Just received an email for an event in San Francisco for community college students interested in law school. Here’s a blurb from the email:

Our law school, UC Hastings College of the Law, is currently coordinating an event geared towards community college students. The event is intended to expose community college students to the law school experience while providing them a background with how to be a successful law school applicant via the community college route. Students will have access to students, professors and an Admissions Officer. Attached please find a flyer with the day’s activities. This will be the first year the law school will coordinate an event specifically aimed at community college students. Our hope is that it is a successful event and will continue to be a part of our yearly events. If you have any questions regarding this event, please do not hesitate to contact me. RSVP is required and we hope to see your students on December 2nd.  We feel your students can truly benefit from such a unique experience.

Here’s information from the flyer:

When: Friday, Dec. 2, 2011, 9:30 a.m. – 2:45 p.m.

Where: UC Hastings College of the Law, 200 McAllister, San Francisco, CA

The Day Will Include:

• A Mock Law School Class
• Tips on how to plan a successful path from community college to law school
• Panel of current Hastings students who attended community college
• Law School Admissions Information Session
• UC Hastings Law School tour
• Lunch will be provided!

RSVP Required: armsjoi@uchastings.edu or santoscoy@uchastings.edu

Here’s a round up of the responses from a quick activity in a career/life planning class earlier today. The goal was to come up with the top career planning tips for figuring out a college major and/or career path.

• Pursue something you’re passionate about.
• Know yourself, your interests, and passions, and pursue them.
• Find out what you’re good at and consider pursuing it.
• Pursue something you’re interested in.
• Once you pick a major and career path, realize that it/you could change; more importantly, realize that that’s okay.
• Pick something you’ll be interested in for the long run.
• Just do something and see what happens – don’t be afraid to take risks.
• Take a career planning class if you’re undecided to get some ideas.
• Think about what classes you enjoyed in high school and build off that (fine tune your interests) in college.
• Shadowing.
• Think of what you enjoyed in high school and take related classes in college and reflect on it.
• Think about what you’ve done in the past that you’ve enjoyed doing – would continue doing even if you weren’t paid.
• Look up what you want to pursue and see if you like it – keep looking if you don’t find something at first.
• Pursue something that fits your personality and lifestyle.
• Pick something you’re interested in for the long term; look up and explore many different resources; realize options exist in places where you’re not at.
• If in college and undecided, take a lot of different classes; take general education courses to buy yourself time.
• Take time off to relax and reflect; but realize it’s not a vacation.

Here’s a round up of responses from a similar class activity the previous quarter.

General Advice

• Make a pros and cons list.
• Be decisive and realistic.
• Think long term, not just short-term.
• Get advice from friends, family, and experts.
• Trust your gut.

Choosing a Major

• Do what you enjoy, consider what it pays, where it’s at, and if it’s reasonable for you.
• Test the subject out (e.g., take classes).
• In choosing a school to transfer to, visit the school.

Choosing a Career

• Look at your values.
• Consider work and family balance
• Research work aspects, skills and education required.
• Talk to people who look like they’ve got it figured out.
• Be rational; factor in your age.
• Conduct thorough research (e.g., do an internship).
• Set long term (evaluate stability factor) and short term goals (be specific).
• Be willing to sacrifice.

Copying and pasting information about a free MCAT Academy at the Stanford School of Medicine this summer. Unfortunately, the deadline is tomorrow, June 3.

The Center of Excellence in Diversity in Medical Education (COEDME) in the Stanford School of Medicine will offer a FREE MCAT Academy this summer!

The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) is a critical component of the medical school admissions process. Low MCAT scores are often a prime factor in the rejection of many applicants to medical school. Some factors that contribute to poor performance in the MCAT are: test anxiety, poor time management, and lack of a “plan”, inadequate and inefficient preparation.

The Center of Excellence in Diversity in Medical Education (COEDME) MCAT Preparation Academy is designed to minimize these factors and to optimize preparation and performance for the Medical College Admissions Test.

