Your Career Path, Part II: Go for the Goal - Focus

In Part I of this two-part series, you explored your interests and values to discover the career path that was right for you. In Part II, you will use what you learned about yourself to set a series of goals and create an action plan that will Lead to a satisfying career.

Last year Neil Edelson, a high school senior, took an important step toward reaching his career goals. The Michigan teen participated in a school internship program that helped him discover if he would really enjoy the field of marketing and public relations.

"I now know that I have found my passion, and all I need is a formal education to back it," says Edelson, who interned in the public relations department of Ford Motor Company.

Taking Stock

Assessing your interests, values, and skills and determining a general career path for yourself are the first steps. Then you're ready to make decisions about general subject fields that might correlate with your interests, talents, and strengths. Roll up your sleeves and research these general subject areas. Learn what careers fall under these categories. Use library resources and the Internet and talk to people such as employers, the business community, and friends. Take advantage of career days, job shadowing, and informational interviews to keep adding to your information base.

Most important, keep an open mind, and be willing to revisit your plan as needed. "At each step in the decision-making process," says Michelle L. Casto, author of Get Smart! About Modern Career Development, "revisit the previous steps to ensure that you are following your inner guidance."

Take Valerie Safstrom, for example. After assessing her interests, aptitudes, and personality, the Indiana teen decided that a career as a veterinarian sounded like a perfect match. So she took advanced biology, anatomy, and chemistry in high school in preparation. But after working in the surgical unit of an animal hospital during a 90-hour internship, Safstrom knew she would have to revise her career path. "I saved a lot of wasted time and money in college studying to be a vet," says Safstrom. Instead of healing animals, she now intends to use her strengths and interest in biology and science to obtain a science teaching degree.

Career planning is an ongoing process that allows you many opportunities to change your plans based on new information you gather. Working in a tentative career choice--even for a short time--can be the best litmus test for making that final commitment. For example, Caludia Mendizabal, a teen from Massachusetts, worked in a law firm during her high school summers. "I think it's interesting," she says,, "but I see how hard it is." Instead of preparing for a law career, she plans to pursue her love of travel. She will wok in the airline industry after college.

Mary Flaherty, who is also from Massachusetts, revised her career plans after an education internship. "I realized I would be more comfortable teaching younger kids," says Flaherty.

On the other hand, the information Nick Philp gained while getting hands-on experience in the kitchen of a large hotel helped to bolster his career decision. In high school the Indiana teen took classes in marketing and hospitality along with English, math, and science. In college he will take essential culinary business and hotel management courses so he can pursue his goal of becoming an executive chef.

Goal Mine

Once teens commit to a specific career choice, their decision-making work has just begun. They also need to design an action plan that asks and answers the question. How do you get from Point A (knowing what you want to do) to Point B (getting the ideal job)?

"You must be able to translate your wish into specific attainable career goals and develop a realistic plan for implementing them," says career expert Eugene Raudsepp. Action plans allow you to take control of that process. By breaking things down into small steps, you feel less stressed and are able to accomplish more.

Take Richard Schoenfeld, for example. When the Georgia teen was in high school, his soccer coach introduced him to Egyptian archaelogy. Something clicked in the teen, and he started reading everything on the subject. By the time Schoenfeld was a senior, he had his career path mapped out. He would start at a local college, then transfer to Brown University, which offers one of the best programs in Egyptology. Schoenfeld's long-term goal? Become an archaeologist. Meanwhile, the teen set lots of short-term goals. He wanted to raise his GPA, learn to cope better with a learning disability, and plan a trip to the Middle East. Last year, using money he had originally saved to buy a car, Schoenfeld visited Egypt and explored its pyramids and other historic sites. He met an Egyptian teen and they continue the relationship over the Internet.

LaTresha Campbell, a Texas high school senior, decided to aim for a business career. So she developed an action plan that included several goals: applying to colleges; getting some related work experience at her school's credit union; and choosing to move to' College Station, Texas, and attend Texas A&M University.

Setting career goals is not difficult if you follow a few basic rules:

* Write your goals down and put them in a visible place on your desk, in your room, or wherever you will notice them often.

* Make sure your goals are realistic. For example, a future French teacher might aim to become a member of the school French club. But setting too high a goal--such as attending college in Paris--may set you up for disappointment.

* Be specific. Give yourself a deadline to accomplish each goal. And list the requirements for accomplishing that goal. For example, the student who wants to become a veterinarian might write this goal: I will volunteer five hours a week at the local animal shelter and will help groom, feed, and exercise from five to ten animals a day.

* Make sure you ask the right questions. For instance, How can I accomplish this goal?

