Why do this?

For nearly 3 months now I have been interning for Career Investments.  I have to say that it is a wonderful partnership and I absolutely love my 3 bosses.  They are smart, funny, gracious, and continuous learners.

Sooo you know there's a but...I'm hoping someone out there can give me some insight.  So here goes...

I have wanted to be a career consultant ever since I graduated college.  I had even forgotten that fact until I found a list I made soon after graduated.  In this list I wrote down a dream description of my future life.  On this list I was married to a wonderful man (Check), had a beautiful home with a garden (Check) and many other things, (Check, check and check) but I also wrote down that I wanted to be a life coach or career counselor (Check).  I had forgotten this or at least put it out of my mind while I was going down a different career path but here I am.

What's the problem you ask?  Well the problem is that my focus in this new endeavor is recent college graduates that need help breaking into the career field of their dreams.  I KNOW deep down in my heart that there are hundreds and thousands of college graduates out there that could use some additional help upon graduation to figure out "Now what?!"  Maybe they know what career field they want to go in to but haven't had luck getting there.  Maybe they have a liberal arts or a general degree and are not sure how to best utilize their strengths and are unsure of what career field to get in to so they are frozen, unable to go in any direction because there are too many directions to try!  I know they are out there.  Hell, I have been that person more times than I can count.  The problem?  Finding these people and letting them know that there is help out there.

This help does not just apply to those that are directly out of college.  In fact, up until this point the company I work for has primarily focused on the adult market of career changers and/or people that are looking for a career boost to that higher level position they crave.  They have done very well in this market and have worked with a handful of college grads, all of which are huge fans of our company for this help.  The problem is that I want to help more of them.

We are holding free seminars for the parents of recent graduates where we discuss how to help motivate your grads rather than alienating them after graduation.  In a nutshell, "Are your kid and you driving each other nuts now that graduation was 3 months ago?  Let us help so you don't kill one another."  Click here if it sounds helpful to you or someone you know.

I am also looking to match up with local alumni groups to host some networking events with a free seminar on how to best network to increase success in the job hunt.  If you know of someone involved with an alumni group or any other organizations that would be interested in having this event for members, please let me know. telder@careerinvestments.com

Last but not least, if you just know someone that could use some help in their professional life, let me know.  I started out as a client and each time I walked out the door I felt like I finally had a plan and more direction.  It truly is the best feeling ever.  Being stuck in a job that breaks you down instead of building you up is such a stressor that can effect other areas in your life.  Don't be afraid to ask for help.  It's empowering!  So if you know of anyone that can use some help, let me know.  I know they are out there.  I just want to reach more of them.

**Shameless Plug!***

I just realized that it's been awhile since I last posted and I can't really blame it on anything other than my life has been quiet for awhile now.  Peacefully, wonderfully quiet.  Ahhhh...

Things are still going well with my internship with Career Investments.  In fact, I will add a shameless plug to this little blog.  This Wednesday, July 13th we are hosting a free seminar for the parents of recent college graduates that may be struggling with getting their career started upon graduation.  Often parents don't know how to help their kids without causing WW3 in their house (assuming they are again living together). Whether the parents and kids are again co-habitating or not, the conversation often comes out as Parent: "What are you doing to get a job?"  Kid: "Geeze, I'm working on it.  Get off my back!"  The "kids" are at that stage where they are adults but are likely still relying on their parents for financial and perhaps even emotional help and the parents would like to assist in the process in some way but it often comes off as nagging.  Our seminar is centered around giving parents tips and tools to help with their side of the communication and ways to assist their grads in the search with the hopes of minimizing the feeling of "nagging" by the grad and instead empowering them in their search for independence.  If you know someone who may be interested in the seminar, send them to: Career Investments Parent Session

In personal news, I have started volunteering for the Irvington Development Organization to help with fundraising efforts for the improvement of my neighborhood.  They have been "trying" to raise the remaining $50,000 of a $300,000 campaign for the last 5 years.  There is a sign outside of our library with a tick mark counting down to the final amount and it's been so close for so long it was driving me crazy! (The mark is now at the very last tic-mark)

So I decided I needed to do something about it and I contacted the organization.  Come to find out that the fund-raising  committee has been all but defunct for the last 5 years and construction is slated to begin in the next few months so now is the crucial time.  I am now one of 3 fundraisers for the newly founded fundraising committee.  None of us has a background in this but we are doing our best and searching for grants, donors, etc.  If anyone has been involved in community fundraisers and has any advice for me, please pass it along.  I feel like $50,000 is nothing and broken down into small pieces it should totally be manageable so here goes!  It looks like I prefer to volunteer to throw myself into bureaucratic situations but professionally I find myself staying as far away from those situations as possible.  Hey, I have no problem asking people for money for something I believe in and I completely believe in helping my neighborhood develop into something greater.  Donate to the Irvington Streetscape Project here.