Meet Miranda Glavin our Get Career Confident Lead Careers Advisor
This month we’re talking to Miranda Glavin, our Get Career Confident Lead Careers Advisor and Director of Elev8Careers, about the careers advice she wishes she’d been given, and the tactics you can use to inspire young people around you…
How did you get into careers advising Miranda?
When I was working in journalism and music I found myself gravitating towards organising work and training experiences for students. I enjoyed seeing young people blossom when given exciting opportunities and decided I wanted to focus on that area of my work.
In your experience what are young peoples’ most common careers concerns?
A lot of young people approach the process with trepidation. They know that the decisions they’re making are significant, so they can feel a weight of responsibility. But my message would be to enjoy careers discovery and to remember that ultimately it’s all about finding something you love doing.
Once you alter your mindset to see it in those terms it can be liberating and there are so many great resources out there to help young people discover future roles they’re passionate about. Our ‘SeetoBe’ video series on Get Career Confident is a great place to start…
What advice three pieces of advice would you give to your younger self now that you’re a careers advisor?
That’s a question I’ve often asked myself since I started this job! I’d tell myself:
- Say ‘Yes’! Don’t cut yourself off to opportunities just because they don’t immediately appeal, or because they’re outside your natural comfort zone. Too many of us get trapped in a little bubble by limiting ourselves. By saying ‘Yes’ you can make that bubble of opportunity so much bigger.
- Never make a decision based on fear. Don’t not go to university because you’re scared. Don’t not approach someone at the company of your dreams because you’re afraid of rejection. Your best decisions are always based around positive sentiments. So instead of avoiding what makes you scared, gravitate towards what makes you feel good and what you love doing.
- Explore. Don't settle for what’s right in front of you. If both of your parents are teachers, being a teacher might be the right career for you, but being a sustainability manager, barber or film producer might be too. You’ll only know what really inspires you if you take the time to explore all the options out there.
What advice would you give to teachers looking to inspire young people?
Don’t let the wealth of information out there scare you off. Lots of people I meet are worried about offering advice because they don’t feel qualified.
But when it comes to careers you don’t have to be the teacher in the traditional sense of sharing knowledge. Instead see your role as facilitating shared exploration of all the opportunities out there. That makes it so much more fun and so much more useful. Our website www.getcareerconfident.co.uk is a rich source of interactive resources, information and videos to explore together.
What is the most useful question to ask young people when it comes to careers?
The most common question I hear is ‘What do you want to do or be?’ but that can leave young people feeling lost if they haven’t got a clear answer. Asking open-ended questions like ‘what do you want the world to look like in the future?’ and ‘what do you want your role to be in it?” initiates conversations that are much more insightful.
By keeping questions broad you encourage young people to think creatively and to tune into what really matters to them and that’s the single most important thing to tune into when it comes to careers.