Life Skills

Learning doesn’t need to happen in the classroom…

What Job is Right for Me? A Guide for Young People Part 3

Life Skills

What happens when you can’t decide what you want to do when you leave school? Perhaps you have picked some basic complimentary subjects as we discussed in the first blog of this series but that still isn’t helping you to decide what job you might want to do. Perhaps you know that you definitely don’t want to stay on at school but the thought of getting a full-time job without really knowing what you want to do is causing you stress.

If this is the case, then ‘Life Skills’ are the answer! I really can’t recommend this enough – instead of focusing on what will happen in the future, let’s focus on what’s happening now and build up a bank of really useful Life Skills. I promise that in doing so you will understand better what your future holds. The bonus is you will look even better on your new CV or personal statement.

What are Life Skills?

Life Skills are skills that you learn which can help you throughout your life and are usually highly practical skills. A skill is something that you can perfect over the years and will help you to know better what you are good at.

Here are some examples:

·       Money & Budgeting/ Banking

·       Basic First Aid

·       Organisational Skills/ Time Management

·       Getting a Driving License

·       European Computer Driving License (ECDL) – and/or PowerPoint, Excel & Word Training

·       Communication Skills/ Business Writing Skills

·       Presentation Skills – Toastmasters

·       Social Media/ Creating a Personal Brand/ Blogging/ Vlogging etc.

Putting a few of these things onto your list for achievement soon would be a great way of learning more about yourself. There are so many free courses out there at the moment which you could take advantage of to do some introductory learning.

Can you think of any more?

Experience Outside of School

Whilst some of the things in the list above can be taught and learned in school, there are many things you won’t get from a classroom environment. I would wholeheartedly encourage you to look at some of the following options:

•         Taking part in some voluntary work;

•         Taking on a part time position;

•         Work experience/ work shadowing for 2 weeks;

•         Summer Internship Programme;

•         Clubs/ Foundations

These are all major learning experiences and will cement in you what you like or don’t like. Doing voluntary work and different work experience placements look excellent on your new CV and will undoubtedly give you skills you didn’t have before.

Confidence

Not only will these things give you a sense of direction and you’ll be learning new, practical and important things as you go along, but they generally help to boost your confidence. With confidence it becomes easier to make choices in life. Keep setting small goals and achieving them, this will also help you to set some of the biggest goals of your life. That’s why I truly believe that Life Skills are one of the most important steps in deciding what you want to do with your life.

If you would like to talk through your options and make a plan, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us for a free consultation.