The Career Path YOU Decide!
By: Danielle Trentin (Intern)
As a college student who has just recently got a glimpse of “the real world” through my internship experience, I can easily say that I am unsure of what career path I want to take. Learning about the PR field in college courses and having the pleasure of working in a PR agency has been two completely different learning experiences for me. Through my time at Fusion, I have learned that PR involves a lot of research on various topics, writing of pitches, emails, and more, and having to reach out to the appropriate contacts in order to help your client. These responsibilities stick out to me the most but are among many more tasks that PR professionals face daily.
While reading Forbes, I came across a very interesting article about the ability to change careers. The article focused on a man named Jeff who had worked as an attorney for the past eighteen years, for the same law firm the whole time. Now, Jeff wanted to move into corporate training. When he asked around his firm, they shot down the idea. Jeff was surprised because he has spent at least forty percent of his time at the law firm either creating instructional material or delivering training to clients and fellow lawyers. So, Jeff went on to attend a workshop where he was told to write a summary at the top of his resume. He included what he doesn’t want to do anymore and read it aloud. The people at the workshop immediately responded by asking Jeff why he was asking for their permission to make a career change. After the workshop, Jeff realized that he did not have to wait for some HR VP to let him step over the invisible line between lawyers-who-train and corporate training professionals. The choice was his.
This article got me thinking that I am in the same boat as Jeff. Although I don’t have the years of experience like him, this internship has showed me what the “real world” is like and how the PR profession fits into that world. This internship has allowed me to now decide if this field is really for me and if it is the career path I want to take. It has given me a better understanding of what this profession entails and has now allowed me to have some experience in order to make my own decision. I now have created realistic goals for myself and can figure out where I belong. Although my experience is not the same as Jeff’s, I believe that there is still a linkage between figuring out what you want to do and going after it, on your own terms. Maybe somewhere down the line I will want to change careers just as he did, but I have the comfort of knowing that it is possible to do and most importantly, my choice. So for anyone reading this post, if you are not happy with what you’re doing like Jeff or are still trying to figure it out like me, realize that you can change your path at any time without anyone’s permission and do what your passionate about. It’s all up to you!
PS: Here’s the link to the article on Jeff!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/lizryan/2014/07/27/you-dont-need-permission-to-change-careers/
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