Will your Major and Career Align?

You have to admit it, we have a tendency of believing what we hear:

• The university is going to close tomorrow (myth) 
• Parking on campus is easy (myth)
• Balancing everything in college is easy (more than likely a myth)

One myth that we as students tend to panic over concerns our future. Many students believe that one major will lead directly to the perfect career dealing with that specificmajor; however, studies show that under 30% of careers correlate directly with your undergraduate experience. Individuals with degrees in mathematics sometimes end up working in journalism, and some individuals in biology may even be working in marketing. Don’t take this article the wrong way. Although many individuals do not work within the field they expected to, many still do. Overall, it is the college experience and the fact that you have worked hard in order to obtain a degree that puts you at the top of employers’ lists! According to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, studies showed that more than 2.2 million jobs that require a bachelor’s degree have been created since the recession and jobs that only require its employees to have a high school diploma have decreased by 5.8 million in the same time frame. Over 2 million jobs have been created and you just need one of them. It doesn’t seem so stressful after all huh? So stop worrying! Choosing a major is not that stressful as long as you choose something that you are interested in or genuinely passionate about...you don’t want to dread four years of a subject you hate right? If you are having difficulties with choosing a major or a career plan please visit our office and set up an appointment with a career counselor or drop by and take our strong interest inventory. If you’re interested in more myth busting subscribe to Big Orange Briefcase!

Myth Buster Monday: Career Experience

“Scream-Fest”

Myth: There’s no way to learn about a position or career before getting the job.

Trying to figure out what you want to do in life can overwhelm you, and make you SCREAM IN HORROR. But, never make yourself feel too overwhelmed and pressured when facing your future career. There are ways to learn about a career field before deciding that that’s what you’ll do!
Job Shadowing is a great method to see whether or not that career is something you enjoy. You get to see a “day-in-the-life”. The great thing about this method is that you can shadow anyone you know! It you have a family member, friend, colleague, a professional acquaintance, or maybe even someone you haven’t met before! It’s as easy as sending this person an email, calling them, or talking to them to make sure it’s okay for you to shadow them for a day. 
Informational conversation is another cool way to learn more about a potential career field. Here, you can learn not just about the job, but also the company, the industry, and the career field you’re thinking about! This is allows you to ask a variety of questions you’ve been wondering. Like job shadowing, the person you speak with can be anyone—friend, family, colleague, etc.! Just make sure to contact them to set up a time that’s good for both of you. 
Internships are another unique method that gives you a direct, hands-on look into what that potential career field would be like. The advantage of an internship is that it provides you with a first-hand look into what you would be doing in this field—a test-run if you chose this field. It’s short-term, so if you realize you don’t like this career field, there are no obligations! But if you find out you do like it, some employers offer full-time or part-time employment after the internship’s complete! To search for internship opportunities, check out Hire-A-Vol through your MyUTK. 
Career Services offers resources to help you determine whether or not that potential career is right for you. Our college consultants can provide insight and advice into that career field as well as provide potential employers for you to set an informational conversation or job shadow with. To set up an appointment with your consultant, call Career Services at (865) 974-5435. As mentioned, our Hire-A-Vol system lists internship opportunities if you want to “test-run” your career field. Hire-A-Vol also has part-time, full-time, and co-op opportunities as well! Career Services also offers the Strong Interest Inventory for current students who are completely unsure what career field is right for them. For more information on the SII, call or stop in Career Services at Dunford Hall.

Myth Buster Monday: Internships

Why didn’t the little skeleton go to see a scary movie?

He didn’t have the guts!

Myth: You should only apply for positions that have your field of study in the title.

Be open to all opportunities! Some companies may be recruiting for only one or two positions but you could find that your skills can be very useful in those open jobs. Always give a job a chance. Work with a recruiter to see how your skills and needs can fit into the job/internship that they’re hiring for. Many internships can be tailored to what the student is hoping to gain from the experience.

Do not judge a company by its name. It may be hard to see the value of working at a smaller company when there are so many large companies out there but you should really give them a chance. Always except an offer to interview unless you have previously committed yourself to another employer. You can practice your interview skills and who knows, maybe they will describe your ideal job or offer you an opportunity that you cannot refuse!

