subject: Life Long Learning And Interview Skills [print this page] The chance of a job for life these days is nil!
When I first started work in the late seventies, you could finish one job on a Friday, go down to the employment exchange on Monday and start your next job on the Tuesday. It was that easy.
I remember those days vividly, it seemed to take a long time for anything to happen. It was rather dull actually, but because that's the way it was, and it was all that we knew, very few people could be bothered to challenge the status quo.
The world has moved on a great deal and experienced incredible change both socially and economically. The global economy, immigration, technical progress and innovation - too much change some would say.
Changing and changing fast to this new reality is the only way to survive.
I look at the work I do now and I am very proud of what I have achieved during my working life and the distance I have travelled in terms of learning since I left school. What a journey it has been!
I was lucky. I went to an excellent school with teachers who cared and it was a super atmosphere in which to learn. I think education is a wonderful gift, a marvellous experience and considering the state and status of some countries in the third world, a privilege.
Interestingly (apart from writing, reading and arithmetic), very little I learnt at school is relevant to my work as a speaker and trainer. The world has changed enormously and you have adapt and reinvent yourself several times over to retain your employability skills.
A prime task in interview coaching is making this sometimes painful point. Some skills have an incredibly short shelf life. For example, when you chose a university course in ICT that lasts 4 years, 50% of the content is obsolete by the end of it. Learning, personal development and communication skills have never been so highly valued as they are today. A commitment to learning, often in your own time and at your own expense is one of the best indicators to an employer that you're serious about your future and their investment in you.
Naturally, there is no guarantee that your extra curricular activities will land you that excellent job, but it's certainly worth developing, putting on your CV and discussing at the interview.
