sense for teens to control their own destiny, including taking an assertive approach to investingating and choosing the career they want or simply dance to the song that sounds the best in the moment? Continue reading →

From all of the employment data provided by the Department of Labor, many researchers are focusing on adults in the job market. But what does that same data suggest about the coming work life years for high school students? Observations and lessons for students that want to succeed. Continue reading →

As a nation, we know we need to do things differently in order to compete globally. Employers are saying many high school graduates, and even college graduates, aren't coming out as prepared as they need to be. Give a student a vision and a plan for their future that they want and they'll do amazing things to make it happen. One solution to fix it is discussed. Continue reading →