* Show your commitment to these goats and willingness to give up other alternatives, For example, if you choose summer volunteer work in a hospital (because your goal is to become a physician's assistant), then you must give up the paid job at the YMCA (as a receptionist).

* Make certain the goals reflect a true understanding of yourself.

* Be flexible. Be aware that at any time your goals may change and have to be rewritten.

* Include the date when each goal should be completed; then arrange hem chronologically.

Raymond Wozniak, 17, has been setting goals for himself ever since he decided to turn his hobby into career. As a youngster, Wozniak enjoyed cooking in his family's short-order restaurant. In high school he took two years of home economics. He also enjoyed math. Combining his two areas of interest, Wozniak set the long-term goal of becoming restaurant entrepreneur. His action plan includes studying business a Georgia State University, attending a culinary arts school, and cooking creative dishes for friends and family. He has already achieved several goals: He knows how to prepare chicken in at least 100 different ways, and he cooked Mongolian ribs for 25 people for his uncle's birthday party.

Decide, Plan, Act

In general, reaching your long-term career goal usually necessitates more education. You may have to go to college or a vocational-technical school, attend seminars, receive on-the-job training, serve internships, or attend graduate school.

Shadowing a person while you're in high school is one way of helping to educate yourself. For example, Treasa Davis arranged to spend one full day observing a specialized physician. She saw what a typical day was like and talked to medical students about courses. The Michigan teen also met doctors who warned her not to consider medicine unless she was 100 percent sure of her goal. Says Davis: "In spite of this, I know now, more than ever, that I want to be a geriatric physician."

Part of your action plan can be hooking up with a mentor. You might not always be able to find an internship or work experience in your field of interest, but you can usually locate a mentor, says Shirley Peddy, author of The Art of Mentoring. You can locate a mentor on-line by checking out the Web sites of professional associations and also general Web sites such as netmentors.org and telementor.org. You can E-mail your mentor and ask those "insider" questions that provide reality education.

Whatever your action plan looks like (see pages 5 and 9), make sure it includes seeking helpful support--from counselors, teachers, and other career professionals. For example, ask your counselor about the time line for taking college admission tests such as the SAT and the ACT. Discuss test scores, college essays, and the choice of colleges with counselors. Later, college and vo-tech counselors can help you execute ajob action plan that includes writing a resume, preparing for interviews, searching for jobs over the Internet, and writing thank-you letters after interviews.

Smart and Smarter

Career-smart people grab onto a subject or field they find fascinating and research its related career paths. Then they use their self-understanding and knowledge to make an educated decision. They commit to one career goal, and they put together a step-by-step plan.

"There's very little mystery about what career success requires," says Eugene Raudsepp, a career expert who has written more than 16 books. "Know what you want, and set a course for achieving it."

RELATED ARTICLE: Kicking Off Her Career

Lynn Mullen, now a senior at Coronado High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, began thinking about a career her freshman year. She examined her strengths and weaknesses, her personality, and her values, and came to several conclusions. She liked karate and had strong physical skills. She enjoyed being around kids. She liked helping people. She needed work that would allow her to have a good family life. She had a lot of patience. And she didn't need to become rich. At first she considered several careers: elementary school teacher, nurse, paramedic, and rehabilitation counselor.

Lynn researched these careers carefully. She spent a day at a local children's hospital touring the different wards, but discovered that her temperament didn't mesh with the health field. "I got really depressed when I visited the children's cancer ward," Lynn recalls. And although she enjoyed baby-sitting and volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club, she decided that she had an even greater passion for athletics than for helping people.

"I had been doing karate since I was 8 years old," says Lynn, now 18, who has a black belt. "I found it relaxing, and I love it." With a career in karate, she could keep regular hours and still do something she enjoyed. And by teaching kids, she could still be working with young people. By the middle of her junior year, Lynn had decided her long-term goal was to become a karate instructor and entrepreneur.

But she had to accomplish other goals first. She used a calendar to help draw up an action plan. Along with consumer math, economics, and English in her senior year, Lynn takes two computer classes--one to help her set up an office, and the other to learn how to design a Web page for her business. She also takes two athletic classes: weight training and Tae-Bo.

She plans to attend Arizona State University because she wants to have the necessary business background to run her karate enterprise effectively. "I'm investigating scholarships at my high school's career center from organizations such as the National Honor Roll and Office Max." She keeps up her karate skills by practicing 1 to 2 hours three or four nights a week. This summer she will take her instructor's test so she will be certified to teach karate.

If no scholarships come through for ASU, Lynn has a back-up plan: She'll go to the local community college for two years and then transfer in. "I'll probably teach part-time at the karate studio during college," she adds.

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