A Shift From Classroom to Career

For all the years spent in school preparing to enter the workplace, many recent graduates say that they struggle with the shift from classroom to career world and have difficulty adjusting to life on the job.

Writer and editor Joseph Lewis believes that most of our school experiences are fairly predictable, while life in the working world is far more uncertain. In school, for example, the pattern stays more or less the same from year to year. In the workplace, however, constant change is the norm, and one has to adapt quickly.

Another problem is that in school, many students spend a lot of time memorizing facts and repeating what they "learned" on tests. But in the workplace employees “are often expected to think critically and make decisions about their work, not just follow a supervisor's instructions." Less time needs to be spent in school on testing, says one recent report, and more on helping students to analyze information, solve problems, and communicate their ideas effectively.

Finally, in the workplace, employees must regularly interact with others and are often dependent on their co-workers for their success. In other words, if an employee has to work with others to complete a given project, that employee's success not only depends on his hard work and expertise, but also on how well his colleagues perform.

How can we better prepare young adults for the workplace?It is suggested that students should do an internship while they are in school. Volunteering part time at a company, hospital or government organization, for example, can help them                                 gain experience and learn skills. Doing these will help prepare students for the realities of the workplace and make the transition from school to career world less stressful.

To many people even the word “work” sounds unpleasant, not necessarily because they are lazy. The same man, who dislikes his job in the factory or even in the office ,may work hard at the weekend ,painting the house or digging the garden.

What is the reason ,then ?In most cases, it is because these people simply do not enjoy the job they are doing .It does not give them any real satisfaction .It may be quite easy, like making up wooden boxes, but it is very boring. Very often they are doing a job which is just a small part of a much larger one ,such as attaching a door handle to a car .But the part they play in actually making the car is so small that they can never say :I have made something !

Yet in modern society somebody has to do ordinary jobs such as cleaning streets because this is the way society is organized, No matter how ordinary a job is, it plays a part in society and therefore deserves our due respect. Society cannot function a single day without the “dull and boring” jobs.

I am looking forward to your early reply.

Yours,

Li Hua

Eighty-five percent of the jobs that today's students will do in 2030 don't exist yet,the Institute for the Future has predicted.That might seem like a high number to reach in only 10 years.But think about the non-mainstream careers that did not exist just a handful of years ago: social media manager,app developer and cloud computing engineer,etc.What role should colleges and universities play in preparing students for a workplace that is constantly changing? Educational institutions are trying to answer that question."We hope they will not only be prepared for whatever the job market looks like in 10,20 or 50 years but be the ones shaping it," said Jenn Stringer,professor at the University of Californian,Berkeley.Here are some of the approaches they're taking.

Some experts argue that the four-year learning model needs to be rethought in a big way. They say education can no longer be seen as something that stops when a person graduates from college.If students could take a year or two off school,get a job,and then return to school a few years later,the education system would offer true life-long learning and better adapt to changing technology.

Fewer employers are willing to train people on the job than the employers 50 years ago, largely as part of an effort to cut costs.To fill the job skills gap,some courses are offered as an add-on to a student's main degree.For example,the courses may include data analysis,web design and digital marketing.The goal is to offer students,a degree aside,some advantages when they seek jobs or promotions in the future.

Other institutions are trying to imitate the workplace within the traditional classroom. Several colleges have partnered with private companies,such as the software company Adobe, to integrate their products into the classroom.Professors at schools who partner with the company are encouraged to use the product for assignments.The idea is that students learn how to create a project that can be used in the real world and the"soft skills"such as teamwork and creativity.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We hear a lot about team building these days.Team-building experts are hired by some corporations to lecture us on how to work more effectively with each other.And they organise awaydays-a time employees spend together away from their usual workplace.

Here in the UK,employees can take part in activities such as Zombie boot camps where military instructors train you how to fight walking “dead people”.For the brainier office workers amongst us there are crime investigations modelled on popular TV dramas like Sherlock Holmes and CSI.

Stressed-out city workers might have ukulele lessons made available to them.Why is that a good team-building exercise?Ukulele teacher Lorraine Bow says,“The fact that they can play a musical instrument within an hour is quite a fulfilling thing,really.It’s not competitive-it’s quite easy to do and a bit less intimidating than a guitar...”

Actually,a horse might be a bit more intimidating than an instrument.The animals are used by a company in Abu Dhabi which teaches leadership through horse training.Basically,you have to go in a yard with a horse and persuade it that you’re the boss by using body language.

Kelly Eide,co-founder of True Leadership,says,“The horses don’t care if your hair is purple,if you’re a man or a woman,if you’re old or young...It transcends (超越) all of those cultural boundaries-age,gender,religion,tradition,etc.-so that’s a perfect fit.And in an organisation where you really need groups of people to gel (相互磨合),who come from different backgrounds which have no common norms,you can teach that most efficiently with a horse.”

And the horse feels instinctively whether or not you are a natural leader.So if after you’ve done a good presentation your boss offers you a carrot,you’ll know where he might have learnt it from.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

In many countries nowadays, it is not easy for a graduate to find a satisfying job. Among the ones who do find jobs, chances are that they will change the jobs within three months, according to a report released in 2015 by The World Employment Association in the USA.

Too often young people get themselves employed quite by accident, not knowing what lies in the way. They have no idea of opportunity for promotion, happiness and security. As a result, they are employed to do jobs that give them little or no satisfaction.

In the society where economy is not so satisfying, the school leavers face so much completion that they seldom care what they do as long as they can earn a living. Some stay long at a job and learn to like it; others quit from one to another looking for something to suit them. The young graduates who leave the university look for jobs that offer a salary up to their expectation. Very few go out into the world knowing exactly what they want and realizing their own abilities.

The reason behind all this confusion is that there never has been a proper vocational guidance in our educational institution. Nearly all attempt in the dark and their chief concern when they look for a job is to ask what salary is like. They never bother to think whether they are suited for the job or, even more important, whether the job suits them.

Having a job is more than merely providing yourself and your dependents with daily bread and some money for leisure and entertainment. It sets a pattern of life and, in many ways, determines social status in life, selection of friends, leisure and interest.

In choosing a career you should first consider the type of work which will suit your interest. Nothing is more painful than taking on a job in which you have no interest, for it will not only discourage your desire to succeed in life but also ruin your talents and ultimately make you a tired and bitter person.