Not sure there is a better school-as-practical-life-change-agent example than the immortal 'job interview'. Truly. Test scores aside; yearbook photos aside; and just about everything else school is about aside. When it comes to playing with 'the big boys' in 'the real world', you gotta be an A+ student of the interview game.
Rarely, however, do schools -- and I include my formal teacher self in this, fellas -- focus on helping kids actually be 'response-able' in the real world. Sure, there are the 'what do you want to be when you grow up?' essays and the occasional trip to the guidance office to grab a brochure and certainly the non-college kids often get practical job-skill training, but name even 5 times that a teacher or administrator or college counselor said:
"Here's how you actually will knock'em dead in an interview one day!..."
See, even beyond the practical implications of money and standards and facilities, the 'future of learning' is based entirely in its ability to be 'relevant' and enable students to one day be 'response-able' in a myriad of life/professional/learning scenarios. Gone are the days when a HS or college grad simply became an 'organization man' and spent a career being dutifullly trained by their higher-up's. Gone, gone, gone...and they ain't comin' back. And if any of us truly believe our kids will graduate to something more profound than saying, "Do you want sweetner with your latte?", or "Yes, I can clean your rugs for $8/hr!", then we better teach them not only what 'skills' to learn, but also how to 'sell' those skills. At least how to interview, how to market themselves, how to be a great story-teller of their passions and abilities.
This is what was running through my head when I was reading today's FCNow blog post about the types of questions one should ask oneself when preparing for a job search, and the types of questions that an interviewer should ask the candidate. Here's what I found:
Kevin Donlin's article on the questions you should ask about a job search has wider application, I think. Where you work, what's working? What isn't working? How might you improve both. The work of David Cooperrider has helped organizations like Roadway Express and the Episcopal church of California. Maybe his concepts of appreciative inquiry can help you!
The blog post mentioned Donlin's article. Here's a snippet of what grabbed my attention there as well:
Start by asking empowering questions. Most folks put themselves behind the eight ball in their job search by asking questions that are depressing and demotivating. Questions like, Why won't anyone give me a job? or How do I network when I don't know anyone?
Ack. Pass the happy pills.
Instead, start asking questions that motivate and inspire you. Better questions to ask are:
- How could I give people a reason to call me with job leads?
- How did my 10 closest friends find their current jobs?
- How could I brainstorm with them and use their methods in my job hunt?
- What worked in my last job search? The job search before? How could I do that again?
Important: Ask questions that you yourself can solve. Never depend on the government, your school, parents, family -- anyone else -- to do this for you. Because, once you give up responsibility for solving problems with your job search (or anything else), you become a prisoner of outside forces.
Because at the end of the day, the future belongs to those who can tell a great story, demonstrate passionate interest combined with the ability to problem solve and 'figure it out' on the fly, and who have the audacious ability to care enough to 'go after it.'
Teachers and parents: what have you done lately to help your 'little one' be in this position? (And asking them to turn in their homework so they can go to college does not count!)
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Image #1: http://www.flickr.com/photos/enovotny/117606951/; Image #2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/c2k2e/61807685/; Image #3: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matt/3146952/
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