I was thinking about the talented students that I teach and wondering what they should be doing TODAY to increase their odds of NOT being one of the future unemployed in our country’s unemployment statistics. But before I give that advice, let’s first look at the composition of the unemployed using the official unemployment statistics as reported by the Government's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the most recent October 2015 monthly unemployment report:
The current 5.0% official unemployment rate average, down from a 5.8% unemployment rate one year ago, consists of the following subcategories based on educational attainment:
2.5% unemployment for those with a college degree or advanced degree
4.4% unemployment for those with some college or an associate's degree
5.2% unemployment for those with a high school degree (no college)
7.4% unemployment for those with less than a high school degree
7.4% unemployment for those with less than a high school degree
It is easy to see from the above trend that one should pursue as much education as possible! The jobs in today’s advanced economies are clearly geared towards those with advanced skills, and education is the clearest path to get those 21st century skills!
Besides teaching Economics, I also teach Personal Finance. When learning about careers in Personal Finance, I suggest to my students that they should be concerned more majoring in “LIFE”, as an equally important second major to majors such as Marketing, History, Education, Economics, or Political Science. Moreover, they should be just as focused on majoring in LIFE as they are in trying to get accepted to Virginia Tech, James Madison University, the University of North Carolina, or Georgetown. By majoring in LIFE they are more apt to have the best college experience and career possible, and increase their likelihood of never being unemployed.
So, you might be asking, what exactly is this LIFE major?
I’m glad you asked!
LIFE is an acronym for what I, and many others, consider the 4 key skill sets to thrive in 21st Century future careers, which will include a rate of technological, social, and global change never seen before. Those four employment key skill sets for the future are:
Leadership
Interpersonal skills
Flexibility
Emerging technology mastery
Leadership
Are you thinking about how you will learn to become more optimistic and a confident initiative taker and leader? Having been a member of management for many years, prior to becoming a teacher, I learned that companies were always quicker to lay off those that lacked initiative (“it’s not my job!”). Very often, we would somehow find a new job for the employee whose job was going away if they were strong in leadership and initiative. Often, “initiative” hurts, as it causes one to work harder with more stress, which is why so many workers do not exhibit it.
Interpersonal Skills
Tomorrow’s career “winners” will need to take their leadership skills and team with others more so than ever before. The rate of specialization is increasing in our global economy, which necessitates collaborating more effectively than ever to get any job done. Consider reading Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat to learn about how specialization and collaboration will continue to increase in any future 21st Century career. Continue to work on your initiative (leadership) and your ability to team successfully with others in all that you do. Don’t be the person who has 5 reasons on why it won’t work, but rather, be the person that can explain to the team the 5 reasons on how it can work!
Flexibility
Those that are not “lifetime learners” or those that do not embrace constant learning may soon be unemployed as the rate of constant change in our globalized world will leave them behind. Strengthen your tolerance to setbacks, or stated more positively, develop into the employee that actually embraces change, even that employee that can envision and lead organizations towards more productive and value-added solutions. If you get “bent out of shape” too easily when your plans go awry, or when you are faced with unforeseen obstacles, it is time to start now, while in high school to change your levels of patience, perseverance, and commitment to success. Flexibility and patience can be learned, it is not genetic.
Emerging Technology Mastery
Embrace and continuously pursue and integrate the latest in technology into your daily life and education. Tomorrow’s employment and career winners will have “in their blood” the ability to be a technology step ahead from the average worker. Start immediately as it is delusional to avoid being an early adopter today and think that somehow you will become an early adopter in the future. Stephen Covey, the famous author on human effectiveness, believes that effective people simply have developed successful habits. Strongly consider taking a computer science course in your freshman year of college or in your senior year of high school if you are a current junior (AP Computer Science, Honors Java, etc.) and consistently use your laptop in planning, organizing, and performing course work. Can you aim to be the resource that other students or workers go to for application and technology help?
