edtechdev/chatbotfiles · Datasets at Hugging Face

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you’re a great candidate. Either way, gathering such letters or having a few people whom you can ask for them
will put you in a better position. Note that internships, especially competitive ones, may also require letters of
recommendation.

Figure 12.11 When you ask someone to write you a letter of recommendation, be prepared to share information about your goals,
your accomplishments, and why you are asking the person in particular. Don’t assume that they know which strengths or experience
of yours to highlight. (Credit: US Embassy Jerusalem / Flickr / Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC-BY 2.0))

Whom to ask for a letter? They’re usually written by instructors, department chairs, club advisors, managers,
coaches, and others with whom you’ve had a good relationship. Maybe it’s someone who taught two or three
of your courses, or someone you helped in a volunteer or work-study capacity.
Just by taking the time to write the letter, a faculty member is sending a message: “The person about whom I’m
writing impressed me.” So the first step is to make a good impression on the person you’re asking to write a
letter. You may do this in many ways. Getting a good grade in the class is important, but a faculty member may
be more impressed by your perseverance, improvement over time, or creativity in meeting challenges.
How to ask? Be straightforward and direct. The appeal is best made in person, but be prepared for the person
you’re asking to ask for some time to make the decision. People who get frequent requests may have a policy
or even a form to fill out. They may ask you to provide more information about yourself so that they can write
an original letter. If they do so, be thorough but prompt—you don’t want to keep them waiting. And if you have
a deadline, tell them.

Access for free at openstax.org

12.2 • Your Map to Success: The Career Planning Cycle

When to ask? If you encounter a faculty member early in your college career who you think would be the best
person to write a letter for you, ask them what they think toward the end of your course or soon after. They
may feel it’s too early or not specific enough to simply hand you a general letter at that time. If so, ask if you
can come back when you are applying to internships, jobs, or grad schools.
If you wait until you’re applying or you’re about to graduate, you may have a more specific subject or reason
for a letter. Be sure to tell the writer where you’re applying and what type of career you’re going into, so they
can tailor the recommendation to that area.
Thank-you notes. They wrote you a letter, so you should write them one in return. A brief and personal thankyou note is appropriate and necessary.

Steps to Success
“Things change—circumstances change. Learn to adapt. Adjust your efforts and yourself to
what is presented to you so you can respond accordingly. Never see change as a threat—do not
get intimidated by it. Change can be an opportunity to learn, to grow, to evolve, and to become
a better person.”
6

―Rodolfo Costa

Preparing for Change and Being Open to Opportunities
Earlier in this text, we discussed managing change, adapting to the unexpected, and handling setbacks. These
are critical skills that, while difficult during the process, ultimately build a better—and more employable—you.
While you can’t prepare for every obstacle or surprise, you can be certain that you’ll encounter them.
You may go through all of college, and even high school, with one job in mind. You may apply early to a
specific program, successfully complete all the requirements, and set yourself on a certain career path. And
then something may change.

Figure 12.12 Career fairs are important before (and sometimes after) you graduate, both to explore opportunities and to make
actual connections that can lead to a position. Be prepared before you go―with your resume, portfolio, a plan, and questions to ask.
Focus on the best opportunities, but be very open to learning about industries or companies you may not have considered. (Credit:
COD Newsroom / Flickr / Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC-BY 2.0))

As described above, changes in your interests or goals are a natural part of developing your career; they’re
nothing to be ashamed of. Most college students change majors several times. Even once they graduate, many
people find themselves enjoying careers they didn’t envision. Ask the people around you, and many will share
stories about how they took a meandering or circuitous path to their profession. Some people end up in jobs
6 Costa, Robert. Advice My Parents Gave Me: Aand Other Lessons I Learned from My Mistakes. 2011.

