Career tips for Chicago college students
By Adam Kessler, LPC
Chicago is a land full of opportunity, even for those who might not yet be sure what they want to do with their college tenure or their future career. Chicago, in addition to providing these opportunities, can also seem intimidating at first glance for those who have never been here before. Because there are so many opportunities and areas of the city to explore, it can feel overwhelming.
And on top of all this, you have to balance your college work.
It’s that time of year again, where faces both old and new walk onto campus for a new semester ahead of them. And both these old and new faces are trying to figure out their career path. Figuring out a career path begins before you even get to college, however. In high school, when you are applying to colleges, you might experience anxiety trying to decide where to apply because this is where you start feeling the pressure of selecting a career. Schools have varying reputations, depending on the type of students they attract, the degrees they offer, and the staff they hire. These reputations and degree limitations affect where you choose to go to school.
On top of all this, there is the aspect of whether or not you will be moving away from home, how close you will be to your home, and what the new environment you are stepping into will be like.
Keep in mind, however, your options are not limited just to the school you apply to, but to the city/town/environment you are going to immerse yourself in. Chicago, for example, can expand your opportunities not necessarily because of your school, but the inspiration you can draw from those around you and the other career opportunities it has to offer.
In order to fully take advantage of these opportunities as a college student, consider the following 7 tips for guidance as a college student in Chicago for your career path:
1. Be open-minded – Specifically, be open minded to new opportunities and possibly even a change in your major during your first year or two, or beyond, of college. Changing one’s major is far from uncommon. Even the most dead-set minds that enter college might change their minds – realizing that the career path they have chosen is not the one for them, or another circumstance arises. Being open to this change is important because college is where you start to hone your skills towards your career/major of choice. But through this process of learning and going to classes, you might realize that the work is boring, or that the field is not what you were initially imagining. Personally, I never in a million years thought that I would change my major from Biology/Pre-med. However, within the first 5 months of college, I realized that I was not as interested in the subject as I initially thought. I switched over to psychology, took a couple classes, and never looked back after that.
2. Talk to others at school/make friends – Whether you change your major or not, there might still be some struggles within your major and classwork that seem unexpected to you or anxiety-inducing. Talking to others around you and sharing your experiences can help you feel validated when you see others in a similar position to your own. You can gain insight into how others might be handling their own struggles. Or maybe you just need someone to connect to. This is a good opportunity to work on communication skills as well. Coming out of your shell will not only make it easier to talk to others around campus, but it can carry over to your career and professional life. Perhaps you have struggled with meeting new people in the past, and that has hindered your ability to get hired or find an internship. Or maybe you are comfortable in social situations, but not professionally, and can then gain insight and feedback from others you talk to about what they do to improve their communication skills in the workplace. More specifically, they might be able to give you pointers in regards to opportunities around Chicago. Opportunities such as internships, good companies to look into, connections, etc. Maintaining these friendships over the years to come can help keep the door open to more job openings and consistent feedback in the future.
3. Self-reflect – Self-reflection and self-analysis are just as important as getting feedback and validation from others. Being aware of how you present yourself to others is very important in terms of social and professional interaction. It affects the way you are given feedback and the way people act around you. There is no better time to experiment with the way you present yourself than in a large city like Chicago, and at any of the colleges and universities in it. There are so many people you will only interact with once in your life, and these interactions are very valuable for getting feedback on what your first impression is like. First impressions are very important for a career because this is the experience your potential future employer will get a glimpse of before anything else. If you present yourself in a way that comes off as intimidating, not confident, aggressive, or anything that might not bode well in a professional environment, then they might not hire you. This is why college is such a great place to get feedback on the way you present yourself to others. Part of the reason it’s so great is because there are hundreds, if not thousands, of others across your campus and across Chicago that are in a similar boat to you: trying to discover who they are, and experimenting with the most adaptive way to present themselves socially and professionally.
4. Create opportunity – Opportunities are not going to come knocking on the door. Effort needs to be put into finding career opportunities and jobs. In addition to making friends and connections, making professional connections and points of contact is key to expanding your options. Even going to something as simple as a career fair on campus puts your face and name out there. Seeing your face twice (assuming you pursue and get an interview) is already a major advantage over anyone else that might also be applying for that position. Not only that, but this is also another means of narrowing down your career/job choices because you are exposed to hundreds of other careers. Opportunities don’t always have to be in the form of a direct job offer or even an internship. Depending on the job and the field, you might be able to find an option to shadow someone in your field of interest to gain further insight or experiment with other fields. This is rarely an option that is offered to the public, so it may require you to make some calls and send some emails to set this up. This allows you to more freely experiment to find what matches well with your career wants and needs, without the added pressure of being evaluated on a performance.
5. Form bonds with your professors – This is often overlooked by students, even by those who have heard this piece of advice before. This bond/relationship you form with your professors can really go a long way. Visiting them during their office hours, whether it’s to talk and get to know them more or to simply get help with some class work, will help you stand out to them. They see so many faces throughout their day that it is impossible to expect them to remember every face and name. Having yourself stand out and showing that you are interested in learning will show the professor that you are a standout student. Then if you ever need references, letters of recommendation for higher education, or advice in the future for your career, your professor will be more willing to help you out because they can more clearly recall how you learn and work. Also, it is likely that your professors live in the Chicagoland area for at least a good portion of the year. They might be able to give you more specific pointers for the professional job market in Chicago, or can help point you to specific resources in the city that might help you along the way.
6. Finding the right balance – When discovering what careers might best suit your needs, it’s important to consider factors beyond salary and simple interest in the field. Factors such as work schedule and load, location, coworkers and bosses, commute, and specialization within the field all factor into job satisfaction. If you feel dragged down by one or more of these factors, it can have an adverse effect on you over time. You might want to consider if your job is sustainable so that you can effectively do your job to the best of your ability in the long run. Again, Chicago is a very big city, so even within itself there might be another opportunity that is better suited for you.
7. Explore Chicago – This leads into the final talking point, which is to explore the city. Exploring it – going out to parks or new restaurants, meeting new people, going to sporting events or street festivals, networking events – can help you discover new things about the city and about yourself. You might very well find a new career you had no idea even existed (it might even be an experience that is limited to Chicago!). You will meet more people – socially and professionally. You might even find a combination of both while going out. Chicago’s professional scene can fluctuate between professional and casual since a lot of professionals will go out for drinks after work as a team, go out for lunch, or even for bonding experiences like handball or volleyball leagues. Exploring the city can also help you decide on the type of work environment you might like the best. With the city always bustling, some people might find this difficult to navigate – whether that is in the literal sense, or more of an emotional/cognitive sense. You might discover that the suburbs, or even a rural environment might suit you better than an urban one. Even within the city, the different areas such as downtown or the various neighborhoods, all have different vibes to them. There are even multiple colleges and universities across Chicago that you can form other friendships or connections with; it doesn’t have to be limited to the area or campus you live on/near. You might even discover that another college or university actually fulfills your needs in a more satisfactory way and might end up transferring. There are so many options and discoveries you can make that are not just limited to what is mentioned here, so go give it a shot and do some exploring!
Above all else – be curious!
