How Will Your Students Value the Career Guidance They Received in High School?
When it comes to a student’s future career, studying at an international school opens up a world of possibilities. A range of global universities is within reach, while exposure to teachers and families from different countries and backgrounds magnifies the number of pathways students have in front of them. However, it is not always the case that much guidance is provided to navigate such a plethora of opportunities. In fact, the schools that do provide career education may not always do it the best way. For those that tell students what to think, instead of how to think, a better approach would be to teach students about motivation and purpose, and to leverage mentors.
For those that tell students what to think, instead of how to think, a better approach would be to teach students about motivation and purpose, and to leverage mentors.
For some international schools the assumption is that students lack knowledge of 1) themselves and 2) the available options that fit them best. On this basis the approach used is to: improve students’ understanding of their own traits (including strengths and weaknesses, tastes and preferences), and then show them options that people with those traits seem to be better at. This approach is problematic on two levels. First, the process of self-discovery is done using a mix of psychometric assessments, personality tests, and the like. For all their allure (respondents do feel like learning about themselves), reassurance they provide (‘this is why I am messy — I am a P, not a J!’), and comfort of solidarity (‘I am part of a “type”; it’s not just me’), research has moved on from personality tests. They are not quite horoscopes, but they are far from being rooted in science (Duggan, 2013).
Secondly, showing students opportunities that are available today might not be that helpful. Vast databases exist to help high school students navigate all types of jobs. It is not everything on earth, but it is enough to be just noise (‘do you like biology? there are 100 jobs you can do’). Worse still, these databases show jobs that exist today — not the ones that students will find once they graduate from their bachelors, masters or doctorate degrees. Since the early 2000s, the internet revolution has created entire new industries; with web 3, users’ control of data using blockchain is introducing yet another wave of new consumer behaviors and markets (NFTs are just one example); with the emergence of the metaverse (still a vision today more than a reality), who can predict what will be next?
A better way to help students navigate the world of careers is to start with a framework. Tactics are important — students need help with drafting their first ever resume, or researching internship options. However, excellent teachers and counselors know that if students ask them what to do, especially when it comes to the complex and uncertain field of careers, they should not answer the question directly. Instead, they should offer a theoretical model (to help them think), and show comparisons (to help them put the theory into practice) so that students themselves can answer the question. This way, students discover more meaningful and relevant future selves and possibilities than teachers and counselors could have done.
A framework around motivation and purpose
In my decade-long experience as a people manager, there is one theoretical framework that I found consistently true: Herzberg’s theory of motivation (1987). Its central tenet is that the drivers of motivation at work (the ‘motivators’) are separate and distinct from the drivers of dissatisfaction (‘hygiene factors’). The presence of hygiene factors, such as money or working conditions, is enough to stop dissatisfaction from occurring, but more of it won’t motivate. True motivation comes from the work itself, the opportunity to learn, growth in responsibilities, the ability to impact others, and to be recognized for achievements. So the next time a student asks for ‘careers that will make lots of money’, shift the conversation to what really matters.
Another, slightly more complex, framework that is worth offering students embarking on career exploration revolves around the concept of purpose. Here is the context: students’ careers are the result of the various initiatives they undertake. More than big, pivotal decisions, these are made of hundreds of everyday decisions about where they spend their focus, talent, time, and finances. This process can follow an overall strategy, but by nature will be opportunistic, exploiting chances as they arise. However, if you have no guiding principle, it will be hard to maintain the route you had in mind and end up in a happy place.
An example might help. Say a student wants to be a doctor, so she prioritizes entering medical school. As she prepares for it however, she realizes that public health policy is really what she wants to be doing, instead of being a medical doctor. Or perhaps by taking a part-time job to get some money as she prepares for the MCAT, she ends up working in sales at a pharma company and really enjoys it. The question here is — what was her original purpose? Helping humanity, as doctors or epidemiologists would? Or fulfillment by smashing targets and getting results that impact others quickly, as a sales job would allow for? Whatever it was, the point is that as she is living her life, she wants to make sure she is heading in a direction that fulfills her as a person. Having a conversation about purpose and values early on can be of huge significance. There are plenty of resources on this out there — from books to card games and group exercises — that teachers and counselors can adopt to propel students to reflect about this.
Conversations with mentors have to be real and genuine. No pre-recorded answers to stale questions, no short videos around a ‘day in the life’.
After presenting the theory, students need to be shown some ‘case studies’. Here is where mentors come in. Mentors are professionals, ideally alumni or graduates of other international schools, early in their careers (in their first or second job at most). Having recently graduated from university, they are close enough to high school students to ensure relatability, but have enough ‘life’ experience to be relevant. Conversations with mentors have to be real and genuine. No pre-recorded answers to stale questions, no short videos around a ‘day in the life’. Through these interactions (in person or online; one-on-one or in groups), students interpret the decisions the mentors have made through the lenses of the theories, before turning those lenses on themselves. ‘Do I want to impact humanity? Or explore the world? Or support my family? Hmm, what that one mentor said really resonated with me — I would never have thought that was possible’.
Action versus planning
Across many conversations with school owners, school heads or college counselors, I have noticed steady interest in career education over the past few years. However, interest often wanes in the face of obstacles (such as the pandemic, low budgets, new hires, changing priorities) that lead to postponed decisions, extended timelines, and new initiatives being put on hold.
It is never the perfect time to start something — especially something as daunting as educating students about careers (don’t we all struggle with our own at times?).
It is never the perfect time to start something — especially something as daunting as educating students about careers (don’t we all struggle with our own at times?). However, the only way forward is to act: less planning, and more doing. Start having students read about the theories of motivation and purpose, and facilitate conversations about these topics to stimulate further reflection. Partner with a company specialized in helping international schools to engage mentors, or start having alumni and guest speakers come to your school, virtually or in person, to have them share their experiences.
Make those ‘theory’ sessions and mentor exchanges a regular part of school life, not one-off events, even if they are not contained in a watertight curriculum. You never know what nuggets of inspiration students will get from which sessions or mentors. What you will know is that teaching students how to think, and presenting them with interactive opportunities to test their ideas and assumptions, is the best way to get them closer to finding the best answer for themselves.
Duggan W (2013) Strategic Intuition: The Creative Spark in Human Achievement.New York: Columbia Business School Publishing.
Herzberg F (1987) One more time: How do you motivate employees? Harvard Business Review. 65(5): 109–120