The program is structured to strengthen the student’s strategies on how to approach and prepare for the MCAT. It is not intended to be a content review course, yet many of the key subjects will be discussed as part of the curriculum. In addition, a group study schedule and a tailored individualized study plan will be incorporated to meet the needs of the individual student.

The Stanford School of Medicine MCAT Preparation Academy is designed to assist in preparing qualified pre-medical students for the upcoming Medical College Admissions Test. The program is structured to strengthen the student’s strategies on how to approach and prepare for the MCAT.

Eligibility Criteria:
- Must be planning on taking the August-September 2011 MCAT and applying to medical school within one year of the exam.
- Must have an overall college GPA of 2.75 or above.
- Must have a minimum of 2 to 2.5 years of college, including the completion of the following courses:

• General Biology
• General and Organic Chemistry
• English 1 series
• Physics
• Pre-calculus

- Must be from an educationally and/or economically disadvantaged background.
- Must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States (Bay Area).

For more information, please contact Fred M. Tovar at: 650-725-5342.

Fred M. Tovar
Stanford University School of Medicine
Primary Care Associate Program
Director of Student Affairs
Assistant Director of Admissions

Just received an email about an internship opportunity with the U.S. Department of Commerce Internship Program. I’ve copied and pasted most of it below:

Electrical and Electronics Engineering students:  OPPORTUNITY FOR SUMMER INTERNSHIP STILL AVAILABLE!

The U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM FOR POSTSECONDARY STUDENTS has an internship position available for Summer 2011.  It’s not too late to apply, but you must hurry!   Deadline:  May 27, 2011.

E-mail: DOCProgram@orau.org

Program Requirements: Currently enrolled students, U.S. Citizenship, DC Metro area.

Location: Washington, D.C.

Benefits: Opportunities to participate in hands-on education and training related to the Department of Commerce, weekly stipend and housing allowance, accidental medical expense coverage provided.

Desired Candidates will be Graduate or Junior/Senior level students in the fields of BSEE, chemical, mechanical or robotic engineering disciplines.  Desired skills include wireless telecommunications and/or radio communications.  Students in chemical, mechanical, or robotic engineering disciplines will be considered if working on research projects that involve wireless technology or dealing with the RF environment.

For more information, you may visit the following web site for general internship information:  http://see.orau.org/ProgramDescription.aspx?Program=10038

Applications are available for download at the web site listed above.

If you had asked me two years ago if I was on Twitter, and what I thought about it, I would have said, “No” and “What’s the point?” If you had asked me six years ago if I was on Facebook, and what I thought about it, I would have had the same response.

I am now users of both of those websites, and many other forms of social media. Both companies have turned down multi-billion dollar offers to be bought out. Both have received venture capital funding based upon multi-billion dollar valuations. Shares of Facebook are actively being traded on private, secondary markets. Clearly, there are people that believe these companies are worth a lot of money, and are poised for explosive growth. Are these people crazy? Why all the buzz about a couple of companies that allow people to announce what they ate for breakfast?

While there are clearly users that post and broadcast seemingly useless information, there are those that would argue that this information is NOT useless. These are some of the same people that are investing billions of dollars on what they believe is a glimpse into the future of how people interact on the internet, in a Web 2.0 world. Social media connects people on the internet in a way that was not possible ten years ago. And those connections offer a glimpse into people’s lives whether they live next door, or halfway around the world. And while I may not be interested in what random people eat for breakfast, I might be interested in what my friend in Boston is doing today (or eating for breakfast). It is significant, because my friend took the time to post it. There is some meaning there. Because that person is my friend, I care about what he/she posts.

Whether we like to admit it, we are a somewhat voyeuristic society. Just look at the explosion of “reality television” over the last 10+ years. Despite being profitable for networks, people enjoy viewing others’ lives from a distance. We watch any one of these shows (alone or with other people), then make comments along the way: “I can’t believe so-and-so did that!” Conversations about this have penetrated water-cooler talk at work. We bond with others at the office about what happened in a show the night before. And frankly, this is nothing new. There is a reason that water-cooler talk existed long before reality television. But yet, social media has given us another outlet to share and take information from those in our network of friends, family, and coworkers. It brings everyone in your network, along with some other people that may have previously been outside of your network, into your domain. And it is a popular domain, because the user has control (most of the time) of his or her online persona. When was the last time you saw someone choose a picture for their avatar that looked terrible? Every user can portray him or herself in the light they choose, by choosing what updates/information to post. A lot can be said about what a person chooses to share.

