5 Key areas to prepare for life after school

Congratulations class of 2017 where to now ?

It is an exciting time of year for the class of 2017 and their families for sure and also a time of trepidation as the where to now part of finishing school gets closer.

These last two weeks our team have been busy finalising , printing a beautiful bundle of Diploma of Business for Year 12’s Diploma in Schools Program.

It has had me reflecting on how wonderful it is that students have so many different pathways open to them now while at school and the fortitude that they have in dealing with the pressures and uncertainty of todays business environment.

Life and the current business and economic environment may just be the perfect storm.  My nephew graduates this year and my daughter next so it has been on my mind a lot – where to now and do you have the life skills necessary to be your own champion.

It got me thinking and I made a note of these 5 key areas to prepare for life after school. Love to hear your thoughts and tips.

Brand You

“Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room”. The best way to market yourself is to build your brand. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon

People do business with people they like and trust. In business and in life a lot of success is in who you know and who knows you.

Making sure your personal brand reflects who you are , who you want to be and where you are heading is not a fad. It is the foundation of who you are and it will follow you through your career and successes.

Take an honest personal inventory to look at strengths weaknesses and gaps between where you are and where you would like to be.

Seek input from those around you mentors, associates and friends to identify your best self and live that. Consider your contributions and engagements such as in community groups and networking and also how you can use social media such as LinkedIn and Instagram to build a professional presence that showcases your brand and work to the people you want to connect with.

Resilience

Why do some people back down from adversity and others thrive?  The ability to get knocked down and get back up again and learn from that lesson is Resilience.

Resilient people are flexible, adapt to new circumstances quickly, and thrive in constant change.

They expect to bounce back and feel confident that they will. Importantly they don’t expect life to be perfect and in fact expect it won’t be and plan for challenges and adversity.

Become more resilient by having an open positive mindset, managing stress, working on emotional intelligence, taking chances and embracing change, and engaging in problem solving and creative pursuits regularly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aCe6jPxH6I

 

Smart Goals and Action Plans

Now is a danger time for procrastination. Gone are the days of class blocks and teachers chasing up to make sure you achieve what you need to achieve.

Now the only person that really cares if you achieve success and reach your dreams is you – Maybe mum and dad  but definitely the responsibility and the result stops with you.

Whether it is home, relationships, work, education, Smart Goals and Action Plans keep us accountable and on track. Without these it is really easy to get in a cycle of wasting time and not achieving the best that we can be.

Watch this TED TALK for a really powerful reflection on the impacts of procrastination and not setting and sticking to goals and action plans. Inside the mind of a master procrastinator and the Panic Monster.

 

Skills Based Resume

If you think about it, the main purpose of a resume is to make an employer interested enough to invite you in for an interview.

Traditional chronological resumes don’t do this particularly well in many cases.

A skills based resume emphasises your skills achievements your unique selling position (USP). It is your number one marketing tool and can assist in helping the employer visualise how they would fit those skills into their business rather than focussing on what you have done for other businesses as in a traditional resume.  The Skills Based Resume is also extremely helpful if your work history is not particularly relevant or you do not have a lot of work experience.

 

Financial Literacy

No one in the history of forever has regretted being in control of their finances and not having contingencies in place for a rainy day or to make the most of what we have.

Our friends at Bank of Queensland Castletown posted this great article on money mistakes millennial make.  Definitely worth a read.