Why Teens Lack Motivation for Career Stuff: Part 3
In the last post, I introduced you to a Job of Interest (a specific position identified through autonomous choice) and explained how it creates ownership.
We also discussed how ownership creates motivation and three additional qualities (initiative, effort, resilience) that are necessary for career exploration and making progress toward an ideal career option.
Today, I'm sharing how your teen can quickly and easily identify a Job of Interest and how this milestone is only the first step in a process your teen must work through to make an informed decision and avoid a regrettable career choice.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Keep in mind that the goal here is for your teen to identify a specific job (not a career field) that's their idea and that they feel positive about.
Identifying a Job of Interest is the first step in a three-step process. It's the most important step because it establishes ownership and makes steps two (research) and three (reflection) more likely to occur.
Step two is all about gaining a thorough understanding of the job, and step three is all about reflecting on the findings to gauge whether it would be a good option.
At this stage, don't worry if the Job of Interest is feasible, fitting, or financially sound. You don't need to express your concerns or objections at this time, as it would ruin the ownership factor. You can share your opinions after the research and reflection are completed. The main goal is for them to go through the process, not to identify an ideal career.
SET THE STAGE
I strongly recommend taking the time to set the stage for encouraging your child to identify a Job of Interest.
That involves letting your teen know that starting with an interest is important and that they don't have to worry about the job being a good idea at this stage. You should also let them know that no job is “off limits” and that you won’t be trying to talk them out of anything.
Doing this up front will increase the likelihood that your teen will actually identify an interest and increase your chances of playing an active role in helping them.
IDENTIFYING A JOB OF INTEREST
Once you’ve laid this foundation, your teen can use these four simple questions to identify a Job of Interest.
Once again, we’re not trying to find something that’s a smart, wise choice. The ultimate goal is to have your teen intrinsically motivated to learn more and become familiar with what to discover and how to discover it.
We'll get into that more in the last email, but for now, let’s return to the four questions your teen can use to identify a Job of Interest...
The COOL question
Can you think of jobs that seemed like they’d be cool to do?
The CURIOUS question
Can you think of jobs that piqued your curiosity?
The COMPATIBLE question
Can you think of jobs that involve activities you like or subjects you enjoy?
The COMPLIMENTED question
Can you think of jobs other people said you’d be good at?
If they’ve identified more than one job, encourage them to select the one they seem most interested in learning more about.
Once they have their Job of Interest, the next step is to encourage them to learn the essential facts.
MAKE THE CASE
You can make a case for the importance of research and reflection by emphasizing that many young people pursue careers without knowing much about them.
After they start spending time, money, and effort preparing for it, they often discover things that are huge turn-offs and make them change their plans. The things they end up discovering could have been learned with simple strategic research before a commitment was made.
You can also use these statistics about college students to show them how making a career choice without knowing what's actually involved or the important details results in a lot of waste and regret…
- 80% of college students will change majors multiple times.
- 57% of college students now take six years to earn a bachelor’s degree.
- 61% of college grads would change their major.
These numbers aren’t meant to scare your teen. They’re meant to reveal a pattern. When young people make decisions without really knowing what a job involves, they often pay for that uncertainty with extra time, extra money, and extra work.
Why Teens Lack Motivation for Career Stuff
Part 1: The Likely Culprit Behind Your Teen’s Lack of Motivation for Career Stuff
Part 2: Stop Wishing Your Teen Was Motivated for Career Stuff and Do This Instead
Part 3: How Your Teen Can Identify a Job of Interest (currently reading)
START A CONVO
Initiate a conversation with your child about this subject using the following prompts:
- Do you think most parents disapprove of the jobs their kids are interested in? Explain.
- How can parents create a good environment for talking about jobs their kids are interested in, even though they may have concerns about that option?
THE FREE RESOURCE
The 12 Simple Methods for Identifying a Job of Interest resource provides additional ways for your teen to identify jobs THEY would be interested in. You can get it HERE.
