Myths about Employment
Sometimes people believe too much of what they hear about careers, employment, and job-hunting and, unfortunately, act accordingly. If they do venture to test these beliefs, it is often with half-hearted attempts that confirm their original beliefs and thus become self-fulfilling prophecies. Believing myths about career planning and job hunting is easy-especially when doing so leads you to the conclusion that things are out of your control. Consequently you can come to believe that no action on your part would seem to be able to change things.
Examine the following myths to see if there are some that you have come to believe and that may be having a negative influence on your thinking about career planning and job hunting.
Myth: should be the primary determinant of academic and career choices. Selecting a major or pursuing a career just because it's "hot" in the job market can be dangerous. You may enjoy neither the coursework nor the job you get later. The careers in demand when you are a freshman or sophomore may not be in demand by the time you graduate. You are on much firmer ground when you select a major or choose a career goal that genuinely interests you. The job market demand tends to move in cycles. What is "hot" soon becomes "cold" as supply rushes to meet demand and vice versa new career fields and jobs emerge every year as a result of changes in technology, public policy and economic trends. Factors that influence job market demand are frequently unpredictable.
This is a myth that many parents may also believe in. Anxious about your future and concerned about the financial "investment" they may be making in your education, they may put undue pressure on you to major in an area where a job after graduation appears to be a sure bet. This can lead to difficult conflicts if you feel inclined to pursue a career goal that your parents do not see as holding much future promise.
When you select a college major or choose a career.
While it is true that certain mayors such as engineering, computer science, and accounting prepare students for fairly specific career fields, a far greater number of mayors do not have a direct correlation with given career areas. Liberal arts majors often find that they have a very wide variety of career options, including some in technical fields, because their backgrounds are so broad. Even within the technical or professional majors, where specific job skills are taught, there are many different kinds of jobs from which to choose. And remember your college education is much more than mere training for an entry-level job after you graduate.
Myth: Liberal arts majors are not employable. Liberal arts graduates develop skills that are highly valued by employers and that are applicable to a wide variety of professional jobs. While these graduates sometimes take a bit longer to find the right opportunity, their potential for advancement beyond the entry level is usually very strong. In a long outlined study of AT&T employees, humanities and social science majors were found to be stronger than engineering mayors and similar to business majors in administrative skills and motivation for advancement. In the area of interpersonal skills, liberal arts mayors were strongest of all groups. If these graduates sometimes take more time finding a "niche" in the working world, it's usually because they do not know what they can or want to do or they are not aware of the options available to them.
Myth: There is little that counts beyond academic coursework when it comes to getting hired. Supplementary courses and independent study projects can be helpful as well. And often experience gained and sold developed through extracurricular activities such as student organizations, athletic teams, social groups, and student government coast heavily in hiring decisions. Internships, summer and part-time jobs and volunteer activities play an important part in developing a greater understanding of yourself and the world of work. Such experiences are important in establishing professional contacts which are crucial to successful career growth. Employers consistently place a high value on these extra-curricular activities, internships, part-time and summer work experiences.
Myth: There is high unemployment. A logical belief to hold, right? If people are losing jobs, how can there be jobs to spare? There are always jobs available despite the state of the economy. Workers might get displaced and certain industries may be severely depressed, but there are almost always other opportunities.
Even if the economy is not expanding, normal turnover and the need to replace people in existing positions create thousands of new opportunities each week. As a result people with skills and motivation are always in demand.
Myth: When you know, not what you know. Personal contacts can and do play a part in any career. The myth comes in the belief that you don't know anybody. Or that those people you do know could not possibly be helpful to you. But whom you know is, to some extent, directly under your control You can increase the number of people in your field that you know, and perhaps by doing so get to know one of the "right" people for you. You will also be surprised how many connections you can make through the people you already know.
Myth: If you are qualified employers will seek you out. Even a good idea or a great product has to be sold.