Let me end this blog by letting you in on a “dirty little secret” known by managers and industry leaders across the globe: when it is time for a promotion or when it is time to reduce the work force ( a layoff) due to a slowing business, managers get very creative and are biased towards promoting, or not laying off, those that have majored in LIFE…whether you went to Virginia Tech, Duke, William & Mary, or Georgetown makes little difference in career success in the long run, although. granted, it certainly opens more doors in the short run. So absolutely, do aim for that best college and bachelor's degree or higher that you are passionate about, but please don't forget to "double major in LIFE"!
Discussion Questions:
1. Does the above breakdown of unemployment by educational category surprise you? What message, if any, do you take away from these statistics?
2. Is the LIFE acronym pursuit valid, in your opinion, as an early focus to help avoid unemployment in your future? Do you think the LIFE major is a necessary, intentional focus/practice along with your college major or do you think the development of these LIFE skills will simply progress naturally?
3. Which area of the LIFE acronym are you strongest at? Weakest?
5. What was my “dirty little secret”, referenced above, and does it make common sense to you?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1. The breakdown does not surprise me. I have always believed that in order to get the best job and be successful we need to attend college. The statistics above prove just how important it is to receive the best education and work hard in whatever career you decide.
ReplyDelete2. Yes, the LIFE acronym can avoid future unemployment. The overall meaning of the acronym can be applied in every workplace. In order to truly be successful and get the best out of your job, we need to practice LIFE.
3. I am strongest at the aspect of interpersonal skills and weakest at the aspect of emerging technology. I think that I am the strongest at interpersonal skills because I enjoy working with others and I have no problem stepping up and saying what I think/ feel about a topic. I think that I am the weakest at emerging technology because once I learn how to do something that involves using some sort of technology I like being comfortable and knowing what I am doing. But with all of the new improvements that come along with technology I know I need to learn how to adapt to those changes.
4. I think that being laid off is more of deteriorating business conditions. I do not think that “bad luck” is a thing when it comes to the business side of things. If you are a hardworking and putting your best foot forward and your boss can see that then they will not lay you off. I do believe that if you master the LIFE acronym then the chances of you being laid off because of “bad luck” are lowered.
5. Your “dirty little secret” makes perfect sense. When a business is looking for people to lay off because they cannot afford to keep all the workers they are not going to lay off the people that are working hard and doing good things for their company. They are going to lay off those that are not working hard and do not have the LIFE qualities.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1. No, the above breakdown does not surprise me. The more skilled the worker the easier it is for them to get a job.
ReplyDelete2. Yes, LIFE as a pursuit is valid as a way to avoid unemployment. LIFE skills will progress naturally but they will progress faster if they are helped along.
3. I am good at leadership. I like to take control and find new and more efficient ways of doing things. I tend to not be very flexible. I like to do things in a specific way and have issues deviating from it.
4. Being laid-off is not totally preventable. It is caused by denigrating business conditions. The chance of being laid off can dramatically be reduced by LIFE skills and being good at your job.
5. You basically said the people with LIFE skills that make them better at their jobs get promoted and are less likely to get laid-off. It makes sense that if someone is good at their job you going to want to keep them or promote them.
1. The stats do not surprise me. Since I have been little, everyone has told me that they key to being successful is going to college. The idea that I can take from these statistics is that a college is very important.
ReplyDelete2. I think the skills in LIFE is very important. Those who have a mastery of the skills of LIFE will most likely be employed for most of their career. I think some of the skills in LIFE need to be worked on, but some develop naturally. For example, Leadership needs to be worked on, but interpersonal skills develop through every day interactions.
3. I am strongest in Leadership. I see myself as a future business or world leader, and my skills in leadership are good. I believe I am weakest when it comes to technology. Technological tools have never been a strong point of mine.
4. I think that being laid off is more bad luck. For Example, at McDonald's, almost all the workers in any particular franchise have the same skill set. It is almost like a roulette to decide who to keep and who to lay off. I think if one is able to master the LIFE skill sets, then they essentially put them selves on a higher shelf then every other worker.
5. The "Dirty Little Secret" is that when it is time to cut jobs, the companies keep the people that have a good understanding of the LIFE skill set. It does make common sense to me because the best workers are the most rounded workers. If a worker is able to master the skill sets, then it seems reasonable to keep that worker over a worker who does not have the same skills.
