*Check in with their cores. Young people must identify their core values, or what is important to them and what they want to be remembered for.
*Know their styles. Young people must identify their goals and interests to find organizations with the right cultural fit. They can do this by using culture assessment tools and by thinking about how they work with others or what types of work environments they prefer.
*Consider what is holding them back. Young people must decide how important things like family expectations, financial compensation, personal development, and professional development are to them. Then, they must weigh the pros and cons of pursuing compassionate careers.
*Find their true north. Young people can use their childhood dreams to understand who or what has motivated them to pursue compassionate careers. Additionally, they can think about who their role models are, what their communities care about, the misfortunes they have faced, or anything else that may have sparked their interests.
*Think about their concerns. Young people must think about what global challenges they cannot tolerate and what realistic changes they can make to address those concerns. They should then consider which types of cause-driven organizations to join forces with.
*Explore their options. Young people should use their resources to discover different types of compassionate career opportunities. Resources include local community foundations, state nonprofit associations, university career centers, and area chambers of commerce. They should also identify their knowledge and skill levels and determine how to apply those to the topics that most excite them.
*Navigate forward. Once young people have landed their jobs, they must tap into their existing peer-networking systems, get involved in their communities, and keep gaining new knowledge and skills to stay relevant and current. They should also find mentors and coaches who can guide them.
*Consider a venture. Once young people have gained enough experience, built financial foundations, and developed great ideas, they should consider going out on their own. Before starting out, though, they must learn about the basics of startup ventures, their competition, their organizational requirements, and funding opportunities. They must also seriously think about whether they have the patience, resilience, grit, confidence, and leadership capabilities to start their own ventures.
*Contemplate crossing borders. Before young people go global with their compassionate careers, they must honestly assess the extent of their desires. They must think about their own comfort zones, their levels of international awareness, and their family commitments. Young people who do decide to work internationally should take advantage of local programs for foreigners, including English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, local resettlement agencies, and expatriate clubs.
*Know their gift. Young people should ask themselves a few key questions as they pursue compassionate careers: Who are their heroes? What do they hope to gain by exploring compassionate careers? What gifts do they have to offer? What do they need to do in life to be fulfilled?
Today’s young people have the gifts and passions to make the world a better place. By getting started down the path toward compassionate careers, they can learn to make a living by making a difference.
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