Career Archives - Clairemont Communications

Chaos Theory and the Importance of the Process

I graduated from college last month — a phrase which still feels weird to say. For the first time in my life, I’m not a student, and this resulting identity crisis has stirred up a lot of self-reflection. In the spirit of this period of transition, I think it’s fitting to write about the beauty of life’s uncertainties as I look toward my own future.

The traditional way of thinking touts a linear career path. You major in finance; you become an accountant. However, this linear approach does not work in the 21^st century, where most people have multiple careers, and the majority of students do not end up in careers related to their majors. Chaos theory — which states that a path to a career is influenced by all sorts of variables like the job market, network, talent, and so on — fits much better. According to Katharine Brooks in You Majored in What?, chaos theory allows for change and the unexpected. It takes into account one’s diverse interests and range of knowledge in order to leverage how the job search actually functions today. The chaos theory encourages one to explore: try new ideas and mindfully take advantage of new opportunities.

I find this chaos theory comforting, because it takes the pressure off of the idea that I, at 21 years old, need to know exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life. Similarly, in the book Designing Your Life, the authors say it is okay if it takes 10 or 30 or 50 years to figure out what you want to do, because life is really about the process. It is an experience, and the fun comes from creating and enjoying those experiences.

Like this Lyonnaise clock, there is beauty in complexity, and the answers don’t always have to be straightforward.

Taking Risks

I love David Sedaris, and earlier this year I was watching an interview of him on Stephen Colbert. He was talking about the commencement speech he would give at Oberlin college, and he said something that really stuck with me. He encouraged graduates to forget their fallback plan, because it can tempt people away from going after their passions. “If you find something to fall back on you’re going to fall back … at 22 you’re built for poverty and rejection. In part because you’re good looking.” This resonated with me (and I don’t just mean the good looking part!). After all, I’m young. Why do I have to do the safe, stable, expected thing? I have never before been better positioned to take a risk.

There is nothing wrong with choosing the more secure path. I will probably choose that path at some point in the near future. However, I do not want to choose stability simply because I’m afraid to fail at another dream. Right now I want to travel and write about my experiences, so I’m making that dream happen.

Embracing Uncertainties

I knew I wanted to travel post-grad and that I needed funding. So, after months and months of research I finally decided to be an au pair in France. I will live with a really sweet family in Lyon, have plenty of time to travel, (hopefully) become fluent in French, figure out my next step and try my hand at travel writing. I am beyond excited, but sometimes I get scared and filled with self-doubt when I think about things like student loans and career viability. But then I just have to take a deep breath and remember to embrace the chaos of it all and the fun of the experiences. I find myself thinking back on a piece of wisdom that my inspirational travel writing professor imparted. She said that a beautiful life is about having as many different, enriching experiences as possible; she said we never know how much time we have left so we have to do what we want when we can; she said that the road is always waiting.

So I’ve decided to take to the road and see what I find there.

Lyon at dusk — who knows that other golden, glowing experiences await me there?

Written by Clairemont intern Piper Anderson, a recent graduate of UNC.

When I was a little girl, I wanted to be a figure skater. At the wise age of 10, though, I decided that simply wasn’t practical, so I opted to be a news anchor on the TODAY Show instead.

By the time I reached high school, I had become a committed aspiring journalist, recognizing that my love of writing far outweighed my TV talent. So I did what any hopeful journalist would do — I became a yearbook nerd, picked a college with one of the best journalism schools in the country and went on my way to chase my dream career.

When you go to college, the number one question you’re asked is your major. I watched my friends and classmates struggle through the “undecided” or “hoping for med school” answers, but I never had any doubt.

“I’m majoring in journalism and political science.” That was that, until junior year.

Under UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Media and Journalism, students are able to pick specializations, like reporting, public relations and graphic design, to name a few. I had chosen reporting, joined the school newspaper and was ahead of the game as far as course credit.

After a communications internship at my home school district last summer, though, I suddenly found myself becoming more and more interested in the field of public relations. As a first-semester junior, I decided to change my specialization, which made me regret being so confident in my career path as a freshman.

I had three semesters left to learn all I could about PR before entering the real world, but I am so happy I took the leap, and here is why:

1) I wanted to be able to have an opinion when I cared about an issue. Reporting is based on objectivity and fairness, and while I love the nobility of those values, I wanted to be able to advocate for causes or companies that mattered to me, and that is PR in a nutshell.

2) I love building relationships, and with PR, the game is in the name. The PRSA definition of public relations exemplifies this concept. Building relationships of trust between a client and its stakeholders is what PR is all about, and I have learned the hard way through internships that I need human interaction and relationships to enjoy a job.

3) With PR, you get to know a little bit about a lot of things! I am so excited I get to work at an agency like Clairemont Communications this summer and become more familiar with the Raleigh area. I like this aspect of PR the most; I can explore different fields, topics, issues and organizations all at the same time, so there will always be diversity in the job and what it looks like on a daily basis.

Written by Clairemont intern Haley McDougal, a rising senior at UNC-Chapel Hill.