the school system sucks: non-existent career prep

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, an 18 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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btw, feel free to reply with topic ideas you want me to write about for future posts.

onto today’s topic: non-existent career prep 💼

you probably had to craft your first resume alone after searching up “resume template for high school student” a dozen times.

probably had no idea what to include in it or how to structure it.

what the hell is a cover letter?

how do i source different jobs i want to apply to?

am i allowed to negotiate my offer? 💰️ 

to get answers to these questions we spend countless hours scraping the internet, watching youtube videos with clickbait “this resume template got me a 100 figure job straight out of college” titles, and relying on tiktok experts for their advice.

there is no formal preparation for a career in schools. yes, there might be a random workshop or two throughout the school year, but that doesn’t include any follow-up, deeming it pretty ineffective.

we are forced to balance course load along with applying to hundreds of jobs, experimenting with resume formats and taking hit after hit on our self-esteem with little to no guidance on career prep in schools. 🏫 

it’s honestly pretty ridiculous how schools preach that their courses are helping students get ready for the world, but if any of that knowledge is useful, it’s only once we get a job or start something of our own.

no course or school structure is preparing students for the steps in between: securing that job, or starting a business of your own. that’s exactly the part most people get stuck on and find it hard to overcome.

consistent mentorship and iteration is needed to make real progress is preparing for a career, not just a few tips and tricks thrown your way.

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