Career Guide

TOOLS AND STRATEGIES

Use School Effectively

Your guidance counselor can help you to find out more about what you like and what you want to do. Aptitude and interest testing can give you some beacons to bounce ideas off. Your school is a great environment to try out new ideas and exercise talents you're not sure of yet. The school newspaper or yearbook can be a crash course in communication skills. So can the drama club. A Junior Achievers group at your school is a ticket to explore business and organizations from the inside. And school clubs and teams are an easy way to work on your teamwork and people skills.

Broadening your Horizons

Are you an activist for the environment? Do you have concerns about human rights? Are health and safety issues important to you? Your concerns and opinions could play an important part in your career in business and finance. As a financial planner, you might set up a program for people who only want to invest in companies that are careful about the environment or operate in a country with a good record in human rights. You could become a consultant to companies, helping them budget to manufacture products that don't harm the environment. Or you might set up a business involved with the import and export of toys that meet high safety standards.

As business goes global, employers need people who can speak different languages. Learning the other official language is a great start. But don't stop there. If your good at languages, take more - French, German, Spanish or even Japanese. Having a second language could be a key factor in getting a job, a promotion or an overseas position.

And round out the equation with high school courses in economics, history and world issues. The more you know about people form other nationalities and cultures, the more you'll have to offer in the job market.

The Job Ladder

One important thing to remember is that most people who enter a career don't start at the top. They have to learn the ropes and work their way up. For instance, you might start as a secretary in a computer company and become so knowledgeable about the sales end of the business that your boss sends you to trade shows as one of the company representatives. Or, for example, you could begin your career in finance as a bank teller and, with experience and on-the-job training, become assistant manager of your branch. Higher education can also be a ticket to job mobility. Your first position might be as payroll clerk, but after completing a series of courses in human resources management, you may find yourself heading for a job as personnel manager. Whatever your route up the job ladder, the important thing is to be confident, enthusiastic and to keep your mind open to new ideas and possibilities.