What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

For instance, many of my clients with solid backgrounds in education, work history and career related activities often fair very well in landing a position that they want. During my coaching sessions with my clients, I discover that many had early childhood assistance and training to keep them in line with their vision and interests in a career.

Even now, I look at my own children, and consciously try to recognize their talents and abilities. My goal is to jump-start and establish the blue prints for them to follow for their respective careers. Do not get me wrong, children often change their minds about what they want to be when they grow up every second of the day, and according to what they "see" around them that looks like a "cool and fun" thing to do for the moment. Nevertheless, raw talent is most often visible early on in a child's life. Certain personality traits can be identified that may go well with a specific type of industry.

This is not about pushing our hopes and dreams on our children, but trying to establish a focus for the vision that our offspring may have about their future. We should never force our children to enter a profession that they have no interest in and no desire to undertake. Early career planning is about cultivating raw talent to flourish into marketable skills. For example, my oldest son is very interested in cooking and has a creative flair. For the past two or three years, he has expressed sincere interest in culinary arts, and his desire fits perfectly with his love for cooking, baking and presentation or delivery of what he prepares. With this in mind, I feel that it is my parental duty to encourage and foster his interest and talent for as long as he has them. My responsibility is to help him research the educational requirements, career track and industry standards to enter in the field of culinary arts and gourmet cooking. I must also keep a sense of flexibility so that if his interests change, he can go back to the drawing board and re-create his career track if needed.

Planning a career track early in life is well worth the time, effort and re-evaluating that it may take. When you begin to plan from the point of childhood, you can establish what school courses or extra curricular activities your child can participate in to build and strengthen the skills needed for the work he or she wants to do as an adult. Be prepared to change courses if your child's interests change. This may indeed happen, so be flexible.

Here are six suggestions to assist your child with planning for his or her career:

• First, take into consideration the age, personality and influences of your child. These characteristics can have a major impact on the sincerity and determination of your child’s future career choice and the actions he or she will set forth to achieve their goals. In addition, talk to your child often about what he or she likes and dislikes. Continue to ask the question “what do you want to be when you grow up” and see if the answer stays consistent.
• Periodically assess your child's interests and talents from age five to about 13. If you see a consistency in the activities he or she gravitates to, and recognize your child’s true abilities, you will better assist with developing a possible career track. Research the industry for educational and experience requirements. Make sure the path is set for your offspring to gain the best possible exposure and to develop strong skills.
• If you determine that your child has a natural gift and passion for an activity, figure out if you and your child can turn that desire and trait into marketable skills for future career consideration. Take appropriate classes and training to hone the skills.
• Wait for a solid confirmation that your child wants to get involved in a certain profession, gear his or her activities, as well as courses they will study during secondary and post-secondary education, towards that line of work. The more exposure and experience he or she has in their area of interest, the better he or she will hone their skills.
• When your child is ready to further their education, be it college or a trade school, make sure they are enrolling in courses and extra curricular activities to develop the skills needed for a desired industry. Discuss with them about becoming an apprentice or an intern for a company or individual.
• Research and map out a possible course of action to set the progression of your child's future. For instance, if your child has aspirations of being a violinist, determine what it will take for him or her to be the greatest violinist there is. What type of training is involved? What type of high school or university should your child attend? Once you have these questions answered, you can develop a track or path to help your child.
  

Remember: Do not force your child into any profession. Likewise, do not take for granted or underestimate your child’s interests. Let him or her grow and develop into the career that fits his or her personality and skills. The worst thing parents can do is make their offspring study a profession for which he or she has no passion.

Coaching Exercise:

• Are you doing what you always dreamed? If not, why?
• What skills do you recognize in your child/children that may lead to a successful career for him/her/them?
  

D. C. Reid
Owner & Principal

PTI Career Services
www.mypti.com

Reid Online Software Training
www.mstrainer.i8.com