How can students overcome career-related anxiety and stress?

In my experience, in a variety of roles including the Head of Careers and SENCO, a lot of anxiety for students comes from their parents. My daughter works in a private school as a year one teacher and is often concerned by the extreme pushiness from parents to keep providing additional learning materials, despite the fact they have been told clearly that their child is doing well academically. These children are 5, they work hard at school, let them enjoy their down time and spend time having fun. Another main source of anxiety is where parents impose their career choice onto their child. I've seen this many times, a child who is aspiring to be something that they have no interest in and may not have the academic ability either.

I absolutely would encourage seeking support. Mental health is important and as an ex teacher and now an EMCC Certified coach, I work with young people who are uncertain about what career aligns with their values and strengths. The academic path isn't for everyone, there are other routes such as vocational or apprenticeships (including degree level) that may be more suitable. Counselling is suitable if a student is experiencing extreme stress but coaching is a way of avoiding the anxiety in the first place! Coaching is still relatively unknown, but it is truly transformational and helps with gaining confidence, clarity and the skills to succeed in their career and improve their resilience, assertiveness and overall success.

A large driver of career-related stress for students, in my opinion, is the uncertainty of what the future holds. This can be the immediate future (How do I get my first job with little to no experience?) to mid (What if I don't like my career choice? Can I change?) to longer term (Will I be able to afford to raise a family and retire?). All valid questions. Hiring a professional can help provide a lot of much needed perspective and clarity around what is possible, what is 'normal', and how to manage a career and, just as importantly, ones thoughts around it all that can be very consuming. Professionals will be objective and will listen carefully to find the underlying issues driving the stress.

LinkedIn is a great platform for networking and there are so many Facebook communities which are worth joining. I'm working with 2 clients currently, both of whom are looking at apprenticeships. They have signed to to a variety of Facebook groups where they can access the knowledge they require as well as being able to advertise themselves and seek relevant opportunities. I'm a strong advocate of finding work experience. This is the best way of making connections and gaining expertise in your chosen field. It helps with your cv, many companies want experience, but it's hard to gain experience if nobody will give you a chance. Work experience and volunteering is unpaid, but believe me, you'll get many other worthwhile benefits!

In many schools, career education is patchy as budgets are tight and Careers guidance is expensive! Careers is often taught through PSHE, but most schools give this VERY important subject to non specialists to teach. As a head of PSHE and Careers in 3 schools, I know first hand that budget constraints impact negatively on many students Career Coaching can not only help to find suitable career choices, it also helps with choosing the best study route which will maximise the chances of career success, fulfillment and happiness. I work with clients using software that can be a great starting point for finding out about careers they may never have considered or heard of. Finding the right career for the individual is crucial for success!

Setting yourself SMART goals throughout your life will inevitably lead to more success. A saying I love, 'if you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there'. Coaching is transformational - it is person centred and after each session, action points are agreed that align with the overall main goal and this creates accountability for the client. I have found that students with unrealistic goals, this can often be as a result of parental pressure. My daughter chose to become a teacher because she wanted to, not because i tried to persuade her. As tempting and well-meaning as it might be, parents should be supportive but open and flexible too. We may want our child to be a doctor but is that what they want?

College is more than academics. The college years are also important in the formation of friends, romantic partners, and even future colleagues. Relationships of all kinds can cause drama and stress, and navigating them in a new place without the same oversight of parents or guardians is a learning experience for us all, so be sure to take care of yourself like you would take care of a friend. By the time you earn a Bachelor's degree, many students have spent 16 consecutive years in school. That is a long time to be doing any one thing. It is natural to grow tired and want a break, which is in part why we are seeing a rise in gap years between high school and college. So, again, go easy on yourself and engage in self-care, you deserve it!

A common struggle is finding time to launch a job search. Carving out a little bit, daily, to: research industry sectors, become knowledgeable about organizations of interest, review job descriptions and align skills with position qualifications, have conversations with people at those organizations, follow social media platforms to be informed about current projects, grants, initiatives and goals. These are proactive, essential steps to engage in months ahead of time and will lead to compelling applications from an informed perspective.