It’s the dreaded question that comes along with that nice gift from Aunt Cindy… “It’s so great to see you, Taylor! Now sit down and tell me all about school.  What are you studying?  What are you going to DO with that?”

It’s the question I think every college student dreads.  The obvious answer is “How do I know what the !@&*% I’m going to do with that?  I don’t even know what’s out there except 10% unemployment! ” I can see the uncertainty in your faces and hear it in your voice, even though most of you give a polite response that sounds like what you’re “supposed” to say.

And, really, it’s a crazy, unfair question, because it’s the rare individual who can really say, at 22 years old, with confidence, “I’m going to do X.”  Are you jealous of friends who are going to business school, or medical school or law school because they seem to have it all together?  Have you made those plans yourself?  Well, chances are even they (or you) have little idea of what kind of medicine they want to practice, what types of legal specialty would fit their style, or what aspects of business they’d enjoy.  And that’s OKAY, in fact, it’s normal.  But when Grandma asks you over Christmas dinner, you’re going to do your best to give a response your family wants to hear, right?

My advice – DON’T DO IT!!  Instead, use the opportunity of being with the people who care about you most to ask them questions.  There’s a lot of wisdom around the table.  Sure, they could be wrong, and you might not like the answers, but why not at least hear it, chew on it, and see if it fits? I know, you think that everyone expects you to have all answers.  But, honestly, most people don’t.  Most people don’t even have the answers for themselves even after years in their chosen career.  Below are some questions that will help you get the conversation started:

1. How did you make your career choice?
2. Are you happy with your career choice?
3. If you had it to do over, would you make the same choice? Why or why not?
4. What are the most important skills to have in your field?
5. How did you get started as a _____?
6. What do you like best about your job?
7. What do you like least about your job?
8. You know me pretty well, could you see me as a _______?
9. I’m thinking about going into _____, what do you think about that?
10. What do you think I should consider before going into ________?

You don’t have to have all the answers, but it’s a good idea and a great time to start asking some questions.

Despite the knowledge that I may not reach all of my goals, I still take stock every year and set one or two new goals.  I hope I always do.  While it may be discouraging to realize that the five pounds are still trapped on my hips, or that I still haven’t tackled the family room, taking stock on a regular basis definitely moves me forward.  At the beginning of 2008, I decided to train for a half-marathon.  While I’m fit, I’ve never been a runner, but it was challenge I was determined to take on.  At the beginning of 2009 when I reflected back, I counted completing that half-marathon among my achievements for the year.   In fact, I decided that perhaps I am a runner and set my sights on another half-marathon for 2009.  I finished that race, a little faster than the first time, with the sweet satisfaction of accomplishing something I had set out to do.  Not sure yet what’s next for 2010, but I’ll keep you posted!

Setting goals is more than making a few New Year’s resolutions.  It means assessing where you are and deciding on a few reasonable steps that will help get you to where you want to be in the next year, or in the next few years.  Tired of working so hard or looking for something to keep you going through a rough day?  Having some short-term and long-term goals can really enrich your life, and help you sustain your energy through difficult times.

The key is to make sure your goals are doable.  The best goals are not “pie-in-sky” – those are called dreams.  With goals, you should be able to achieve them in a specific period of time, and it should be easy to tell if you’ve accomplished them.  Here’s a goal:  “To learn how to use Adobe Photoshop by March so I can produce ad copy for my employer.”  It’s specific – learn to use Adobe Photoshop.  It’s time-bound – by March.  And, it’s got a measurable outcome – ad copy.  Here’s a dream:  “To live happily ever after…”  We can all agree on that, but you’d need to have many, many goals between now and then to get there (wherever there is and whatever that means to you – see what I’m saying?).

Here are five questions to help you move forward right now:

1. What are my short term goals for the next year?
2. What steps do I need to take now to work toward my goals?
3. What resources do I have, or do I need to acquire to achieve my goals?
4. What barriers are there to achieving my goals?
5. What will I change in order to achieve my goals?

Take a few minutes every so often to evaluate your progress.  If  you’ve stalled, review the questions again and see if you can determine where  you’re getting stuck.  Most important, don’t give up – it’s a worthy effort!

Sarah Baker Andrus, Director, External Relations & Academic Programs

Why Blog?

This is a question I’ve asked myself quite a bit over the past several years since blogs hit the mainstream on the internet.  Personally, I’m most comfortable with the printed page.

Still, it’s recently become clear to me that my preference for off-line communication is completely irrelevant.  People are talking about Vector Marketing online, and my professional reaction is:  “Hey, I want to and we need to, be part of that conversation!”

So despite my initial misgivings, it is with great enthusiasm and excitement that I write this inaugural blog post.  The folks here at Vector have worked with literally tens of thousands of young people for nearly 30 years.  With this blog, we’re going to share what we’ve learned from them and what we learn from YOU about building life skills, growing professionally, and keeping things in perspective.  We’ll write about applying basic work skills to a variety of careers, and bring in outside experts to talk about job choices, personal growth, and other things you ask us about.

We’ve read some of what’s being said about Vector Marketing in cyberspace.  Most of it is hooey (or fill in your preferred term for stuff that’s just plain wrong).  So we’re eager to get in on the conversation.  Have a question about working with us?  You’ll find the facts here, and we’ll answer your questions.

So here are the ground rules:  When leaving a comment or asking a question, keep your language clean, stay on topic, and don’t get into personal attacks.  That’s it.  Easy enough, right?

Keep coming back and here’s to a healthy, happy and prosperous 2010!

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