Life Long Learning and Interview Skills

Copyright (c) 2010 The College Of Public Speaking

Jobs are no longer for life.

When I first started work in the late seventies, you could finish one job on a Friday, go down to the employment exchange on Monday and start your next job on the Tuesday. It was that easy.

I remember those days vividly, it seemed to take a long time for anything to happen. It was rather dull actually, but because that's the way it was, and it was all that we knew, very few people could be bothered to challenge the status quo.

The world has moved on a great deal and experienced incredible change both socially and economically. The global economy, immigration, technical progress and innovation - too much change some would say.

Changing and changing fast to this new reality is the only way to survive.

I am very proud of the work that I do now and as well as my overall achievements since I left school. What a journey it has been!

I was lucky. I went to a great school with excellent and caring teachers and a fantastic atmosphere in which to learn. I think education is a wonderful gift, a marvellous experience and considering the state and status of some countries in the third world, a privilege.

Interestingly (apart from writing, reading and arithmetic), very little I learnt at school is relevant to my work as a speaker and trainer. The work scene has so enormously changed that it's imperative to adapt and reskill many times to remain employable.

One of my major tasks is getting this point across to my students who come to me for help with interview coaching. Some skills have an incredibly short shelf life. For example, if you study a four year university course in ICT, fifty per cent of what you learn is obsolete by the end of the course. Learning, personal development and communication skills have never been so highly valued as they are today. Your commitment to self-development at your own expense and in your own time is a certain method of attracting your prospective employer's attention.

Naturally, there is no guarantee that your extra curricular activities will land you that excellent job, but it's certainly worth developing, putting on your CV and discussing at the interview.


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Vince Stevenson is one of the UK's top speaking enthusiasts as well as an award winning trainer in the field of personal development. Vince works at the College of Public Speaking, one of the UK's leading presentation skills companies and has taken over the personal development brief. Visit the College of Public Speaking at: Interview Skills London Interview Techniques London