Career Prep In High School Can Help With Hirability Before And After Graduation
By Tyng Kam, Stride Success Coach
You’re a fast learner and have a growth mindset – but how exactly are you supposed to show that to hiring managers, when you don’t have many experiences outside of your schoolwork? What can you do to improve your hirability scale?
Let’s get the basics covered. Knowledge in and experience with using basic business operating tools, like computers and Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), are the basic skills required to enter almost any professional field. Having a habit of using digital calendars to plan your schedule, and having the ability to communicate effectively through emails and video conferencing platforms, are highly desirable skills for employers, too. I am proud of Stride Career Prep students who elected to take the Microsoft Office classes and obtained multiple certifications during high school. These students not only developed modern career readiness skills, but they also built self-confidence along the way.
Enrollment Is Open!
Take action and get involved in a career prep plan!
As the old saying goes, actions speak louder than words... especially if you are interested in customer-facing professions like sales, nursing, and teaching. Getting a job in retail and/or tutoring are great ways to gain some customer service skills while you are still in high school. Taking on a leadership role in a student club or fundraising activity, or volunteering as a marketing intern, are also terrific ways to showcase your leadership and problem-solving abilities. The fact that you’re willing to dedicate your time during high school to these self-directed activities demonstrates many qualities of an individual who is likely to succeed in a career – which is an attraction to most employers and hiring managers. All of this could ultimately help to make you more hirable.
Nearly all businesses need some level of digital presence in our increasingly digital world. In the past few years, more and more businesses are finding ways to connect with their customers through the internet. Whether you plan to pursue a career as a software engineer or an early childhood educator, it helps to have digital marketing skills and an exposure to how businesses are run, in general. As an example, a software engineer who understands digital marketing will be better able to build platforms that respond to customer needs… and this is highly valuable to a wide range of employers. Another example is an early childhood educator who can also put together PowerPoint presentations for other staff members, improving communications of curriculum in a manner that is school-wide. Combining digital technology savviness with a professional area of expertise can naturally increase hirability right out of the proverbial gate that leads into the working world.
Here are some ideas that you, as a high school student right now, can pursue to develop a better sense of business acumen and increase your hirability:
1. Build a website on any topic that interests you. It can be a blog, a social gaming community, or an art portfolio. Once it is all set up, you will want to connect your site with an analytics platform and then link it to one or two social media channels. Share your webpage with friends and family. You can then use analytics to gather information … like how many people visit the site, where they come from, and how they navigate on the website. You can then experiment with different layouts and content strategies to see any changes in your users’ behavior.
2. Ask your parents to help you set up an eBay account to trade used goods, or perhaps an Etsy account to sell custom-made jewelry or journals. Learn to promote your online retail offerings with various digital experiments, and then track your visitors’ responses.
3. Help a local non-profit with its’ marketing and social media needs.
Have a resume ready for employers at all times.
While you may not necessarily need a resume for part-time jobs you are targeting at the moment, it helps you to stand out if you have one. A resume showcases your level of professionalism, is a great way to demonstrate your writing abilities, and helps you to have some control over a job interview as you will refer to the document during the hiring conversation.
Learn to market yourself digitally, as a part of your career prep.
As it becomes more common for companies to digitize and automate the hiring processes, knowing how to set up your profile on professional platforms is critical to your career success. You can learn how to do this effectively by setting up a Tallo profile, as a high school student. A digital profile allows you to show your value beyond a one-page resume, and it offers you the opportunity to link it to personal projects. For example, you can publish your articles and link them to your online profile, to promote your creative writing skills.
Your hirability scale is a combination of your education and the basic technical skills required to do the job you are pursuing.
Need help getting career-ready? Connect with one of the Stride Student Success Coaches to get a strong start on your life after high school graduation.
Be sure to check out the article, How To Optimize Your High School Years For Career Readiness, to learn even more from a Stride Success Coach!
Want to take experiential learning to the next level? Then be sure to visit the Stride Internship Search Tool, to expand your knowledge and skills for better career prep and development: https://www.stridelearning.com/career-prep/internships.html
To learn more about Stride Career Prep Success Coaching for teens and what it offers, be sure to visit this site: https://www.stridelearning.com/career-prep/career-exploration/student-success-coaching.html
Is your child ready for the future?
Make sure your student is ready for life after high school.
Meet a Leader in online education.
See why over two million students have chosen Stride K12-powered schools.
