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Family Firm (is it a hinderance)
Okay,
I've worked for the family firm since my freshman year and I graduated last summer and have some medical problems preventing me from just pulling up stakes and taking work wherever the wind blows me. So naturally, a job at a family-owned business was a good fit because my bosses were lenient with work schedules and if I wanted a day off to study or do fraternity stuff, it usually happened.
I'm very well qualified. Midrange GPA, attended 7 conferences in my field and kept very current. I'm a politicial science major and although I never got involved in student politics, beyond running a couple clubs and helping out with the clubs I was a member of (I was alumni relations chair for the local Kappa Sig chapter and on the executive of a number of clubs). I also never got involved in regional or national politics, although I'm trying to get aboard with a local traditional party to build some work experience.
Here's my problem. At my last interview the interviewer wanted to talk about my dad and his work. My degree never came up, nor did my 5 years work experience. I know politics is about connections and the interviewer and my dad shared the same profession for many, many years, but I'm encountering more and more "Oh you're X's son" and they assume I want to carry on, like my dad. My dad's business is his retirement fund, not a training ground for my own life. I do work that is very different from what he does day-to-day.
I realize this may not be totally GC related, but do I have a chance to escape my dad's shadow? I'm starting to think that if I'd spent a summer as a theatre usher, or at McDonalds I'd be more employable. I also missed out on being an intern somewhere abroad (as is very common in my field) because of medical problems, so I don't know anybody in Ottawa to call up and ask for help.
What can I do to improve my employablity, especially in my field (political).
Canadian
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