Students seem to get hung up on their major and finish their time at UT without internship experience or a full-time job offer. Worry less about the job title and more about how your skills can be utilized in the position you’re applying or interviewing for. If you take part in an internship that you do not enjoy, you have still learned a lot and therefore, have a better idea of what you’re looking for in a future position. Do you best in your interviews and receive an offer, then decline if you feel the position is not right for you.

Good luck this recruiting season!

Myth Buster Monday: Underclassmen and Job Fairs

MYTH: As an underclassman, you will not benefit from job fairs, especially ones not in your own major.

So, this is kind of a "killing two birds with one stone" Mythbuster Monday- yes, we mean business! Word on the street is that if you’re a freshman or sophomore, attending a job fair won’t really benefit you. Well, let’s consider this: If it doesn’t benefit you, why would we invite you to come? … Exactly, it makes no sense to us either. We’re here to tell you that no matter what year you are in school, a job fair will definitely benefit you. Though employers may be looking for upperclassman to work, it’s still a great idea to go ahead and get your name out there and make those connections early. You can look at is as an “insurance policy” for your future plans. You can go and set a good foundation now so when the time comes for you to actually seek a job for your career, your policy already has you covered- you’ve made those connections, networked, and are in pretty good with a few company recruiters. Attending a job fair as an underclassman will totally benefit you by giving you much-needed practice for when your time comes and it’s time to really showcase yourself as well. Then, of course, there’s the obvious. You could ACTUALLY score a job. I know, it sounds crazy, but it happens.

Aside from the underclassman issue, there also seems to be a linked assumption to job fairs that tells us we shouldn't go to a job fair if it is not one directly related to our major. As contradictory as this may sound, you actually shouldn't just stick to job fairs for your major. Why? Well, HELLO! There's a world of opportunity out there. At Career Services, we have received numerous testimonials about students going outside the box and just "dropping by" random job/internship fairs and actually scoring a great experience and some valuable connections.  That's the whole idea behind networking. You can have what you want in mind, but sometimes you just need to go with the flow and start talking to people that seem interesting and that can open a door that you had never thought to even look in before. 

                                                              

Moral of the story: Nothing is worthless, just go for it! 

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Myth Buster Monday: Career Tests

“There is a career test that will tell me exactly what to go into!”

Sorry, but this is obviously a myth. Career assessments vary depending on what they are testing. Some career assessments compare your test answers to surveyed answer of individuals in certain fields. For example, I would rather write an essay than do calculations. This answer may match individuals in journalism, theatre, biological research, or psychology. In other words there are a wide variety of fields that these tests can match you to. On the other hand, career assessments can help you narrow your choices down or even make you debate on careers that you did not know existed! Here at Career Services, we have three kinds of career assessments.

1.       Strong Interest Inventory (SII) - This test has 291 items and compares your result with professionals in various fields and occupations. This assessment is our most popular and gives you results in great detail. In order to take the test, you will have to come get a paper with the login information on it. In addition, in order to have the test results interpreted, you will have to make an appointment with a career counselor.

2.       Type Focus- Type Focus is a 62 question assessment that has you choose from two options in order to determine your personality and match you to linking careers. This test, unlike the Type Focus, is shorter and doesn’t require too much thought. The Type Focus also allows you to see what Myers Briggs result you were given along with an interpretation.

3.       COMPASS- COMPASS is a career assessment that uses PICTURES! It is my favorite because it seems more fun than the ones that require a lot of reading. COMPASS helps by matching careers to your personality and preferences.  May I repeat that it uses pictures! This means that not only is it less of a bore; it’s also faster. Like Type Focus, COMPASS will permit you to have access to your results immediately; however, you can discuss your results with a career counselor.

If you think that career assessments aren’t for you (I know we have all had the experience where we want to be the president and the assessment lists us as a florist) you can always come to career services in Dunford Hall and talk to a counselor or even go to our website, career.utk.edu, and use our career exploration tools and other career resources!