393

394

12 • Planning for Your Future

or companies that they didn’t know existed when they started school.
What’s most important is that you build on your successes and failures, consider all your experiences, and
pursue your purpose and overarching personal goals. For example, if you want to become a police officer but
cannot complete all of the degree requirements on time, taking a job as a security officer or even an unrelated
job in the meantime might lead to a great deal of satisfaction and set you on a different path. If, after that, you
still want to pursue law enforcement, you can build it into your plan—managing your priorities, gaining the
required experience and credentials, and applying for jobs closer to your chosen career.
This early in your college experience, you shouldn’t be too worried about how to conduct job interviews or
explain employment gaps or changing directions. However, you may need or want to explain the thinking
behind your future plans to academic advisors, internship managers, your peers, and your family. You should
feel free to do so openly, but you’ll probably be better prepared if you revisit some of the ideas discussed
earlier in this chapter. Consider how a shift in your plans, whether slight or significant, reflects who you are
now and who you hope to be in the future. Knowing yourself as an emerging and new professional by
discovering and developing your interests, skills, values, personality, and strengths is something that everyone
should do on an ongoing basis throughout their lives. Explore job opportunities or career paths available to
people in your new major or discipline area. Think about whether you need to handle any financial impacts,
such as paying for additional education or delaying employment.
Employers, for their part, are often unfazed by changes or even mistakes. Remember, when they ask about
your greatest weakness or failure, they want to hear something genuine. Just like the alumni you meet or the
faculty you’re asking for recommendations, interviewers may be more impressed by how and what you’ve
learned rather than how you followed a preplanned path. Remember, most jobs are a continuous thread of
situations to think through, information to analyze, and problems to solve. Your ability to solve your own
problems, and reflect and discuss them later, will show that you’re ready to do the same for an employer.

12.3 Where Can You Go from Here?
Estimated completion time: 7 minutes.
Hopefully you’ve noticed that we’ve ended each chapter of this book with a subsection called “Where Do You
Go from Here?” In many of those cases, the story or reflection was aimed at giving you some ideas about how
you could apply the topics and skills from that chapter to college and your career. Now we’re at the last
chapter, and the question is even more personal and a little different: Where can you go? Where do you want
to go? And, perhaps more importantly, why?
The provided ideas and methods regarding choosing your career are proven winners. Learning about yourself,

you’re a great candidate. Either way, gathering such letters or having a few people whom you can ask for them

will put you in a better position. Note that internships, especially competitive ones, may also require letters of

recommendation.

Figure 12.11 When you ask someone to write you a letter of recommendation, be prepared to share information about your goals,

your accomplishments, and why you are asking the person in particular. Don’t assume that they know which strengths or experience

of yours to highlight. (Credit: US Embassy Jerusalem / Flickr / Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC-BY 2.0))

Whom to ask for a letter? They’re usually written by instructors, department chairs, club advisors, managers,

coaches, and others with whom you’ve had a good relationship. Maybe it’s someone who taught two or three

of your courses, or someone you helped in a volunteer or work-study capacity.

Just by taking the time to write the letter, a faculty member is sending a message: “The person about whom I’m

writing impressed me.” So the first step is to make a good impression on the person you’re asking to write a

letter. You may do this in many ways. Getting a good grade in the class is important, but a faculty member may

be more impressed by your perseverance, improvement over time, or creativity in meeting challenges.

How to ask? Be straightforward and direct. The appeal is best made in person, but be prepared for the person

you’re asking to ask for some time to make the decision. People who get frequent requests may have a policy

or even a form to fill out. They may ask you to provide more information about yourself so that they can write

an original letter. If they do so, be thorough but prompt—you don’t want to keep them waiting. And if you have

a deadline, tell them.

Access for free at openstax.org

12.2 • Your Map to Success: The Career Planning Cycle

When to ask? If you encounter a faculty member early in your college career who you think would be the best

person to write a letter for you, ask them what they think toward the end of your course or soon after. They

may feel it’s too early or not specific enough to simply hand you a general letter at that time. If so, ask if you

can come back when you are applying to internships, jobs, or grad schools.

If you wait until you’re applying or you’re about to graduate, you may have a more specific subject or reason

for a letter. Be sure to tell the writer where you’re applying and what type of career you’re going into, so they

can tailor the recommendation to that area.

