Author: Brandi Ledermann, Career Coach
The short answer is vehemently YES! The long answer is YES as well! Let’s talk about it in more detail.
In my almost 20 years as a Talent Development professional, either hiring students into jobs or coaching students into careers, I have observed up close that students do not realize that embarking on their career development journey is an emotional process. It is presented to the world as a strategic, planning process and that is very true. However, when you are trying to make career decisions like picking a major and tying your interests and relevant industries into the fold, developing your resume for the first time, learning how to network with employers and how to master interviewing, this creates a place of uncertainty and chaos for students. The core of why it’s chaotic is when we are placing ourselves better yet our “career brand” out onto the market, we feel vulnerable. We may also feel judged, critiqued and frankly not good enough because the process usually entails rejection. The thoughts of whether we are good enough, talented enough, or competent enough start flooding our brains. This leads right into questioning our skills, our self-esteem and our value.
At the Career Center, what we hope to accomplish in our work with students is to 1) give students the tactical skills to execute their strategic career development planning process fluidly through coaching appointments, drop-ins and career events 2) to also build student’s confidence through these tactical skills and turn them into life skills 3) to validate for each student that it is healthy and normal to feel uneasy and unsure during their career development process.
One direct way the Career Center is addressing the emotional side of the career development journey for students is by offering four mindfulness Career Meet Ups (which are one topic career development virtual sessions) each semester. In collaboration with the Center for Integrated Care who are experts on connecting students with mental health resources, we dig into how it is essential to practice self care, to monitor how their feelings are affecting their body and decision making, and to create space for their emotional needs and use mindfulness practices to manage them.
We invite students to join our next mindfulness Career Meet Up which is scheduled for 2/4 at 10:00 am. It is titled and focused on the “Job Search & Your Mental Health: Best Practices”. What I have noticed is at the point of having to search for a job whether that be an internship, part time or full time job, this is when students really feel lost and vulnerable. The reasons can be endless but they usually involve the students not knowing HOW to job search, HOW to network, and HOW to sell their career brand and then couple that with feeling insecure overall about their skills. Our goal through these mindfulness career meet ups students is to normalize that the career development process entails an emotional element and having that awareness, showing themselves grace and using self care tools will absolutely make their journey easier and more rewarding plus the head space to successfully start their careers!