The Book: “Major in Success”
The Author: Patrick Combs
Why You Should Care/Read it: Patrick wrote this incredible book all about how to make the most out of your college experience. It’s a little different from “Launch Your Career in College” (another book I’ve highlighted on Get Smart), but it’s equally as informative and inspiring. So many people look back on their college years and wish they did more than just get “good enough” grades. Don’t be one of those people. Make the most of your 4 (or 7) years in college. Life never gets better!
Why It’s OK that you probably won’t: I’ve summarized Patrick’s best insights here for you all and with his permission, will share some of his wisdom with you.
First of all, you’ve got to have a plan. What should that plan be?
1. Go to college
2. Discover what you want to do with your life
3. Do things that get the ball rolling
4. Master Good Habits
Why are plans so important?
“I’ve had a t least a 5-year plan since the time I was sixteen. I’d think about where I wanted to be a year from now, 3 years from now, and 5 years from now. I liked thinking about the big picture rather than the next exam because it made immediate tasks and pressures look like stepping-stones toward my future” —Michael Bates
You’ll notice that step 4 of your plan is to master good habits. But what does that really mean? What exactly are good habits? Well, according to Patrick, there are…
Six Habits to Master
1. Focus on what you care about.
2. Make bold decisions.
3. Commit yourself to taking the time to make your dreams come true.
4. Break through your failures.
5. Pay yourself first: 10% of every paycheck should go into your retirement account.
6. Be good to others.
OK. Now that you’ve mastered those habits, here are some…
Classes Everyone Should Take:
1. Business-writing
2. Grant-writing
3. Public Relations
4. Speech/Business Presentations
5. Sales Principles
6. Time Management
7. Internship Courses
8. Human Relations
9. Marketing
10. Language
Ok this part is something everyone is going to laugh at, but I swear, it works! If you’ve ever wondered what you wanted to do with your life, this exercise will really help you to get a better idea. Try it!
Passion Pinpointer Exercise:
1. Know that a passion is something you enjoy.
2. Get a paper and pen and list your top 10-20 passions. They can be recreational, academic, professions, personal, etc.
3. Rate your passion for each on a scale of 1-10.
4. Choose your top 3.
5. Repeat often. Each time you do it, you’ll get a better idea of your greatest passions.
And so will this one!
Job Generator Exercise:
Take your top 3 passions and answer these questions:
1. How could I be paid to inform people about _______?
2. How could I be paid to provide other people with a service related to _______?
3. How could I be paid to perform _______ for others?
4. How could I be paid to create products related to _______?
5. How could I be paid to assist people who are focused on _______?
6. How could I be paid to learn more about _______?
Once you’ve figured out what you want to do, try this exercise to help you land the job that best suits your personality and values.
Know Your Values Exercise:
Look at this list of values and pick 5 that are most important to you regarding your workplace. Prioritize your choices. When looking for a job, try to find one that satisfies at least three of these values.
1. Achievement
2. Advancement
3. Adventure
4. Authority
5. Big Money
6. Challenge
7. Charity
8. Choices
9. Control of your schedule
10. Creativity
11. Entrepreneurial
12. Excitement
13. Fast pace
14. Freedom
15. Friendships
16. Helpful to Others
17. Helpful to Society
18. High-tech environment
19. Independence
20. Learning
21. Less stress
22. Opportunity
23. Prestige
24. Pressure to perform
25. Recognition
26. Routine
27. Safety and Protection
28. Security
29. Status
30. Structure
31. Teamwork
32. Travel
33. Variety
And once you figure out which jobs suit you, go on some interviews. And make sure you prep following these steps:
How to Prep for an Interview
1. Contact the appropriate person at the company to see if they could help you learn more about it.
2. Contact anyone who has done business with the company (suppliers, customers, etc.) to see if they could help you learn more about it.
3. Contact your school’s alumni office to see if there are any grads working at the company that could help you learn more about the company’s corporate culture.
