You're Always On: Your Career Development Cycle | Greg Shirley | TEDxUTA

Summary

Highlights

• Dr. Greg Shirley is passionate about helping individuals navigate their career pathways. 🎓
• He shares his personal story where ignoring career services led to extended college years and more student debt. 💸
• Exploration is the first step in the career cycle, where new interests are discovered. 🔍
• Engagement involves networking and learning from others in desired fields to gain insights. 🔗
• Experience means actively trying out careers through internships or shadowing to test the waters. 🔬
• Embarking on a new career challenge brings positive anxiety but is essential for development. 🌟
• Giving back to the community by mentoring is a crucial part of career development. 🤲

Key Takeaways

• Career development is an ongoing cycle that involves continuous exploration, engagement, and experience. 🔄
• Exploration can be both exciting and daunting, especially during career transitions, but it's crucial for growth. 🌱
• Engaging in new opportunities and networking is essential for uncovering career interests and opportunities. 🤝
• Practical experiences, like internships or job shadowing, help determine if a career truly fits your passions and skills. 👔
• Embarking on a new career path can be scary, but with the right mindset, it leads to personal and professional growth. 🚀

Overview

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction and Speaker Background Dr. Greg Shirley, speaking at the Lucky One Career Development Center at UT Arlington, introduces himself and humorously acknowledges his height.
• 00:30 - 02:30: Career Development Cycle and Personal Stories The chapter discusses the idea of always being 'on' in your professional life, whether you're a young or seasoned professional. It emphasizes the continuous process of exploring new opportunities, engaging with different experiences, and elevating one's career. The speaker reflects on their career in higher education and career development, and introduces the concept of 'Mavericks and misfits', implying a need for individuality and uniqueness in professional growth.
• 02:00 - 03:30: Exploration Phase The chapter titled 'Exploration Phase' is a reflective account from a person working in a Career Development Center who shares their personal experience of not utilizing career guidance resources during their undergraduate years. This led them to change majors and transfer schools, ultimately extending their college tenure by two years, which increased their student loans. The speaker often wonders if their life might have been different had they sought career advice earlier. However, they have come to terms with the fact that they are now where they need to be professionally.
• 03:30 - 05:30: Engagement Phase The chapter discusses the career development cycle and encourages readers to consistently think about new career opportunities, including 'encore careers' and first major job opportunities post-graduation. It emphasizes the importance of being engaged in one's career development as an ongoing life process.
• 05:30 - 07:30: Experience Phase The chapter titled 'Experience Phase' discusses the process of exploring new opportunities, which can be sparked by exposure to new ideas during one's undergraduate career or as a mid-level manager. This exploration phase involves active research, engaging with knowledgeable individuals, and connecting with relevant associations to gain deeper insights. The exploration phase is a critical step in broadening one's horizons and gaining new experiences.
• 10:00 - 12:00: Embarking on New Opportunities The chapter 'Embarking on New Opportunities' explores the challenges and hesitations individuals face when considering a career switch, especially in mid-career. It highlights the comfort found in routine and the fear of the unknown when stepping out to explore new possibilities.
• 14:00 - 16:30: Giving Back and Final Advice The chapter emphasizes the importance of exploring new ideas, opportunities, and activities to learn and grow. It highlights the potential to discover new personal abilities and ways to serve others. The narrative encourages engaging in activities that align with one's future aspirations, such as joining professional associations or conducting informational interviews.
• 16:00 - 18:00: Conclusion and Final Remarks In the concluding chapter, the focus is on engaging with enthusiastic individuals to better understand diverse professions. The chapter emphasizes the importance of conducting informational interviews, suggesting that asking professionals for a brief chat about their work can provide valuable insights. The narrative highlights the infectious nature of genuine passion and how those who are truly dedicated to their careers are eager to share their experiences and knowledge. It advocates for networking by introducing individuals with shared interests, stressing how promoting connections between passionate individuals can create opportunities and broaden understanding of various career paths.