1. No, these statistics do not surprise me at all. People naturally want the best employees they can get, and the more educated are typically better. The smarter you are, the more time and effort you have put into your education, and vice versa. It makes sense that we would want smart people to work for us, for they would have the most to contribute in their work. These are also the people who are more likely to have the ability to be entrepreneurs, creating their own jobs. This breakdown shows me the importance of getting an education, and applying myself in school. If I want to do well in life, I must try hard and learn all that I can. However, it also shows me that there is always a chance of unemployment, no matter what my education is.
ReplyDelete2. I do believe that the LIFE acronym is a valid pursuit for people to focus their early life on. Typically, yes, I believe this “double major” is necessary. I would not go so far as to say if you do not have ample abilities with “LIFE” that you are doomed, for there is always a loophole. There will always be jobs that do not require some of these skills, but there are few and far between. Most people will interact with others during their job, whether it is a boss, coworkers, employees, or customers. This makes it important for us to have the proper LIFE skills, so that we are enjoyable to work with.
3. My strongest area of the LIFE acronym is probably leadership. I am a leader in many aspects of my life, and it is something that has always come natural to me. My weakest are of the LIFE acronym is probably emerging technology mastery. I am often very confused by technology, and am often having to ask others for help. I would like to work towards being a frontrunner in understanding technology, allowing myself to work with technology more independently, relying less on others to teach my and assist me to figure it out.
4. I definitely think becoming unemployed is more due to deteriorating business conditions, and you can definitely take actions to help control your employment destiny. When businesses are making employment cuts, there will always be choices between people. If you are a strong worker in which your employers enjoy working with, they will do everything they can to keep you. If you are a bother, or a lazy worker, you will be the first person they cut. Also, business layoffs are often due to poor performance from the company as a whole. If you are not doing your job to the best of your ability, you could contribute to this. By working hard, and efficiently, you decrease the likelihood of layoffs being necessary for the company’s survival.
5. The “dirty little secret” referenced above is that employers are often biased towards people who have double majored in LIFE. If you carry these abilities, your employers will most likely keep you as an employee. It definitely makes common sense to me, it’s just human nature. We want the best we can get, and we like working with people who are friendly and easy to work with, while still maintaining motivation to work hard. People with LIFE abilities hold these qualities, so of course employers will be more biased towards them.
1. Not at all, I think it is that exact statistical breakdown that causes our educational system to put a lot of focus on getting into college. We’ve talked about how having more educated workers in the work force leads to greater output, so coming into the work force with a decent level of education to begin with should already provide a person with some distinct advantages.
ReplyDelete2. I think LIFE is moderately important. Obviously these skills will certainly come in handy when you go to keep your job in the future, but in terms of getting into the work force initially, I’m not sure whether that is dependent on LIFE or LUCK. However, applying those skills later in life or once you have attained your position might not be as easy as if you were to build those habits now, so I would recommend that everyone does build their LIFE skills now and in the near future as opposed to building those up when in a job.
3. I think I am best at my Flexibility and leadership skills, I try to lead groups to finding the best possible solution for all parties involved whenever possible, and I always try to look down all avenues of approach to find that best solution. If we experience a problem, I look for alternate solutions. However, my interpersonal skills are lacking. To help the group organize and think better, I do tend to lay all the issues on the table initially so that we can face them, and I know that puts a lot of people off.
4. I think it really depends on the state of the economy. My father is one of the hardest working people I know, and when the housing market collapsed, he was laid off again and again. I think it was entirely based on the economic state of the time that he had some very bad luck, but not the other way around. I certainly believe that my Dad has LIFE skills, and I think that was one of very few reasons why we managed to survive the ’07-’09 recession.
5. You said that managers decide who stays and who goes based on how hard they work, whether they take the initiative, how they work with others, how they look at problems, and how well they can adapt, and that makes perfect sense to me.
1. The breakdown of unemployment by educational category doesn’t surprise me. It is clear by looking at the breakdown that going to college is very beneficial. The more educated a person is the more likely they are to be employed and at a higher level of pay.