Okay, this is all nice and sounds great, but what about serious stuff? I see people share what seems to be trivial bits of information all the time. But if someone has a serious thought or message, they go through a more traditional channel to do so, right? Think again.

According to a recent Pew Research Poll, “73% of adult internet users (representing 54% of all U.S. adults) went online to get news or information about the 2010 midterm elections, or to get involved in the campaign in one way or another.” Clearly, the internet is changing the way in which people consume their news. If you have trouble believing this, just ask one of the many newspapers that have recently folded, or are under financial duress because their subscriptions have plummeted. In fact, ask anyone involved in print media–magazines, and books included. They are all experiencing a drastic decline because of the digitalization of media.

But social media is also pervasive in the political world, as well as every other world. How, and why? News and politics are about events and personalities that shape our lives, as a nation, a country, a state, a county, a town, a neighborhood, a family, or a circle of friends. We may experience things differently, but we experience them. And because we may experience them differently, as human beings, we like to share that experience with others. Social media is a great platform to do so. Just ask John McCain about how social media can affect an election. Then presidential candidate Barack Obama hired one of Facebook’s founding members to help with his social media strategy for his 2008 Presidential Election. He was able to assemble and galvanize support via various forms of social media that was unprecedented. And the data from Pew Research’s article shows the increased pervasiveness of social media in politics:

“As an example of the changing landscape for online politics since the last midterm contest, the proportion of internet users who viewed campaign-related videos online jumped from 19% in 2006 to 31% in 2010. Similarly, as recently as the 2006 election cycle just 16% of online adults used online social networking sites; today roughly six in ten online adults are social networkers, and these sites have emerged as a key part of the political landscape in the most recent campaign cycle.”

But don’t allow this blog writer to convince you that the social media landscape will be one of the top stories of the upcoming decade. Do your own research, engage some other people in discussions about this. While doing some digging, you may utilize some social media sites along the way…

Interested in spending six weeks over the summer at one of the best medical schools in the world? To find out more about this opportunity, read the below message from the community outreach manager of Stanford School of Medicine Center of Excellence.

The Center of Excellence in Diversity in Medical Education seeks nominations for the Stanford Summer Health Careers Opportunity Program for undergraduate sophomores and juniors planning to pursue a career in medicine.

This six-week, residential experience is designed to provide 25 students who have experienced educational or academic challenges with an opportunity to participate in a transformative summer experience that will further prepare them as competitive medical school applicants. This federally funded program is limited to US citizens or permanent residents who meet income or educational criteria for consideration. More information including the application can be found at http://coe.stanford.edu/pre-med/sshcop.html.

Students must submit a complete online application by Friday, April 8th at 11:59pm to be considered for the program. A complete application includes:

• General information
• Personal data
• Health-related and volunteer experiences
• Financial information
• Transcript(s)
• Three essays and a personal statement
• Two letters of recommendation

If it seems as if I am very excited about the website Quora.com, I am. I am always interested in hearing what others have to say about topics I am researching. I am even more interested when I am listening to people that have more knowledge in that topic than I.

This is one of the many reasons why social media/social networking sites are so great–they are able to connect me to so many other people/ideas that I might not otherwise be exposed to. While it can be a voyeuristic experience, it can serve as a massive sharing platform. Find the right people, and you can learn a lot.

