Health and Human Services Professional Development

Career Exploration: Find What Interests YOU by   Roberta Kingery   on   July 9, 2013   While helping students research potential careers, one of the questions I am asked most often is, “What career fields are hot right now?”.  It’s typically an easy question to answer, but not the best way to determine a career field.  Why?  First, what’s hot now may not be “hot” in four years when most students graduate.  Many factors determine what fields are in demand, and those change, often with little warning.  Selecting a popular career field in 2013, which may or may not interest you, can create a problem if you graduate in 2017 and that field isn’t hot, or you aren’t geographically somewhere with openings in that field. A better way to determine career options is to look at a combination of things.  Career counselors may ask you to take an assessment tool to help identify your interests, abilities and values.  Discussing these thre...

Start Planning for Grad School by   Jill Bowers   on   August 6, 2013   If you are a junior or senior, you have probably started thinking about whether or not you want to go to graduate school or what programs you may want to apply to. If you are just beginning your undergraduate studies, graduate school may not be on your mind at all yet being proactive NOW will ensure you have good options later…AND many of the things you can do now to start preparing for applying for graduate schools are similar to activities that will help you on the job market! Whether or not graduate school (for example, getting a Master’s Degree or PhD) is right for you depends on your career goals, your major, and many other factors. Many individuals want to pursue graduate school because it gives them greater earning power and more opportunities to advance their career, allows them to switch career paths, buys them time to think more about what they want to do after their academic...

Making Happiness Happen by   Mikki Sherwood   on   August 28, 2013   Think that making more than $50,000 per year or living in a better climate will solve all of your problems? Think again. According to designer Stefan Sagmeister, you can train your mind to focus on happiness and overall well-being. Sagmeister’s rules for happiness include: having meaningful friendships and relationships, doing more of what you want to do and less of what you do not like, using variety (in tools and techniques), making sure you get the end results you want, and getting involved in projects where about half of the information is new and the other half is familiar. You are in charge of your own destiny, so try to train your subconscious mind. Finding a career that you enjoy and that allows you to take Mr. Sagmeister’s suggestions (e.g., be involved in projects that are familiar, yet challenging) could facilitate  your  happiness. If you are at the point in your acade...

Career Exploration by   Jill Bowers   on   November 9, 2014 After meeting with several students over the last few years about the same things, I’ve determined that “freaking out” about their career-related future is a completely normal experience (seems to be worst for sophomores and seniors). “I don’t know if I chose the right major.” “Should I switch majors?” “How do I know what I’m supposed to do for the rest of my life?” I’ve had at least 20 students in my office in the last few months (no exaggeration) asking me these very questions. This website is more about professional development, and we don’t generally focus on career exploration as a part of professional development. Yet, career exploration is certainly a part of the path. I’ve found that I keep giving students the same responses to each of these questions, so I wanted to share. First, opportunities are all around you, but you have to play an active role in seeking them.   This is true for profes...