“You never know what doors are going to open up and why they are going to open up. You’ve got to be ready to walk through them.” – L. Holt
“Okay, are you ready for this?” the overly excited adult in your life asks. “Umm…Sure” you calmly respond.
You are thinking, “I don’t think so”, “this is a total waste of my weekend” or “I am not even sure what to ask”. Well, if you are planning on going anyway, you might as well make the best of it. How do you get ready?
Brace yourself! You may not like what I have to say…You have to relax and plan on spending two hours at the fair. Why? Because you have to:
Walk slowly or do a walk-through when you enter the fair
Do NOT stop unless you really feel you want to
Take note of some possible interesting stops as you are exploring
You have completed the round and circled some interesting choices…Now what?
Now you are ready to go back, chat and collect brochures
Yes, this is why I suggested two hours.
If you have an idea about the program you would like to attend (you are ahead of the crowd), then you may want to talk to the people in charge of the program. Some questions to ask:
Length of program (one year, two, four…you have choices)
Type of courses (think about the courses you enjoyed in high school)
Class size (look for smaller classes if you like a lot of attention)
Graduation requirements (final year group project, internships…)
What else is important to you?
My best advice (if you want it) is to talk to current students who showed up and are eager to share their experience. Think about and question them about:
The reason they like the program (chances are that might be the reason you will hate it)
The reason they chose the program (it could be the same reason you are considering it)
What they do all day (it is really important to know this as you may end up there)
Their favorite class and why (this answer will go a long way in helping you decide)
I am a passionate career literacy and gifted education advocate! If you like talking about either of my two passions, let’s chat.
For the past few years, I have been a career and educational coach. Before that, I wore many hats experimenting with every opportunity that presented itself and throughout it all, my passion and commitment was to help others succeed and make a difference in the world.
I have been working from home since 2013! In the past few years, I developed a private career coaching practice Right Career Fit, earned a Master of Education, a Doctor of Education as well as a career coaching certificate. The success of my private practice is a testament to my talent development and resource planning skills. I am a lifelong learner with a natural intellectual curiosity and I love challenges.
Presenting and attending conferences across North America (in person and virtually) reflect my belief in the value of advocating for my two passions. I am also constantly looking for opportunities to influence public policy and increase support for the teaching and learning communities with a focus on inclusive career practices in Canada and globally. This is why I am a Chair/Board Director on various Boards.
The past year has been a mix of significant losses and unforeseen challenges as well as amazing opportunities and unanticipated gains for many of us. I hope everyone is doing well...Despite all of this, each of us survived in our own way. Yet we continue to feel overwhelmed and concerned about the forces that the new year could bring. I encourage you to get involved in your communities, personal or professional. There is nothing like having the support of people who care about you during the ups and downs of this era.
To close, I strive to be a spokesperson for the importance of career education and continue to work with a variety of media to create awareness of its value. I am on a mission to have #careerliteracy trend across social media. If you care to join me, let’s chat!
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