Lessons Learned After College - #1

Reflecting on my life experiences over the last few years

For each remaining day of 2011, I've decided to post one lesson that I've learned since graduating from college. Through this process of thinking back on lessons learned, I have realized the importance of reminiscing and learning from the past. I hope that as you read these "lessons," you will think back on your own life to consider what has brought you to where you are today.

Lesson #1: Grades DON'T Matter!
If there's anyone who will not believe what's written in this post, it's my sister, Anne! As many of you probably know, she just finished her first semester of college and grades mean EVERYTHING to her right now! (Honestly, for that I'm thankful because I know there could be far worse things for her to be concerned about!) It wasn't long ago when I, too, thought that grades were all that mattered. My world was consumed with studying for upcoming exams and wondering how I was ever going to survive if I didn't get an A. Fortunately, my eyes have been opened since then! I learned that it was OK if I didn't get an A. In fact, I probably learned more in classes where I got a B than in the ones I got an A in.

Several weeks ago, as Luke and I were reflecting back on our college days, we began talking about the differences between good test takers and bad test takers. Luke was a good test taker, and I was not. The fact of the matter is, those who are good test takers do well in college. Those who are not, do not do well. Unfortunately, a very large percentage of grades are based on exams and not on projects and papers. As we were talking about this, Luke kindly reminded me of the fact that in "real life," exams don't matter. English skills, working with people, and projects are the things that matter in the workplace.

To help illustrate this, I searched for the top skills employers seek when searching for employees. Here's what I found:

• Communication Skills (listening, written)
• Analytical/Research Skills
• Computer/Technical Literacy
• Flexibility/Adaptability/Managing Multiple Priorities
• Interpersonal Abilities
• Leadership/Management Skills
• Multicultural Sensitivity/Awareness
• Planning/Organizing
• Problems-Solving/Reasoning/Creativity
• Teamwork

Did you notice that grades and test scores were NOT mentioned?! Not surprising, but it definitely would have been hard to convince me of that in college!

Here is an interesting video to watch about how fast things are changing: 

Interesting Facts:

• The Top 10 jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004.
• We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist using technologies that haven't been invented in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet. (How is that for a mouthful?!)
• The amount of technical information is doubling every 2 years. For students starting a 4-year technical degree, this means that half of what they learn in their first year of study will be outdated by their third year of study.

Thank goodness grades don't matter!

...Check back tomorrow for Lesson #2: Relationships are an Investment!