Emma’s Story
I was headed towards my final two years of college, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I had to choose quickly or else I’d waste time choosing the wrong classes. I wanted to talk to someone to expedite my decision making process because my family didn’t know how to help me. They didn’t know anything outside of their own careers.
I looked for career resources at my school, but there weren’t any. I talked to a lot of family members, and they said, “Do what makes you happy”. So I tried to figure out what I liked by spending hours on YouTube watching interviews of people talking about their careers. It was fairly helpful, but it still left me with a lot of questions.
I was frustrated by having to make a decision for my future with no working experience. I was completely lost. I had no idea where to start.
I wanted to be confident in saying, “This is what I want to do right now”. I didn’t necessarily need something that I would stick with for the rest of my life, but I wanted that first stepping stone.
Going Beyond the Questions
My career coach on the Cardy Career Coaching team asked me questions and also made me think about who I was and what I wanted. She also introduced me to the informational interview idea. I tell people about that all the time. I think I did like 15.
As a result of working with the Cardy Career Coaching team I gained a lot of confidence: confidence to ask questions and confidence in choosing my major.
I’m nearing graduation and I’ve had a great, targeted experience at college. I love my major. I’ve gotten relevant internships. I participated in a select program and know what I want to be doing after school. I have a long term dream that I’m keeping an eye on as well.