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Dear Graduates: You Can Have a Happy, Healthy Career

Everyone has a graduation speech they’re dying to deliver. You may not have been the valedictorian then (or be a celebrity now), but you probably have something to say to grads. Maybe you’re like my college graduation speaker, who warned us that we needed to toughen up if we wanted to survive out there. (He was right). Maybe you’re a sentimentalist like “Say Anything’s” Diane Court, the proverbial Cassandra who tells her classmates, “Having taken a few classes at the university this year, I have glimpsed our future. And all I can say is…..go back.” Sure, you have stories, quotes, and metaphors to lift their spirits (and, hopefully, avoid the same mistakes you made). It’s just too bad so many of the people with the most to say end up being in the audience instead of the podium.

Recently, a Harvard Business School graduate managed to deliver her dream graduation speech…and she did it right in the pages of The Harbus. Jennifer Warawa, a vice president and general manager with Sage Accountant Solutions, recently shared key lessons with her Harvard heirs. And boy did she knock it out of the park! While some points may seem cliché, remember this: The easiest advice is generally the hardest to follow.

Here is some of Warawa’s advice to the Harvard Class of 2014:

“Periodically revisit your goals – If you’re feeling stuck in a job, or you’ve lost all enthusiasm about going into work each day, it might be time to revisit your career goals. Maybe you thought you had your dream job, doing something you love, but maybe it’s not the right path for you. It is okay to pursue something else entirely if you need (or want) to. Figure out what our ultimate goal is and how you can get there by mapping out specific objectives—this will keep you on track.”

“Reinvent yourself when you have to – If you lose a job, don’t let it tear you down. Again, choose to have a positive outlook on the situation. Many people find that losing their job was a great thing for their career. It gave them the motivation to figure out what they wanted and the opportunity to go after it. If you decide to change career paths, seek out people working in that field to get a sense for what it’s like for them. Getting first-hand experiences can help determine whether a career is right for you.”

“You own your career – Nobody else is going to make career decisions for you. Only you know you—what motivates you and what will make you happy. It’s not up to anyone else to ensure you make the correct career moves, so make it a point to know yourself and what will and won’t work for you in a career.”

“Choose to be positive – This might sound silly, but doesn’t it work? No matter what you’re doing, if you start to think positively things start to turn around. Being positive is a choice we have to make every day. If you’re unhappy with your current work situation, you can fight it and complain, but that’s not productive. Evaluate what you want in a career and go after it.”

For additional advice, click on Warawa’s article below.

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Source: Harbus