Are you getting the skills you need from your education?

*This post first appeared on LinkedIn at http://bit.ly/1TDgiHK 

In my world there is a lot of discussion on the value of higher education and the purpose of getting a college degree. I find myself telling college students 2 things when I meet with them:

1. The degree you’re getting can never be taken away from you (it has value)
2. That same degree is only one of your “tools in your tool belt” (it has less value than you might think)

 What’s true is that the world is changing a lot faster than people are graduating with their degrees. When considering education of any kind – we should consider the return on investment and try to get out of it all that we can. On the other hand – we cannot assume the education itself is the answer.

 You still need to know who you are and what you’re about if you’re going to find success in the working world. The days you have in the world of education are short compared to all the days ahead in the world of work. It’s important to be able to articulate your skills, interests and values in a way that can differentiate you in the marketplace. It’s also important to know what the world of work demands. Why hone skills that are outdated and irrelevant?

 My suggestion – invest in building the following skills whether in your educational pursuits or otherwise.

 The World Economic Forum put together a list of skills that will be needed to be successful in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which will be upon us by 2020 and will change the way we live and work.

1. Complex Problem Solving
2. Critical Thinking
3. Creativity
4. People Management
5. Coordinating with Others
6. Emotional Intelligence
7. Judgment and Decision-making
8. Service orientation
9. Negotiation
10. Cognitive Flexibility

 Your education should be supporting your pursuit of these skills, but the onus is on you. Need some ideas to get started? Take a leadership role; do an independent study; get an internship; offer freelance work; take on additional responsibility at work; get a mentor; be a mentor; practice self-care and stress management; volunteer; laugh often and you’ll be putting yourself in situations where you can grow in these areas.

 Need more help? Let’s talk. I’m taking on clients who want some help to reach their career goals. Contact me via LinkedIn and we can work together.

Do You Know What You Want?

*This post first appeared on LinkedIn at http://bit.ly/1TgYjtc 

 “It’s the weight that you carry from the things you think you want” ~ Zac Brown Band

 This post is as much for me as I hope it is helpful to you. A lot of times when things are hard at work or at home - we idealize other people’s situations as so much better than our current states. We focus on what we don’t have instead of what we do have. This is the ol’ Grass is Greener on the Other Side mentality. And I agree with Theodore Roosevelt when he said

So knowing that comparison doesn’t serve us well – what do we do? This is the part where I am preaching to myself as much as anyone else.

1. Be Grateful.
   • Take time to remember what you have going well in your life. Ask the people who are your supporters what you are good at, and ask for specific examples.
   • Tell those same people the things you appreciate about them. Consider those even closest to you – when is the last time you said something unprompted to point out their strengths, gifts, and qualities you admire?
   • Create a folder in your email that is full of the positive feedback you get from your clients, your coworkers, etc. Start today and review it annually.
   • Do something kind and unexpected for someone else because you recognize the gifts you have at your disposal.
2. Claim your story. What’s happening to you right now is YOUR story – the good, the bad, and the ugly. If we can identify the patterns in our thoughts and our behaviors, we can begin to make positive changes toward wholeheartedness and living a life we are proud of – regardless of the circumstances of any given day. Owning what’s good, bad and ugly about our stories helps us make meaning, uncover lies we’ve believed, and help us have more confidence in our decisions. Who wouldn’t want that? I’ve recently read Brene Brown’s book, Rising Strong and recommend it for more on wholehearted living.
3. Live in the moment. Pause and take in what’s happening around you. Ask anyone who knows me, and they will tell you I am goal-oriented. Being a Type-A personality comes with constantly striving toward something and thinking in the future. Our culture touts busy-ness as a marker of success and this makes it so easy to miss what’s going on today. This has never been truer than now with my 7-month-old daughter. She’s never as small or as young as she is today. If I am striving, pursuing and planning – I’m going to miss the playing, smiling and simply being. Recently Shonda Rhimes put out a TED talk that addresses this very thing. Check it out.

“I’ve got everything I need and nothing that I don’t” ~ Zac Brown “Homegrown”

Go ahead, give the whole song a listen :)