4. Ask students and teachers for advice about interviewing and get them to grill you in a mock interview.
5. Contact the chamber of commerce or go to the library and locate newspaper clippings about the company.
6. If the company is publicly traded, try to get your hands on their annual report and any brokerage house recommendations.
7. Write the company a letter prior to the interview to tell them about yourself, what you’re doing to prepare for the interview and why you’d be right for the job.
8. Follow up after the interview with a hand written note to indicate your continued high level of interest in the job.
9. Go on an informational interview with someone in a similar position to the person who will be hiring you.
10. Bring an item to the interview that shows your experience and/or passion in the field. (i.e. a portfolio of your work)
Another great way to get your foot in the door is through informational interviews. Not sure what to ask at these? Here are some…
Great Questions to Ask at Informational Interviews:
1. How did you get into this field?
2. What do you do on a daily basis?
3. What percentage of your time is spent doing what?
4. What are the skills that are most important for a position in this field?
5. What were the keys to your career advancement?
6. Why did you decide to work for this company?
7. What do you like most about this company?
8. How does your company differ from its competitors?
9. What do you ike and not like about working in this industry?
10. How is the economy affecting this industry?
11. What are the professional associations related to this industry?
12. What would you do differently if you had to do it over?
13. What advice would you give to me that I could apply now?
During your interview, you might be asked about one particular subject that your interested in or about an area that you’re knowledgeable about. Here are some…
Ways to Establish Expertise:
1. Google everything you can about the subject. Find out who the big players are, where they’re located and what they’re looking for in new employees.
2. Organize everything you find in a 3-ring binder.
3. Start an online group (i.e. Facebook) to network with like-minded people and share stories.
4. Read books written by experts in the field.
5. Do an informational interview with an expert.
6. Attend a conference about the subject matter.
7. Take a seminar/workshop
8. Put your thought on paper and turn them into handouts.
9. Get involved in online forums.
10. Take a factory or company tour.
11. Subscribe to a subject-related magazine.
12. Take things you learn and apply them immediately.
13. Associate with people in the field.
14. Get a job that puts your around the experts.
15. Ask your professors questions about the subject.
16. Talk about the subject with your friends.
Sometimes doing all of this can be difficult when you’re strapped for cash. Here are some ways to…
Get the Most out of your Student Budget
1. Locate the appropriate contact at an association and explain that you’re a student. Ask if there are alternative ways to participate or benefit without paying the full dues.
2. Ask for conference guides, exhibitor lists, and topics covered.
3. Ask for a list of the companies that attended last year’s conference to get an idea of what companies are out there.
4. Ask if they have any audio recordings of a workshop that covers how to get into the field.
5. Ask for any handouts or other information that they might have that could help you learn about the field and its trends.
6. Find out what conferences are being held in your area for the next year.
7. Offer to volunteer at one of their events.
![We all know how much parents love to impart their wisdom to their beloved offspring. How many times have you heard, “A penny saved is a penny earned” or “The journey is just as important as the destination”? Frankly, I could go the rest of my life without hearing those words ever again. But, I must confess. Other than the few cliched proverbs that my parents occasionally slipped into conversation, I’ve begun to realize just how right they were about most of the things that I used to roll my eyes at upon hearing. Apparently, that’s a sign that I’m growing up— or so my dad says— but it sounds to me more like I’m just turning into my parents (YIKES!). Whatever the case may be, there is one particular counsel that I am glad my parents gave to me: Everyone needs to have an aptitude test. I can remember sitting in a room for 6 hours one day taking a series of different tests, while all of my friends lounged around at the pool mind you, and wondering why this was important. And just like I’m finally starting to see why my dad was such a stickler about credit card debt, I’m also beginning to feel extreme gratitude that my parents shelled out the cash and forced me to take an aptitude test. It was enlightening, it was informative, it was probably one of the best things I’ve done for my career and my future. Now, I’m sure you’re all wondering why this was so great for me and I think that someone else might be better able to explain just why aptitude testing is so important. Cue the drum roll. I give you Holly Wilhelm.