You're Always On: Your Career Development Cycle | Greg Shirley | TEDxUTA Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 you know and I could actually walk all the way under this and the benefits of being short all right well as Ashford said thank you so much I'm dr. Greg Shirley I am at the Lucky One Career Development Center right here at UT Arlington right across this actual
• 00:30 - 01:00 wall and so what I want to spend some time talking to you about today is you always being on and you know being that either young professional or seasonal professional you're always going to be that individual that is always going to be exploring engaging experiencing embarking and elevating into new opportunities and so when I think about my career my tenure working in higher education and career development the number two comes to mind and I think about the number two because as I say as Mavericks and misfits I'm that misfit so
• 01:00 - 01:30 I work in the Career Development Center but I never used my Career Development Center when I was an undergrad and so because of that I ended up transferring changing majors and I extended my time in college by two extra years that means I have two extra years and student loans to pay off and so that always comes into my mind and in my head of you know if I would have known then what I know now would I consult with Ashford and other students about would my life be different however I'm where I need to be
• 01:30 - 02:00 right now because if not I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be able to come to you tonight to talk about your career development cycle and get you constantly thinking about new opportunities encore careers your first big boy a big girl opportunity outside of graduation so we want to spend a little time talking about that so you're always on your career development cycle this is your life so the first thing that you oftentimes will want to do is you will
• 02:00 - 02:30 want to go ahead and explore new opportunities and so the exploration of those new opportunities could be as simple as you being exposed to something in your undergraduate career or being exposed to something as a mid-level manager and you want to know more about it so you do your active research you try to figure out individuals that you're able to speak to and talk to as well maybe you find you know different associations or things that will get you exposed to that but that exploration phase tends to come at a
• 02:30 - 03:00 crossroads or there's a spark that's set off and it warrants you to want to find out more information that's out there it could be a very scary time you know I think for a lot of individuals the exploration phase particularly when they're in mid-career or looking to switch careers is something that they're hesitant about because they're used to that rhythm they're used to the same practical things day in and day out because we find safety to be comfortable we find comfort in the same things day
• 03:00 - 03:30 in and day out however look at those ideas and look at those opportunities to learn something new about yourself to develop new things that you're possibly able to do as well and figure out new areas where you can be of service to others so then the next thing that you'll want to consider doing is actually engaging in activities that are going to get you closer to what it is you want to do next so maybe it's joining a new professional Association maybe it's conducting informational
• 03:30 - 04:00 interviews with individuals so you'll be able to say you know what I want to know more about what it is that you do maybe I can talk to you for about 10 to 15 minutes and you can give me some light on what it is that you do and it's always very interesting when you find somebody that is really passionate about what it is they want to do they won't shut up talking about it like if you know that you want to be a career consultant that you tell me you want to be a career consult Auk to you all day and I will introduce you to other people and I email other people and I tell other people hey this person wants to do
• 04:00 - 04:30 this and then I'll follow up with you two weeks and probably kind of become your stalker because you know we got to grow our own in career development however on the other end if you talk to individuals and they have very few things to say that says a lot silence speaks volumes and so it could be maybe you don't want to go into that occupation or that career field anymore maybe you want to find somebody else who's doing that same thing that you're going to be interested in but always be open to engaging in those new
• 04:30 - 05:00 opportunities it's like the saying goes the stranger is just a friend you haven't met yet so talk to everyone because you don't know who knows somebody that may be able to help you and oftentimes it's those indirect connections that are going to be much more powerful than the direct connections now don't get me wrong the direct connections are great however if the indirect connections have a little bit more investment then they'll be able to assist you as well and that person that's in between you and that indirect connection could be a good individual
• 05:00 - 05:30 who will be able to put their reputation out there to say you know what I really trust this individual I want to go ahead and introduce you to them and so that's already laying the foundation and the groundwork and then at this time you also still want to go ahead and be engaging in those research and exploratory opportunities as well you know you can never have too much information at one given time especially if you're trying to make a life-changing or career decision you know it's like my academic advisor used to say we'll get
• 05:30 - 06:00 you to the ballpark we just got to help you find your seat and so in the engagement experience that's gonna be that opportunity for you to give a little bit closer to that seat and so then you've got the experience you'll face so that experiencial phase could still be continuing having informational interviews maybe if you're still in undergrad you can go ahead and seek out Job Shadow opportunities you can seek out internships just to have a little bit of skin in the game and what I really like about those job shadowing those internship opportunities is yes
• 06:00 - 06:30 you're making an investment but it might not be a lifelong investment because you'll be able to go in there and I tell students all the time take the rose-colored glasses off you know go in there full force eyes open senses ready look at everything that you do want to do look at the things that you may have to engage in that you might not be passionate about because those are gonna be red flags you know my director loli Martinez crane says that all the time it's about culture and about fit so experience is gonna be that time where
