CAREER PLANNING FOR TEENAGERS (and their parents and all job seekers)

If I was a teenager planning my career in a totally rational way like Spock or Data, the below would be my checklist:

ÿ If at all possible, I will attend a top-notch Prep School.

ÿ I will work hard and achieve excellent grades.

ÿ I will take as many Advanced Classes as possible.

ÿ I will play varsity sports and be involved in extracurricular activities aspiring to be Team Captain and Student Body President.

ÿ I will take an SAT Prep Course and take the PSATs and SATs as many times as possible to improve my scores.

ÿ I will apply to Ivy League Universities ... or Penn State, U. of Michigan, U. Maryland, or Carnegie Mellon because they are top corporate recruiting locations as they have been found to develop well-rounded students.

ÿ I will excel in college as described above.

ÿ I will be totally current on all technologies relevant to my field and utilized for business communications (e.g., PowerPoint, Excel).

ÿ I will be as fit, well-groomed, well-mannered, well-dressed, and well-spoken as if I was Brian Williams or Katie Couric.

ÿ My summer jobs will be internships in my field.

ÿ I will interview with as many Corporations as possible on campus and select the one with the best record of developing management talent.

ÿ At the appropriate time for my field, I will go to Graduate School full-time and at one of best universities for my field. If those at the top of my field have a PhD, I will earn a PhD.

ÿ I will gain additional appropriate certifications, e.g., CPA.

Now I am not going to tell you that I have followed this path, nor convinced many young people in my life to follow this path, but we do need to recognize that an overwhelming percentage of the leaders in every endeavor - Business, Law, Medicine, Education, Government, Broadcasting, etc., etc., have largely followed a plan such as this one to achieve their ambitious goals.

Most of the rest of us have made different choices for a variety of reasons; but those who are competing best in this difficult marketplace, followed this path; those who chose a very different path, are having a much more difficult time. So,

• If you are a young person, consider this advice.
• If you are a parent, offer this advice.
• If you are an adult job-seeker, you are not going to attend Prep School in your 50s, but you can, for example, enroll in graduate school and take courses at a comfortable pace towards a degree.

Fortunately, there are professional career management and marketing firms that can assist you by overcoming the “credential gap” by differentiating you in terms of the value you do add, and by marketing you with sophisticated technology tools that will help you to appear more “cutting edge” that your credentials would suggest.

So, consult a professional. ExecuJobs has helped thousands of job seekers, including recent college graduates, achieve their goals – not simply a job but a great fit. Give them an opportunity to help you. To start on the path to a successful job search, contact us @ PR@ExecuJobs.net or go to www.ExecuJobs.net today!