Name: Holly Wilhelm
Official Job Title: Assistant Lab Director, Atlanta office
Company: Johnson O’Connor Research Foundation
Hi Holly! Thanks for being here with us today. I think the question that most everybody is wondering is, what exactly is aptitude testing?
Aptitudes are natural talents - special abilities for doing, or learning to do, certain kinds of things easily and quickly. They have little to do with knowledge or culture, or education, or even interests. They have to do with heredity. Musical talent and artistic talent are examples of such aptitudes. Some people can paint beautifully but cannot carry a tune. Others are good at talking to people but slow at paperwork. Still others can easily repair a car but find writing difficult. These basic differences among people are important factors in making one person satisfied as a banker, another satisfied as an engineer, and still another satisfied working as an editor.
Our aptitude testing will identify your natural abilities. We don’t identify which jobs you can or cannot do, just the ones that are the most natural for you. If you have a full schedule of college courses, you may be able to get an A in every class, but probably some of those subjects require a lot more studying and effort than others. We think that people are most satisfied in their work when they use their inborn talents to do what comes naturally, rather than struggling against the grain and having to work harder to keep up.
So how does it all work?
Our aptitude battery consists of a wide variety of mostly hands-on tests, which are administered in two half-day appointments. Clients perform activities such as memorizing numbers, solving problems, looking at designs, and building puzzles. Each examinee’s performance is compared with that of other examinees of about the same age, so that it is easy to see how you compare to other people and how your abilities compare to one another. The results are given in writing, but also are explained by one of our administrators in a discussion about how your aptitudes fit in with interests, education, and plans for the future. The whole process takes a day and a half and costs $600. This can sound like a lot of money, but knowing what you want to study and where you’re going to go with it can save a lot of time, tuition, and stress, and is an investment in your future.
So what makes aptitude testing better than just taking a personality quiz?
It is important to recognize that aptitude testing is different from interest or personality testing. These can be factors in your decisions as well, but interests change over time, and personality tests generally involving answering questions about yourself - answers can change based on your mood that day, how you want to see yourself, or how you think you should answer. Aptitudes remain stable over time and our tests are objective measurements of your abilities. Most of our tests are activity based and much of the scoring emphasizes speed to see not just whether or not you can do something, but how easily you can do it.
Great. How can you use aptitude testing to help you plan your career?
When planning your career path, it is important to have an idea of not just what field you want to go into, but what you want to do within that area. Many students choose a field because they have a relative who does the same thing, because they liked one particular class in school, or because they think they will have an easy time finding a job. We have found that people are the most comfortable in fields that combine their aptitudes with their interests and other personal factors. Rather than stumbling into a career because it was the one where you could find your first job, we think you should put much thought and research into such a big decision, and knowing your strengths can be a very good starting point to give you a sense of direction.
What do you tell clients who are convinced that they should be something that they don’t have an aptitude for? [i.e. a musician that has no tonal memory]
When someone’s aptitudes don’t match his interests, for example, if a client really wants to be a rock star when his aptitudes sound more like those of an accountant, we try to help him find a happy medium. Maybe he could stay close to the world of music by working as the CFO of a major record label or archiving recordings for a music website. Maybe he could maintain a “rock star lifestyle” by traveling with a band as a business manager. Maybe he is willing to devote countless hours of time to practicing and promoting himself, has an unmeasurable “it” quality, and will beat the odds to succeed in music. We feel that our job is to make a client aware of what his strengths are, and help him see a variety of ways to use them.
Once a client has taken the aptitude test, what should their next steps be?
I would recommend learning more about a career that you might want to try by reading about the field, talking to professionals within the area (perhaps making contacts through college professors and alumni groups), and interning or job-shadowing to get first-hand experience of what the career might be like. Research is very important so that you know what you might be getting into with a new field! Another good idea for everyone is to work on building your vocabulary. A broad knowledge of a lot of words can help you demonstrate your expertise to potential employers and can help you become a better communicator, no matter what your career is!](http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krix6fd3rO1qa8ys2o1_250.jpg)