Thank-you notes. They wrote you a letter, so you should write them one in return. A brief and personal thankyou note is appropriate and necessary.

Steps to Success

“Things change—circumstances change. Learn to adapt. Adjust your efforts and yourself to

what is presented to you so you can respond accordingly. Never see change as a threat—do not

get intimidated by it. Change can be an opportunity to learn, to grow, to evolve, and to become

a better person.”

6

―Rodolfo Costa

Preparing for Change and Being Open to Opportunities

Earlier in this text, we discussed managing change, adapting to the unexpected, and handling setbacks. These

are critical skills that, while difficult during the process, ultimately build a better—and more employable—you.

While you can’t prepare for every obstacle or surprise, you can be certain that you’ll encounter them.

You may go through all of college, and even high school, with one job in mind. You may apply early to a

specific program, successfully complete all the requirements, and set yourself on a certain career path. And

then something may change.

Figure 12.12 Career fairs are important before (and sometimes after) you graduate, both to explore opportunities and to make

actual connections that can lead to a position. Be prepared before you go―with your resume, portfolio, a plan, and questions to ask.

Focus on the best opportunities, but be very open to learning about industries or companies you may not have considered. (Credit:

COD Newsroom / Flickr / Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC-BY 2.0))

As described above, changes in your interests or goals are a natural part of developing your career; they’re

nothing to be ashamed of. Most college students change majors several times. Even once they graduate, many

people find themselves enjoying careers they didn’t envision. Ask the people around you, and many will share

stories about how they took a meandering or circuitous path to their profession. Some people end up in jobs

6 Costa, Robert. Advice My Parents Gave Me: Aand Other Lessons I Learned from My Mistakes. 2011.

393

394

12 • Planning for Your Future

or companies that they didn’t know existed when they started school.

What’s most important is that you build on your successes and failures, consider all your experiences, and

pursue your purpose and overarching personal goals. For example, if you want to become a police officer but

cannot complete all of the degree requirements on time, taking a job as a security officer or even an unrelated

job in the meantime might lead to a great deal of satisfaction and set you on a different path. If, after that, you

still want to pursue law enforcement, you can build it into your plan—managing your priorities, gaining the

required experience and credentials, and applying for jobs closer to your chosen career.

This early in your college experience, you shouldn’t be too worried about how to conduct job interviews or

explain employment gaps or changing directions. However, you may need or want to explain the thinking

behind your future plans to academic advisors, internship managers, your peers, and your family. You should

feel free to do so openly, but you’ll probably be better prepared if you revisit some of the ideas discussed

earlier in this chapter. Consider how a shift in your plans, whether slight or significant, reflects who you are

now and who you hope to be in the future. Knowing yourself as an emerging and new professional by

discovering and developing your interests, skills, values, personality, and strengths is something that everyone

should do on an ongoing basis throughout their lives. Explore job opportunities or career paths available to

people in your new major or discipline area. Think about whether you need to handle any financial impacts,

such as paying for additional education or delaying employment.

Employers, for their part, are often unfazed by changes or even mistakes. Remember, when they ask about

your greatest weakness or failure, they want to hear something genuine. Just like the alumni you meet or the

faculty you’re asking for recommendations, interviewers may be more impressed by how and what you’ve

learned rather than how you followed a preplanned path. Remember, most jobs are a continuous thread of

situations to think through, information to analyze, and problems to solve. Your ability to solve your own

problems, and reflect and discuss them later, will show that you’re ready to do the same for an employer.

12.3 Where Can You Go from Here?

Estimated completion time: 7 minutes.

Hopefully you’ve noticed that we’ve ended each chapter of this book with a subsection called “Where Do You

Go from Here?” In many of those cases, the story or reflection was aimed at giving you some ideas about how

you could apply the topics and skills from that chapter to college and your career. Now we’re at the last

chapter, and the question is even more personal and a little different: Where can you go? Where do you want

to go? And, perhaps more importantly, why?

The provided ideas and methods regarding choosing your career are proven winners. Learning about yourself,