Prior to reading this you may want to check out It’s Graduation Time. Lesson One.
In the Old Normal extracurricular activities may have made you well rounded. In the New Normal your knowledge of technology makes you king or queen or prince or princess. Know than the hiring manager or your boss will make you valuable. The more you can keep us with technology the more you will rise.
You can only control what you bring into the game and how you use the assets around you. College job fairs are nice but are from the Old Normal. In the New Normal your LinkedIn profile is more important than your resume.
College can tend to homogenize people. Conformity is safe but doesn’t make your distinctive. Real value comes from distinction and being your own identity. It is hard to build an identity when you don’t always have a clear focus on who you are.
In the New Normal networking is more important than hanging around with you peers. You have done that enough already.
In the New Normal creating your own job may be a better way to make money than trying to find a job.
In the New Normal surround yourself a variety of growth mentors. All ages, all disciplines. Start with digital wizards. Have friends who are programmers even if you are a musician.
In the New Normal you need a career plan for yourself. Start by finding ways to monetize your passion. That will provide a career that runs with zero energy and provides positive life emissions.
In the New Normal the distant future is five years. Twitter is 6 years old, Instagram is 2, and Vine has just been born. Target industries and markets that will make your more valuable to the job that comes after this one. Plan your career two steps ahead.
Avoid industries that are going to be Kodak’s in five years.
What skills will make you more valuable in 5 years? What language should you learn? What skills should you acquire? What countries should you visit and expand your connections in? It’s More Romania than Italy. Nice food though.
When I was in college I was reading books about Watergate. President Nixon had a couple of advisors that worked for the advertising firm JWT. I thought that was kind of interesting. I ended up working at JWT for ten years. I wasn’t in advertising, in the United States, and knew nobody. President Nixon used to walk the beaches in San Clemente. I still talk to my college roommates from Canada. We have drinks on the pier in San Clemente close to where I live. My college roommate’s sons live in Shanghai. They must have read Marshall McLuhan.
Where are you going to be and live when your college roommates comes to visit you in the future and how are you going to get there?
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