• 06:30 - 07:00 you identify that culture you identify that fit you know don't let your parents tell you oh this is what you need to do because ultimately you're gonna be the one reporting to that occupation 8:00 to 5:00 Monday through Friday a minimum of 40 hours a week so if it does not align with what it is you value what you're interested in the personality that you have the skills that you either possessed want to utilize or the skills you want to attain it's probably not gonna be a great fit for you and you know what that's okay everything is not for
• 07:00 - 07:30 everyone however we do not experience it we're not able to say that and so nothing ventured nothing gained so use that experience or opportunity if you're an undergrad to do that if you're not an undergrad maybe you're a mid-level or a seasoned professional find civic opportunities that you can get involved in as well that will allow you to end directly or even directly maybe on weekends maybe after work I know it sounds stressful because I'm tired now and this after work but here I am uh-huh that will allow you to go ahead
• 07:30 - 08:00 and have those opportunities as well and while you're doing all of that that's helping once again build your network you're exploring other opportunities you're engaging in new relationships by building those up so you're really setting that foundation and reaching back through those other steps to where you'll be able to go ahead and make a much more sound decision as well I had a case in point where I had a young lady at the previous institution that I was working at and she told me she just came into my office one day she said dr.
• 08:00 - 08:30 Shirley I said yes I want to do CSI I'm like okay well what does that mean exactly you want to be an actor what elaborate she said no you know on the TV show I want to look at the body and solve the crime in an hour and have a gun that looks awesome I'm like okay well I don't think it's gonna exactly be like that but okay let's go ahead and play this game so she was a biology major so what we did was we let
• 08:30 - 09:00 her shadow and arrange that opportunity at the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office and so she was able to go in and see autopsies and things like that so I'm I'm in my office you know doing my work tapping on my keys answering phones and emails and stuff like that get a phone call like hello there's like it's this great Shirley with you know at the University I was working at at the time I say yeah well this is dr. so-and-so from the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office do you have a student named X Y Z out
• 09:00 - 09:30 like oh man what happened did she get arrested oh geez and so I was like yes what's she shadowing with us today yes okay well we were doing an autopsy and we were exhume examining the body and she threw up and she passed out on the floor so we sent her home so I was like oh man oh I hope she sought that waiver um so she got back and so I didn't say anything
• 09:30 - 10:00 whatsoever so I just said how was your experience I didn't like it so do you say want to do CSI do you want to be a medical examiner oh no I changed my major to accounting and so now she's a CPA and she loves it and so if she had not gone through that experience she would not have known so before you throw up and pass out on somebody's table or floor go through the experience first why you still have that time and that investment so the last thing what not necessarily the last
• 10:00 - 10:30 thing but this is going to be the embarking so you've had the experience you've made the engagement with individuals you've done all your exploration now it's time to embark on that new opportunity which can be equally as scary particularly if you're doing a 180 but I want you to know that the embarking that anxiety that you're feeling is a positive anxiety it's a good anxiety you know you're making that positive next step in that right move
• 10:30 - 11:00 for you and you know just because you may have that fear of uncertainty of the unknown does not mean that you're not going to excel in what it is you want to do and so as you're embarking just remember the individuals that helped you get to this point now and remember why you did it and what the reasoning behind it and the rationale was because you wanted to change some things in your life you wanted to challenge and to push yourself you know your career development is going to be cyclical you're gonna revisit this many times you know if
• 11:00 - 11:30 you're a millennial in the room you're going to change your career your occupation multiple times throughout your lifetime and that's okay don't let anybody tell you otherwise because ultimately once again it's going to be about that fit and hopefully you're able to elevate and give back to the that are coming after you so maybe it's individualist that you can mentor maybe it's individuals that were in student organizations that you were in maybe its current students we're here at UTA that
• 11:30 - 12:00 you can go ahead and mentor as an alum you know to give them that real-world perspective I as a career consultant can tell you a lot of things your parents can tell you a lot of things your friends can tell you a lot of things however there's nothing like having the experience of somebody doing what it is you want to do to really let you know the reality of it and so you just have to be open to giving back to those individuals as well they were in the same situation that you are in they're in that right now and ultimately what
• 12:00 - 12:30 are we if not individuals that want to you know reach back while we're climbing I tell people all the time I'm not gonna be doing this for the rest of my life I need somebody that I can trust that it's gonna be competent to go ahead and replace me you know I want to retire I want to go to Florida you know and be on the beach and hang out drink your pina coladas oh so what are your next steps it's gonna really depend on who you are where you're at right now you know
• 12:30 - 13:00 shameless plug if you are a current student at UT Arlington come see us at the Career Development Center we'd be more than happy to talk to you we would be more than happy to assist you you pay for it after student services fees so come utilize us if you are an alum or if you are a member of the community identify those opportunities that we'll be able to be utilized for you to take that next step and take that challenge you know and you know really just think about what opportunities are already on the table for you that you may not have
• 13:00 - 13:30 already explored or even considered you know maybe we will change some lives in here tonight maybe some people will go right out and say you know what I'm gonna get into another career or doing an internship or do a job shadow don't quit your job if you don't already have one lined up though please don't do that my mom used to say that don't quit till you fossum til you got something so I'm gonna give you that same advice and so really that's my time thank you so much ladies and gentlemen [Applause]