Helping Your Child Excel at School and Beyond
Thinking about employment skills for primary children seems to be jumping the gun but the foundation of employment skills starts from day one. Parents can help children develop the skills, qualities and attitudes that will help them thrive in tomorrow’s world of work.
It’s never too early to help children start developing important employment skills that will help them to fly into future success down the track. There are many strategies parents can use to help children become more success-ready and employment-ready.
To develop almost all of the skills required to thrive in a world that is rapidly and constantly changing, (resilience, leadership ability, team-work skills, initiative, persistence, emotional intelligence, optimism, determination and courage) young people need to be prepared and eager to step outside their comfort zone. They need to try new activities and seize opportunities. They need to be doing this as early as possible rather than waiting until they complete secondary school or post-secondary studies.
Being familiar with some commonly asked interview questions and thinking about them carefully can make a good interview a great interview. Young people will feel more confident and be able to adapt information and life experience they have thought about to virtually any question.
Have you heard the expression, `Dress for Success’? It’s true. It really is important to make a good visual impression at an interview. It’s generally better to err on the formal side so forget about your favourite pair of jeans even if they are a ‘dressed up’ pair! It’s always better to be a little overdressed than feel uncomfortably underdressed.
If your teenager will soon face an important interview, go through these tips on how to perform well in interviews or give your teenager a copy to read over. The first, second or even third interview can still be a stressful experience and even independent teens can benefit from a little help.
Each year, more students are considering the possibility of starting their tertiary studies at an interstate university. Parents who are reluctant to even consider the possibility of their teenager studying interstate are often unaware of the many advantages of this option.
Students should be aware of the latest trends in the constantly changing tertiary landscape. What are institutions looking for in prospective students? What skills, experience and qualities are highly regarded? What are tertiary institutions doing to attract the best students?
Parents can help teenagers enormously by helping them become more aware of the importance of developing employment skills. However, it’s vital to avoid increasing stress for teenagers when the topic of future employment possibilities and employment skills come up. Preparation is the key to minimising stress for young people while increasing their self-confidence both in the short and long term.
There are very practical ways parents can help teenagers develop invaluable employment skills.
All schools offer careers advice and have various career programs. But parents are just as important as schools when it comes to careers advice. Young people do listen to their parents even though they sometimes hide this. You can help your teenager enormously by being aware of the important questions teenagers need to ask themselves as they investigate careers.
Young people today are incredibly lucky to have such a great range of tertiary courses to choose from. However, sometimes this can be overwhelming if they don’t start becoming familiar with what’s available. This should be done before reaching the final year at school.
Absolutely. Open Days are a fantastic opportunity to see beyond the glossy brochures, the attractive websites and the statements about Uni X being the best. Seeing for yourself is the best way to really make up your mind about an institution. Every student’s dream course and career is out there somewhere. It sometimes just takes a little detective work and some leg work on Open Days to discover it.
Extensive international research clearly shows that even primary children benefit greatly from talking about careers. Right from the first year at secondary school you can certainly help your child become more career savvy. It’s never too early to go along to Open Days and have fun investigating the many wonderful courses and careers these lead to. Career knowledge empowering and motivating for young people.
When should we be talking to children about CAREERS? International research clearly indicates it’s never too early. In many primary schools around the world careers education is increasingly being seen as an important part of children’s education.