No College After High School - Now What?

 

Suppose you don't want to go to college, or at least figure at this point in your life college just isn't for you.  This means that after you are graduated from high school, you're going to work for a living.  Perhaps you've already lined up a job and figure that everything is set.  You may find your first job through the Lehigh Career and Technical Institute and the co-operative work experiences.  Perhaps you will simply find a job by accident.

 

One of the most effective ways of finding a job is to tell all your friends and family members that you are looking for a job.  The help wanted section in the newspaper is not a particularly good way to go looking for a job simply because the vast majority of jobs are never listed in the newspaper.  As you cruise the Lehigh Valley, keep your eyes open and look about for help wanted signs.  Opportunity often comes to you when you least expect it.  Be ready to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.

 

If you don't have a resume, make one.  Keep it current and make it look nice.  Around March of your senior year, begin to mail your resume to potential employers.  Tell potential employers that you are a high school student looking for a career, not just a job.  Tell them you are young, ready to learn, and eager to do a good job for them. 

 

You need to go into this world armed with an employment plan.  Look beyond the weeks and months immediately following your graduation from high school.  What do you want to be doing in two years, five years, ten years from now as far as work is concerned?  How are you going to get from here to there? 

 

Seek good advice from someone, anyone, you trust.  If you want us to help, all you need to do is to come see us or make an appointment with the guidance secretary.  If you don’t need our help because you’ve got the answers, come in anyway.  We are interested in how you formed your own career plans and just might learn something from you.  At the very least, talking to your Guidance Counselor about a well-made career plan ought to give you confidence in your planning ability.

 

 

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