Career Management

Having been in conversation with an advisor I found that we were in agreement. She had worked in HR for a while, and told me about watching people being interviewed for work. As she did this she realised that the people who were getting the jobs were not necessarily the ones who should have: all too often an experienced, well qualified person would not perform well in interview. She came to the conclusion that they just did not know "how to play the game". And I added "So you are here to help coach people how to do just that-play the game!" "Yes" was the reply.

I now think that the subject of Career Management should be put on the school curriculum. Pupils should have the opportunity to connect what they are doing to the outside world, and learn that they might have to do a bit of 'acting ' in the interview situation. This could be taught by a Drama Teacher! For some this would help with the moments when they wonder why they have to go to school. A career path these days is turning into one of many transitions for a lot of people, so it makes sense to educate everyone in how to deal with that. They should be prepared for moving from job to job, keeping their skills up to date, and realising that they may need to keep learning in order to be employable by other employers. I know this all ties in with the idea of the 'boundaryless' career' and Michael Arthur's findings in New Zealand. The reality is that for many of us there is no such thing as a 'job for life' and we should be prepared for that.