I listen to the Breakfast Club Morning Show every day and they have a segment called “Shoot Your Shot” which gives callers an opportunity to ask someone they have interest in out on a date, for a relationship or whatever they heart might desire. “Shoot Your Shot” is something I’ve been telling my students and colleagues for quite some time now. It blows my mind at how many people get in their own way of opportunities because they self-eliminate themselves.

What do I mean by self-eliminate? Time and time again people look at job descriptions and because it doesn’t specifically cater to their experiences a person automatically takes them self out of the running because they think they are not qualified or don’t have a chance. I hate this, never self-eliminate yourself let that job firm or search committee eliminate you. Let them decide that you are not qualified or you’re not what they’re looking for. It’s rare that your job does not have any transferable skills. Since I work in Student Affairs I will use a common example from the field. Colleagues who work in University Housing always talk about how they are pigeonholed in housing. For my non-higher education folks, these individuals work in the dorms on college campuses. By the way stop saying dorms, higher education professionals despise this word. Dorms are a thing in the past, students now live in residence halls. Back to the example, University Housing positions in my humble opinion has the most transferable skills of any job in the field. Working in housing on a college campus gives you experiences in every realm of Student Affairs. Cater your resume for the position you want and shoot your shot. It’s not impossible to get out of University Housing because I know so many people who started their careers there and are in offices all over Student Affairs. No matter where you are in your career, what experiences you have or don’t have it doesn’t hurt to shoot your shot. Job applications are free so why not?

Take an example from a peer of mine. Recently this peer took a shot from half-court and personally I thought it was crazy even with my own shoot your shot philosophy. What’s crazier this peer hit and now put themselves in a better career position that will not only benefit them right now, but in the future. I can’t say this enough, shoot your shot because you never know if you’re going to make it or not. I can guarantee you that if you don’t take your shot, you’ll never what could’ve been because you didn’t let it fly. I found myself not only being happier but being more successful in life by just taking shots. Sure, I’ve heard the word “no” more times than I can recall but I also heard “yes” more times than I can recall. “Shoot your shot!”

Last thing, you do know this philosophy isn’t only for jobs or internships. This is in your relationships as well. I get it rejection is not fun, it hurts but missing out on opportunities hurt even more. The most life altering shot I ever took was asking my wife out when I knew she had zero interest in me. It literally took 2 months to get her to go on a date with me (might write about this later). Relationships (dating, friendships, mentors, etc.) are made and broken on not shooting your shot.

So basically “Shoot your shot!”