Career Decision and Enrollment Strategies

By Gary Gallant, ACP - Enrollment Coordinator

So, the next step in your life is taking a course!  You want to advance your career, or begin a new one.  That is a pretty tall order for yourself!  What is the process I need to follow?  And then, what will be the first step?

If you are planning on starting a new career and setting yourself on a new path for your life, this will take some serious thought and a little work on your part.  Nothing worthwhile necessarily comes easy or for free.  But you realize this and you are willing to put in the effort; to pay the price!

So let’s make a plan.  First, you need to decide what is it you want to do in this next stage of your life?  How can you help yourself make this decision?

You need to talk to people.  Those who are in industries and jobs that you think may be a possibility for you as well.  Make yourself a list of questions you want to ask.  These should be tough questions that will make them think a little, like, “What do you like the most and the least about this job?”  After all, you are looking for the nitty gritty as well as the fluff.  People usually enjoy talking about themselves, so you can ask some probing questions.  Make the questions into a form with sufficient space after each of them for you to write an answer when speaking to others.  Photocopy a few of these for you to use as you go through this interview process.  Now, make a list of companies you think might fall into your areas of interest.  Then you need to contact each company to find out whom to speak to.  Usually, those staff members in the Human Resources departments are a good place to start.  After all, they are the ones you will speak to when you are seeking employment later. 

Now call those people.  Ask them for some of their time or to make an appointment to call when convenient for them.  When interviewing them, put the industry or job title at the top of the page along with the person’s name and contact information.  And at the end of the interview, always ask for a referral to someone else they can suggest for you to speak to.  Ask if you can talk to some of the employees about the job, that way you are getting a variety of views.

After this industry research of course, you will need to make a decision about which industry to pursue.  Maybe you have reduced the choice to just one or you have a short list of 2 or 3 industries to look at.

You may want to ask people you know and trust for their opinions, which you can take “with a grain of salt”.  In other words, consider the source of the comments.  After all, this is your dream!  Try to take the opinions unemotionally and you may discover some useful information in them.

Do not overlook post-secondary educational institutions as a part of your career research strategy.  This should help you make your decision.  Good institutions will have current industry information, and be able to help you relate how your career dreams can translate into the right industry choice for yourself.  Choose 2 or 3 schools that specialize in each of your areas of interest.  Give them a call and arrange to meet with the Enrollment Coordinator.  They will be happy to spend some time with you to discuss the jobs and industries you are looking at.  They can offer an unbiased view of them as well, perhaps suggesting some pros and cons for you to consider.

This should have helped you to gather the information necessary for you to make a decision about your new career.  Now the fun part ... choosing your career program.

This may be at the same institutions you interviewed earlier.  And hopefully, you may have asked the opinion of your research targets about how they would view certifications from the schools you are considering.  I would suggest that you should consider taking as comprehensive a program as your time and resources will allow for.  It is much easier doing this at the time rather than trying to come back later to upgrade or expand on your completed program.  Just as a note however, training should never end.  You need to stay current in your chosen field through continual training and improvement.

Once you have chosen your program, compare how it is offered from different schools.  Also, consider the school itself.  Ask them equally as hard questions as you asked your previous interview subjects.  Are they accredited or regulated?  What is their relationship to the industries they represent?  What about job placement tools?  Ask about the instructors and the ownership.  How long have they been in the business of training and instruction?  You will have a lot of your own questions to add to these, and review their website in detail.  This will often give you valuable information.

Now request the enrollment process from your chosen educational institution, and stay in touch with your assigned Enrollment Coordinator.  They are there to help you with this.  Never hesitate to continue asking questions.  Can you sit in on some of their classes?  Can you talk with some of the instructors?  Do you feel pressured or do you feel an open door?  Do the credits from your program transfer to other institutions?

Once you have made your decision, enjoy the moment!  Your dream awaits!  Of course, with focus, hard work, and hard studying!