There lies the caveat. This is one of the many criticisms of finding information on such sites – credibility. While established sites such as Wikipedia have been found to be incredibly accurate, anyone with a computer and an internet connection can tweet, or blog (ahem) about…well…anything. Is the information biased? Is it correct? Have the facts been checked? Is the topic being represented, or is just a portion of the topic being covered? Is there an agenda? To get around this, some of these sites solve this problem by retrieving information from many users. The more people submit information on a particular topic, the more likely you, the reader, will likely get a true representation of the topic, and various viewpoints. This is one reason why Wikipedia is accurate. Each searchable item is checked many times over by its readers/contributors. As time goes on, readers may add or challenge facts listed.

Quora is similar to Wikipedia, in that multiple users may contribute to a question posted by a reader. From these questions, a thread is started, and people contribute their ideas. Because you must sign up to be a member, there is some culpability for your answers. And there is somewhat of an understood decorum, which keeps the conversation civil. All information on the website is searchable via search engine. Members may follow certain topics and may also follow certain contributors. While Quora tends to be frequented by a lot of business-minded people (there are a lot of start-up and venture capital threads), there are many other industries and disciplines covered.

So how can Quora help me explore and research different careers? A) What better way to get answers to your much needed questions than to ask a bunch of experts? B) Or perhaps someone has already asked your question, or something similar to it. In which case, you can use the search function to find threads relevant to your questions.

Here are a few pointers in using Quora that may help you in your quest for career-related information.

1. It is great to read other interesting threads, as it always seems to give me new ideas that I had not thought of before. I may be researching a particular area or industry, but I may not know exactly the questions I want to ask. Reading other people’s questions and answers, often gives me more ideas, and consequently, more questions.
2. Use it to connect with people. Like I mentioned previously, there is a protocol, and decorum appropriate for this arena. This site is visited by a lot of industry heavyweights. Perhaps you can search certain people and follow their threads (useful if you have an upcoming interview with a particular person). If you eventually like what this person has to say, you could possibly try to connect with that person. Again, use online etiquette (you can read more about online etiquette here).
3. Participating in the discussion threads is a great way to practice communicating with others in a professional manner, in a professional forum.
4. It can also be a good way to build a reputable online presence. If your contributions are noteworthy, accurate, and interesting, there is a good chance others may begin to follow you (should you start to post more often). This may be a great way to establish and build credibility in your field.
5. You can set up alerts to different topics on Quora, to keep up with the conversations. If you are interested in certain industries and/or companies, this is another great way to keep informed. The more knowledgeable you are about target industries and companies, the more likely you are to land an appealing job, and to be successful once you start.

Remember that Quora can be a great resource. But brush up on etiquette if you feel you need a refresher. Lastly, do not over-promote yourself on Quora, or any such website. This is a quick way to lose credibility, and to alienate others. People are there to learn, not to be bombarded with spam, commercials, or over-the-top self-promotion.

Happy information hunting!

I shared in my previous post a bit of my TV viewing habits; my opinion that TV programs, especially the ones on the cable channels, can help people in their career planning and development; and a list of the better, career informing TV shows based on particular industries.

Sticking with the topic of TV shows and career planning, in this post I’ll share three of my favorite television shows currently playing on prime time among the Big Four television networks (e.g., Fox, NBC, CBS, and ABC) that have strong themes of career planning and development.

Glee on Fox

Nothing screams louder on Glee than Rachel Berry’s career ambitions of becoming a famous musical star. Is it a good thing for a high school student to be so single-mindedly focused on a career goal, or does there need to be a better balance?

There’s also a high school guidance counselor, Emma Pillsbury, whose main counseling tool seems to be handing out informational brochures instead of actually “counseling” students. She’s a great example of how not to be in a particular occupation.

This show, currently airing episodes from its second season, is pure entertainment for me. And I love taking note of the various career planning themes that periodically pop up in between the awesome musical numbers.

Parenthood on NBC

I also greatly enjoy the career-related dynamics of Parenthood, also currently airing its second season episodes. All of the main characters are at varying career stages, and career planning and decision making play a big part in this series.

In fact, in this season’s first episode, I spotted the seminal career planning book What Color Is Your Parachute? on the nightstand of one of the main protagonists, Lorelai Gilmore, <oops!>, I mean Sarah Braverman.

