Contact: Sharon Kelly, 484-531-8380

WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, Penn., May 10, 2011 /Standard Newswire/ -- While many experts will be providing 2011 college graduates with stealth tactics to find "the best job possible" in the bad economy, University of Pittsburgh sociology professor Christine B. Whelan is urging these young adults to determine "who they really are" and "what's truly important to them" in order to begin a career path with staying power. "Identifying your purpose will both center your search and articulate what truly sets you apart. Prospective employers will more than likely pick-up on your genuine interest in the job and in their organization" observes Whelan.

A regular contributor to Busted Halo, a young-adult Catholic website, Whelan has just published GENERATION WTF: From "What The #%$&?" To A Wise, Tenacious, and Fearless You (generationwtf.com). Published by The Templeton Press, the book is "crash-course" guide that takes classic, cornerstone teachings of the self-help genre (from Dale Carnegie to Stephen Covey to Suze Orman) and remixes it for 18 to 25 year olds. Whelan's students at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Iowa have already found success by putting her ideas and strategies into action.

Here is just some of Whelan's advice on the matter of purpose and values:

1. Calibrate your internal GPS to find your purpose: Maybe your friends are chasing after the trendy jobs. Maybe your parents just want you to earn as much money as possible. But before you charge off in the wrong direction, make sure your internal GPS has the correct map to guide you to personal success. For Generation WTF this means figuring out your core values and understanding the why behind the choices you make. Why are you doing what you are doing? Why does it matter? Why is it important?

2. Spy on your own funeral. If you kicked it in 10 years, what would you want people to say about how you'd lived your life? Would you want people to say you valued excitement, friendship and independence? Perhaps family, love and community involvement? Use this exercise to figure out your values -- and, for a moment, separate them from your goals. Values are who are, while goals are what you want to do.

3. Before you can contribute to society, you've got to know what you are good at. Maybe you can convince a mouse to give up its cheese, or perhaps you are a whiz with numbers. Be honest, not modest. Be realistic, too: Brainstorm on your particular talents and then think about how they could be used in various different types of careers. How can you take these skills to live out your values? How can your talents help others or make a difference to a particular community, group or organization.

4. Get honest about what really makes you tick. Some people love to travel. Others hate it. Some love the spotlight, while others shy away. Spend a bit of time thinking about the day-to-day aspects of a job, and how it will interact with the rest of your life. Is it important that other people think your work is interesting? Before you can say "I want to work for you," you've got to know who the "I" is. Unless you take this step and find a company that's the right fit for your personality, both you and your employer will feel frustrated down the line.

More information can be found here: www.generationwtf.com