It’s November! Joyce’s Career Tip of the Week

I looked at calendar today and realized that November begins this week. Personally, I am amazed that we are so near the end of 2017. Of even greater concern to college students is that the end of the semester and finals are only about a month away! This season has the potential to become incredibly stressful.

A frequent theme in my columns is that not all of the lessons learned and skills developed in college happen in the classroom. Opportunities to develop and hone those critical interpersonal and life-management skills are everywhere. I would like you to take a few minutes to look over your schedule from today until the end of the semester and reflect on the following questions.

• What are the classes or other responsibilities that have the highest priority?
• Have you been realistic in determining the amount of time needed for various assignments and projects?
• Do you need to limit or eliminate anything from your schedule until the semester is over?
• Are you getting enough sleep?
• Are you eating healthy meals?
• Have you included any time for activities that help you to relax and recharge? (Exercise, hanging out with friends, whatever works best for you.)
• Have you identified any areas where you are uncertain of a solution?

Remember: there are many (human) resources in the Fulton Schools and ASU who can help you — peer mentors, peer career/student success coaches, academic advisers, faculty and other professional staff. You are part of the Fulton Schools Family and all of us are committed to your success. I have often said that career planning and job seeking are not solo sports, but team sports — and the bigger team you have, the better it will be!

Joyce Donahue is a career counselor in the Fulton Schools Career Center. She is a nationally certified career counselor and holds Master Career Counselor membership status in the National Career Development Association.