And I really loved the dialogue in last week’s episode where Sarah shares some career angst with her brother, Adam.

Sarah: Hello?

Adam: Hey, it’s Adam. How are things going over there?

Sarah: Oh God, I don’t know. I’m sitting here making a list of what my skills are. What I’m gonna do next with my life. And what was my dream? What did I always want to do? And I believe it is too late to become an Olympic figure skater, so I have to figure something else out.

Adam: Yeah, I meant how are things going with Haddie [e.g., Adam's daughter]?

Sarah: Oh, oh yeah, I know…

This show is also pure entertainment for me. And I love that the show writers seem to really know some of the main principles to career planning.

Undercover Boss on CBS

Undercover Boss is also currently showing its second season episodes, and even though I know the answer, I still wonder if an episode is going to deliver the goods. Gotta love the introduction that kick starts each episode:

“America is struggling to shake off the recession. Public distrust of wealthy CEOs remains high. But more and more bosses are looking for radical ways to reconnect with their workforce in order to find out what’s really going on in their companies. Each week, we follow the boss of a major corporation as they go undercover in their own company.”

A recent episode really struck a nerve. This time going undercover was CEO Sheldon Yellen of Belfor, the world’s largest property restoration company that provides post-disaster relief and reconstruction services after fires, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural disasters.

I’ve seen all of the episodes this season, and he does several things that I haven’t seen previously: He gets really angry with his inability to do some construction work well and takes out his frustrations on an employee. He also reveals his identity to another employee, and then follows that up with offering her a pay raise right on the spot. He breaks both the written and unwritten rules of this show. Furthermore, compared to the other companies from previous episodes, Shelden Yellen and his company offer their featured employees the most amount of money at the end of the show.

And at the end of the episode, I loved what he said and how he said it.

First up, this is what he said on stage to the employees about the whole experience:

“This experience will change me forever going forward. It woke me up and made me realize, that as I started out on my journey, just how wrong I was. I really believed that sitting in Birmingham, Michigan, at a desk, I had the right to stand up and say, “We take care of our people.” And I’ve learned first hand that the people take care of this company. I may not have lived up to your expectations, but I promise you I’ll do better going forward. I’ve got to thank my mom for holding it all together with no money, raising four boys alone. Thank you.”

Finally, his closing words about what it was like on stage addressing his employees:

“I wound up getting very emotional, and I don’t regret any of it. In fact, I hope that my boys today were able to see their dad standing up there, showing his emotions, and I hope they know that’s life. Not the material things. Take down the walls. Don’t live in a cocoon. And just be out there and enjoy it. Some of us weren’t smart enough to learn that earlier on.”

After watching this episode, I remember thinking, “Man, I want to work for that guy!” Then I wondered, “Did this guy ever take acting lessons?” Ah yes, info-tainment at its finest.

Through watching Undercover Boss, I get to be thoroughly entertained. I also get to learn more about various companies and see various leadership styles on display.

I mainly watch TV shows to be entertained, but it’s cool whenever I can learn from, and get inspired by, what I’m watching on TV. There are other current, prime time TV shows on The Big Four networks that I watch religiously that have much less going on in terms of career planning themes, like Fox’s Raising Hope, NBC’s The Office and Community, and ABC’s No Ordinary Family. These shows simply and thoroughly entertain me. And my list of favorite TV shows is even longer if including programs on cable television, so I won’t even get started with those shows.

Questions

What are your favorite TV shows on either Fox, NBC, CBS, or ABC, and do they incorporate any interesting career planning themes?

In a “perfect” world, you start the career exploration and planning process while you are still in school, getting a degree that will eventually lead to a job.

But what if that’s not where you are at? What if it’s been a few (or more) years since you were in school?

Maybe you pursued other interests that didn’t pan out as you had hoped. Maybe you took some time off to travel the world.

Regardless of what your situation is, here you are and you want to find a meaningful career, not just a job to pay the bills. But where should you start?

