Preparing for Tomorrow: Career Guidance and Future Skills for Students
Planning well is the key to success when it comes to choosing your career. In the early stages of your journey, it’s important to make smart choices.
That’s not to say you need to have your whole life mapped out before you leave school. Most students today will have several careers over their lifetimes. According to the University of QLD, “Gen Z can expect to have 16 – 17 jobs across 5 – 7 careers.”
Our tips will help you think more clearly about career plans, and the skills you need for the future.
Focus on Being Well-Rounded
Some students make the mistake of focusing so intently on their career goals that they lose sight of all else. They might need very high marks to get into their chosen degree, so they put all their energy into studying.
While it’s important to work hard and get good marks, overdoing it can be detrimental. To perform at your best, you need to relax and socialise regularly. In addition to this, nearly all future careers will require good communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively. You can only develop these skills by interacting with others, both formally and informally.
Find Out What You Like
This might sound simple, but many students have difficulty determining what they like to do. Others focus purely on money when choosing a career. Salary is important, but the truth is you’re much more likely to succeed when you enjoy your work.
Think carefully about what you do in your spare time, and what gives you joy. Are you an artistically inclined person who loves to create? Do you like working with technology or are you more drawn to helping people? What are you good at? There are many great books and career aptitude tests that can guide you in the right direction.
Expand Your Skill Set
Future jobs will require workers who are multi-skilled and very comfortable with technology. It’s never to early to start expanding your skill set in this area. The great news is that these skills are transferable and will be needed in whatever career you pursue.
Some of the ways you can enhance your career prospects include learning a new program, building a website, creating your own app, teaching yourself to code or designing games. Why not step outside your comfort zone and try something completely different? Make use of the abundant free online resources to build your resume.
Become a Continuous Learner
Technology is already replacing jobs, and this trend is set to accelerate. As a result of this rapid change, students today will need to be highly adaptable. Those who can solve problems and learn new skills quickly will have a significant advantage in the job market.
Enhancing your technological skills is one way to boost your career prospects, but learning comes in many different forms. Cultivate a curious mind by putting down your phone and reading a book on an interesting subject, watching a documentary or learning a new skill such as cooking or macrame. It really doesn’t matter, just as long as you’re learning something new.
Use Failure for Self-improvement
Failure is a vital part of the learning process, but society has taught us it’s something to be feared. The truth is that most people who have achieved great success in life failed many times before they reached their goals.
Being able to keep your mistakes in perspective and learn from them is one of the most critical skills you can develop. This allows you to move on and keep trying when you experience disappointment. You can begin to develop this mindset today by thinking about previous setbacks and what useful knowledge you gained from these experiences.
How a Tutor Can Help
A tutor can provide support and advice about career paths. They can discuss each student’s skills, aptitudes and interests to help them choose the right course of study. In addition, tutoring equips students with a wide range of executive functioning skills such as organisation, planning and focus.
Our X-Skills program was developed to prepare students for success tomorrow.
Contacts us for a consultation today.