There is Life After College (extra book)

An industry book as I call it on the importance of college called, There is Life After College, by Jeffrey Selingo.  This is a great read for parents and children to read BEFORE they go to college, which is weird based on the title.  The book focuses on the job market and what the future holds for post-graduates, but in fact, it actually spends more time discussing what makes a great college for students (location, internships, co-ops, knowing ‘how to learn,’ and skills needed for life after college).  I took a good amount of nuggets of information for coaching young people.  Selingo focuses on the growing opportunities offered through ‘gap-years’ prior to college and how many students really shouldn’t go to college immediately after high school.  He also spends time citing statistics from Linkedin on correlating location of school, types of careers in those cities, and perecent of students hired from those schools in the area.  The book has ten chapters, beginning with the three types of students that exist: the sprinters, the wanderers, and the stragglers.  He chronicles the three groups and what each one would benefit from moving forward.  Selingo is highly critical, as are the sources he cites from industry, that rip Higher Education for cuddling students and not pushing them to think, and in the end not preparing them for working in a professional position.  Hmmmm, not sure he is talking about an institution like NYU, where I know my son is prepared for real life experiences and a full-time job!  Here are the life skills/qualities needed from the top students in the job market today:  being curious (be a learner for life), build an expertise/take risks; have GRIT (as outlined in Angela Duckworth’s work), be a ‘digital native’ (know technology); deal with ambiguity; and be humble/learn from your peers and mentors.  A final lesson learned includes his chapter on ‘telling your career story.’  Not enough young people know how to tell a good story on the abstract of your journey of life, so reflect on your lessons learned and be able to tell it in a concise manner.  Selingo’s work is on the mark and well worth reading.  I will be sharing more lessons learned in my weekly Linkedin blog post.  Take a peak!  I’d send this book to any high school juniors/seniors.