The following 8 points are avenues that you may be able to pursue. Not all options will apply to everyone, but the more exploring you do, the better:

1. Make a list of all your jobs.

• Make a list of all the jobs you have had, however odd they may have been.
• What did you like/dislike about each of them? This simple activity can lead you to some of your top skills, values, passions, and what motivates you, which in turn are helpful to consider when deciding which career is right for you.

2. Consider volunteering.

• If a pattern arises that points to a particular career and/or industry, then consider leaping into the pursuit of part-time volunteer opportunities related to that particular career/industry. Doing so can help you keep busy, showcase how proactive you are, build related career experience, network, and reality test whether you really enjoy that particular career/industry.

3. Take interesting classes.

• Are there any classes you are interested in taking? If so, what are they? Could they possibly lead to a career? Community colleges offer a wide variety of classes. Reading the class schedule of a local community college may give you some ideas of what may be interesting to you.
• In addition, community colleges often offer career exploration classes, which usually include taking the Meyer’s Briggs and the Strong Interest Inventory, which are two prominent career exploration tests.
• If you are a student you may also qualify for internships to further explore possible careers.
• Plus, community colleges usually have career centers with many career resources.

4. Use career centers.

• Utilize the career center at your former college(s) for taking assessments like the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and the Strong Interest Inventory.
• You may also be able to get some career counseling through your former school’s career center, often at a reduced fee.

5. Critically evaluate any career assessment results.

• Use the interests and values that you identify through career testing and exploration activities to discover possible careers. Testing WILL NOT necessarily, nor neatly, point you to a career. But it will help you explore areas you may not have even thought about.

6. Do your homework on researching possible careers.

• Read through some career focused reports to see if a certain career may be something you want to pursue.
• Utilize social media websites like LinkedIn and Facebook for career exploration and research purposes.

7. Establish a who-you-know list.

• Create a networking grid with all the people you know (friends from high school, friends from college, parents’ friends, etc.) and write down their jobs and careers.
• Are there any careers you are possibly interested in? If so, research those careers online and possibly do some informational interviews with some of the people on the grid.
• Ask for reality checks from those closest to you whom you most trust.

8. Conduct informational interviews to get the inside scoop.

• Identify people to do informational interviews with. Your networking grid should be useful in identifying people you can interview or people who may know someone you can interview.

Finding a meaningful career is hard work. The more you explore, the better your chances of finding a satisfying and fulfilling career.

Questions: Where are you at in the career exploration process? Which career exploration techniques have you used so far? Which ones do you plan to use in the future?  What’s one tip you have for someone who is just starting the career exploration process?

Be well,

Andrea

When I first started teaching my college career planning courses over six years ago, it seemed like each class had at least a couple of students who indicated that they were inspired to pursue a particular career because of what they had seen on various television shows. The most cited television shows were Law & Order and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and that meant that these students were interested in becoming either a lawyer or police detective (Law & Order) or a crime scene investigator. These days, I don’t really see students mentioning any television shows as sources for career inspiration.

I’ve always loved watching TV. And after a bit of a break from watching so much television, I’m slowly but surely getting back into it. I’ve noticed that there are a lot of TV programs out there that would be great sources of not only career inspiration, but also great sources of career information. Most of these programs are on cable television networks and specifically on channels like the Discovery Channel, A&E, Bravo, and TLC. The shows themselves often revolve around various occupations and have documentary or reality television styles to them.

Examples of TV Shows by Industry

• Acting: Inside the Actors Studio on Bravo

• Business: Undercover Boss on CBS

• Fashion: What Not to Wear on TLC; Say Yes to the Dress on TLC; Project Runway on Lifetime (Used to be on Bravo)

• Food: Top Chef on Bravo; any Food Network show; No Reservations on Travel Channel; Bizarre Foods on Travel Channel

• Healthcare: Intervention on A&E; The Dr. Oz Show on various broadcasting channels

• Travel: Samantha Brown on Travel Channel

Questions

So, what do you think: Do you agree that it’s possible for a TV show to inspire someone to pursue a particular career? Can a TV show focused on a career actually be informative and educational? Which TV shows should belong on the list in this post? Please comment below.