ReplyDelete2. LIFE is extremely important and is something that all people should know and understand. No matter where you work this acronym has some sort of importance to it. If we practice LIFE in the present we can be confident that our future will be bright. By learning all of the skills in LIFE we can not only be promised a good shot at having a high paying job in the future, but other situations will be handled in a more educated fashion.
3. I am very strong in the leadership aspect of LIFE. Ever since I was little I have always thought of myself as a little bit of a control freak. I don’t know if it is because I like being in charge or I feel more confident that way. I am always the one to take initiative on group projects even if it means putting in much more effort than those of my peers. I could definitely work on flexibility. I often go frustrated when something goes wrong unexpectedly and I panic. I need to be more ready for any problem to show up and taking things calm and understanding we have a problem and finding a solution.
4. The reason for unemployment is more deteriorating business conditions than bad luck. Although every owner would like to hire as many workers as he can and pay them a good salary with deteriorating business conditions it is not possible. Owners are forced to lay off workers that they can’t afford and most of the time they lay off the most incompetent workers because they aren’t worth the salary they are getting.
5. The “dirty little secret” makes common sense to me. Although going to a good college is certainly beneficial there is no guarantee that it will score you a good job. You must have the LIFE skills that that job requires. A college might help you get the job, but the LIFE skills will help you keep it and being promoted.
1. The above break down does not surprise me. The more education someone has, the more qualified for the job they are likely to be.
ReplyDelete2.I believe that it is a valid pursuit to avoid unemployment in the future. I think that while a lot of LIFE will just come naturally it is still a good idea to go out of your way to put yourself in situations that will help you to improve at LIFE.
3. I believe I am decently well rounded with regards to the first three, but might be a little behind on Emerging Technology mastery.
4. No, being laid off is more due to deteriorating business conditions than "bad luck". If you are good at LIFE you should be able to keep your job, although you may rarely get laid off just due to bad luck.
5. Yes, the correlation between being more suited for the job through having better LIFE skills and not getting laid off before others does make common sense to me.
1. The breakdown in unemployment by education does not surprise me. Educated workers are more skilled and can provide more value due to their education, so it would make sense that companies would want to hire them more and that they would have easier times finding jobs. From these statistics, I can take away the message that education is a huge factor in getting a job.
ReplyDelete2. I believe that the LIFE acronym is a good way to avoid unemployment if it is coupled with marketable skills. If a worker cannot do their job in the first place, I don't think that LIFE skills will save them. However, LIFE is a valid way to help one avoid unemployment. I think that one must focus intentionally on LIFE to improve LIFE skills. Development of many of those skills may require breaking habits, which requires conscious effort to accomplish. Nevertheless, nature does play a factor in LIFE skills; I believe that some people are naturally more inclined towards them.
3. I am the best in the Leadership category. In group projects at school, I often become the de facto leader. I have on multiple occasions "picked up the slack" and done more than my "fair share" of the work. I am weakest at the Interpersonal skills category. I often struggle to persuade people that my solutions will work, partly because I am often not completely sure that they will work. I also tend to avoid confrontation, even if it is necessary.
4. I think that becoming unemployed is mostly a result of deteriorating business conditions. Unemployment shoots up during recessions not due to a general increase in bad luck, but because of bad business conditions. Luck is by definition random, while unemployment is responsive to business conditions and can be predicted. I think that your employment destiny is never completely in your own hands, but mastery of LIFE will certainly give you more control over your employment destiny and will help you get and keep jobs.
5. Your dirty little secret stated that those who have mastered LIFE skills are more likely to be promoted and to keep their jobs during general layoffs. This makes common sense to me because LIFE skills are valuable in any workplace, and businesses want to keep their most valuable employees.
1. The breakdown of unemployment based on education category was not surprising to me. When applying for a job, employers most often want a person with a college degree or higher, knowing that they are skilled and qualified for the job. People who higher education levels than another person applying for the same job will look better, most likely receiving the job. In the end, having a college education is beneficial in the long run.
