Jo Jordan’s from Flowing Motion ’s comment on a previous post inspired me to explore this topic some more. Then I was writing on the theme of giving yourself credit for what you have learned .
Jo has spent time working in the education sector and is ideally placed to comment further - and I am grateful to her for her insights. I will work through them one by one
1 Not everyone needs or wants and A and moreover the universities won’t allocate A’s to more than a handful of people.
I have seen so many students stress about getting a First/A for their degree. For some jobs this might be the clincher but you know what - after a while ( maybe even for your first job) the fact you have a degree at all will suffice for many employers. I tested this with some - very successful - business friends and not one of them had been asked for the grade of their degree. I was asked to provide the originals of my degrees for the most recent ( temporary) job but that appears to be unusual too. ( for the record I refused to send them - it is so difficult to replace the originals. Copies were willingly accepted - so why all the fuss!?) Now this might change or be changing as so many good candidates out of work are chasing jobs but I am not so sure.
2 Some students passively accept the university’s goal system when they should be setting goals for themselves.
Over the years I have mentored groups of Human Resource Management students and I am currently working with General Management Students. In each case I continually ask them what they want out of their studies. When I decided to go back to formal studying in my mid 30s it was simply to prove to myself that “I was clever” and on a par with my peers. I was honest about that - I felt a piece of paper would somehow validate it. That was my goal - and I achieved it ! Joking aside though as with many challenges I believe that if you know why you are doing it and what you are aiming for your level of motivation will benefit.
3 Generally students find it hard to let go of the “parents/teachers know it all”. If students have experimented with setting their own goals and standards by the end of third year, then they have won. And the university and employers (and future partners) know that.
Says it all really
4 Did they have fun?
Jo suggests that some students would complain about the amount of work they put in but still got disappointing marks so whe suggested that they study less and party more! Because learning should be fun - and when the fun goes out of it it just becomes a slog. And the best learning often comes as a by product from something unstructured that is going on in tour life.
I like the final statement Jo makes because it reflects truly what I feel about supporting students - in school, further and higher education
“[students] need to learn to trust the full set of their needs and priorities and the best way to learn is experientially. But it does help to have someone watch their back while they do. They are lucky to have you there to coach them.”
Thanks, Jo.
According to a newspaper article I read on holiday some parents heavily involved in their children’s job search. As a parent of a recent graduate myself I had a strong desire to share my expertise and give advice on his approach to the world of work. I have helped him write his CV and made introductions to people I think might be able to help him. But that’s as far as I am willing to go. He needs to stand on his own two feet when it comes to actually going for and getting a job.
I went to a careers fair with my daughter a couple of years ago just before she was about to graduate. She just wanted company. She approached potential employers and did the talking. I gathered brochures and leaflets to fill the time. We went for lunch afterwards and discussed what she had learned. I think it gave us both a sense of perspective of what was out there. But she would have still gone alone if I had not been available.
The report mentions one parent calling a company who had offered their son a job to find out about the package that came with it but according to one employer in their experience the young people themselves are asking their parents to do this! Others have parents contacting them to find out about internships. I speak to loads of parents who are frustrated by the apparent lack of focus of their offspring in their approach to finding a job but - as far as I know - most of them draw the line at doing an internet search for information.
When I read the article initially it made me laugh…then I thought about it seriously. Parents want the best for their kids but that is based on their own frame of reference. The trick - and challenge - is to support them in getting information and listen as they work things through ….but to let them get on with the job search themselves.
Oh, and to be there with the tea and sympathy if they don’t get the first job they go for…and encourage them to - in the words of the song - “pick themselves up, dust themselves off and start all over again”…or something like that.
Last week I asked LinkedIn and HR Blogger members what advice they would give to young people setting out on their first jobs . The response was huge and I have spent most of today putting it into some sort of readable and usable format. At the moment I have a 9 page document - too small for an e-book?
Short post today as I must get back to my editing.
If you are interested in a copy when I do get it done please drop me an e-mail
jackie@consultcameron.com
I am at this stage with my son and I know that there is a tricky balance between being supportive and interfering. So…follow this link to an article -from the American point of view but with really helpful suggestions that would work anywhere in the world!
Get in touch with me if you want to find out more about how career development coaching could help you both.
jackie@consultcameron.com
At my son’s lovely girlfriend’s college graduation ceremony yesterday the fact that one of the graduating students was about to take part in the World Skills “Olympics” next week in Japan. If, like me, you have never heard of them follow this link to see the categories!
http://www.ukskills.org.uk/opencms/export/download/ukskills_intranet_downloads_G3/WorldSkills_2007_Official_Events.pdf
The aims of the competition are
- Move from competence to excellence
- Reduce skills gaps
- Minimise skills shortages
- Re-engage the disaffected
What a great idea. One to watch I think