ReplyDelete2. In my opinion, the LIFE acronym is a valid and well thought out strategy to use in our high school, college, and adult life. Students are likely to develop some of the these LIFE skills naturally as one ages, but those skills can be further developed by practice and patience. LIFE skills may keep you from entering the unemployment rate, or can be applied to everyday life, outside of work. Whatever the case may be, every person should work on and major in LIFE skills.
3. I think my strongest LIFE skill is F, or flexibility. Life is always throwing many unexpected changes our way, and I am able to handle them pretty well. I always seem to do my best work when I have expectations to uphold or am under pressure. My weakest LIFE skill would have to be Emerging Technology Master because there are times where I would much rather read out of a textbook or hand-write something, but technology keeps progressing and turning away from these ways.
4. Unemployment is a bit of "bad luck" and deteriorating business conditions. Sometimes we are just unlucky and are the person the company decides to let go, while at other times the company is not doing well and needs to lay off employees. Mastering and applying LIFE skills can help one avoid unemployment, though it is not guaranteed a person will never experience this at one time in their life or another.
5. The "dirty little secret" mentioned above was that when it comes time for companies to lay off workers, those that have mastered LIFE skills are less likely to become unemployed. This idea makes sense to me, for any company wants a well-rounded and skilled worker as opposed to someone who only sticks to what they have to do.
1) I am slightly surprised at the level of unemployment for people with a college degree. While I know that in today’s society it is very hard for college graduates to find new jobs but I would expect companies to come swooping in to pick up the new and innovative workers. It would be interesting to see what subjects or majors make up the largest percentage of the unemployed as it would give us an insight into the employment market and what type of positions are needed. The other Unemployment categories did not surprise me as a person with a lower level of education will not have the skills required to perform difficult tasks. Also the skills that those less educate may have could be easily replaced by a machine.
ReplyDelete2) I think the LIFE acronym is a very simple yet effective guide for how you should live your life and what you should do to plan for your future. It provides you with things that will differentiate you form the crowd and also make you work more efficient in your job and I’m sure in your everyday life. I think the LIFE skills will progress naturally at different rates for different people. However if you just let them grow naturally you will have to wait to reap the benefits and you won’t have any edge above others.
3) I would say I am strongest at Flexibility and Emerging technology Mastery as I feel that I can adapt to various situations and I stay up to date with technology. I would say I’m weakest at Leadership as depending on the group I work with it is sometimes hard to take charge. It is hard to be a leader when you don’t know what is going on.
4) I think unemployment is mainly deteriorating business conditions as businesses do not randomly lay people off if the business is going good, unless of course the person is not doing their job. I think it also has to do with Bad Luck as if you do the same exact job as the person next to you then the company will ignore the value of the job and look at the person who does it. They will either choose the person they like the most or the person that is most productive. I think if you master LIFE then you will be able to have an edge over others and you will be seen as a clear value to the company which will make them less likely to lay you off.
5) The secret was that managers don’t only look at the job that is being laid off but they also dwell heavily on the personality and work ethic of the possible candidates for being laid off. Even if you are doing well at your job but you are quiet and only do what you are told compared to the other guy who goes above and beyond, you will most likely be fired. Employers don’t want you to just do what you are told but they want you to take initiative and to do extra. It makes sense to me as everyone is different and some people are better than others at certain things. Sure the can both do the same thing but one not as well as the other.
1. The breakdown of unemployment by educational category does not surprise me because specialized skills are highly value in competition today. Many of these specialized skills must be learned in college so it makes sense that those with a college degree have a lower unemployment rate that those who dropped out of high school. In the end employers are looking for higher educated people.
ReplyDelete2. The LIFE acronym pursuit is valid as an early focus to help avoid unemployment in the future, because they are skill that are universal. The earlier you obtain these skills the better off you will be. Ifit very import to achieve these skills in by college because they will allow you to get the most out of your education.
3.The area of LIFE that I am strongest at is probably emerging technology mastery, because it is an interest of mine. I work a lot with computers and am proficient in coding in multiple languages, so learning new technology is fun for me. The area of the LIFE acronym that I am weakest at is probably flexibility, because sometimes it can take a lot of work to keep up with all the constant changes happening in our world.
4. I believe that unemployment is more likely to come because of deteriorating business conditions than “bad luck”. There has to be a reason for some to be unemployed, it does not just happen randomly. You can help ensure your own employment destiny by mastering the LIFE acronym, because those are skills that are needed in all fields of work.
5. Your “dirty little secret” was that if you work hard you will be successful. It does not matter what degree you earn or where it came from all that matters is the hard work that you put into everything you do in life.
ReplyDelete1. The unemployment statistics do not surprise me. We were all brought up by our parents learning that education was key and they weren’t wrong. Without education our ability to go through life will diminish by a great amount. As it shows people with no high school diploma showed a higher percentage of being unemployed than a person with and so forth. I learned that without education our chances of finding a job will decline.
2. Yes, the LIFE acronym is something everyone should follow early in life. It would help avoid unemployment by increasing your work habits and social habits. College majors are very important; they help you learn what is necessary for the field of work that you are looking for. With LIFE major, it teaches you the things you need for good work habits so that when it comes for the business to lay off or even promote people you would be able to avoid that. I’m not saying that these two majors cannot work hand in hand, because they can. In college many majors have the option to put you out in the field that you are actually working towards and this helps you learn the LIFE skills.
3. I would definitely say that I am strong in the Interpersonal Skills and some parts in the Emerging Technology Master. I’ve notice when it comes to group work in school I seem to do a lot better (not counting the times I work with people who do nothing) with a group of other students than I do alone. With technology I’ve spent most of my life learning different ways to work a computer. The one thing I believe that I need to work on is the Leadership and Flexibility. I need to learn how to take initiative for myself and help others strive forward. With Flexibility, I have had many setbacks in my life and I wasn’t always the best at recovering from those. But if I focused on trying to fix these my LIFE major will be on its way to becoming ready.
4. I believe that becoming unemployed if more of a deteriorating business. A business can lay off workers for many reasons, a big reason is that the business is suffering and need to lay off a certain section of their work. Even with an inevitable layoff there are something that you can work towards to ensure a position in your job. I believe that if you follow the LIFE major you would be able to keep your job.
5. The secret was that many companies and businesses aren’t looking at what college you went to, even though it helps in the short run, but instead are looking at you past Jobs. They look at this because they need to see if you have more of the LIFE skills than a college degree. This makes sense to me because why would a business want to hire someone with no experience in any job, than someone who has worked the similar job and has ten times more experience.
1. No, I am not surprised by the breakdown of unemployment. Education serves as a proof of experience and skill- although a person can be bright without a college degree, but a college degree is tangible evidence for the possession of skill. Companies tend to hire skilled workers because they lead to a more successful out put and economic growth.
ReplyDelete2. The "LIFE" acronym seems to be a valid strategy to help avoid unemployment. I believe that most successful, well-rounded, and hard working employees have mastered the qualities of "LIFE." I think that the acquirement of "LIFE" skills depends on the person. When I came to Paul VI, I was not a very hard worker. I really struggled with time management and approaching certain assignments in a focused way. Compared to four years ago, I have gotten much better at managing my time and focusing, but this took time and adjustment. For some people, mastering LIFE comes naturally- having these skills already ingrained into your system can benefit you greatly.
3. In the LIFE acronym I think I am the strongest in Interpersonal Skills. I think that I am a people person- I love working in teams and as a group, honing skills towards a positive outcome. I think that I need to improve the most in flexibility- it is definitely more difficult for me to adjust my work schedule and time management habits to fit the circumstances.
4. I think it definitely can be both, but what truly matters is a persons ability to bounce back from unsuccessful times. I do think that, through LIFE principles, a person is more likely to obtain success through employment.
5. The "dirty little secret" was that, when it comes the time to downsize, managers of companies tend to single out the people who have majored in the aspect of LIFE and keep those in the company. Yes, it does make sense to me, because companies would want to keep the group of people that have benefit the company the most through their own skill.