Ru Zi Ke Jiao

…to live in the Digital Age? It’s going to take a completely different set of skills than the ones that your parents needed, or that they even understand.

A short while ago I wrote about you being stuck in the wrong age. Your school was designed in the Agricultural Age, to turn farmhands into factory workers for the Industrial Age. That’s why CONTROL at school is absolutely essential: walk in straight lines; raise your hand for permission to go to the restroom; learn by repetitive motions. You thought you were learning the content, when you were really learning how to do repetitive work, a la the factory. Oh yeah, and how to mindlessly follow instructions. How ludicrous that we still cling to such ideas, when we’ve clearly left the Industrial Age, and have blown right through the Information Age and now are fully ensconced in the Digital Age.

For the past 5 years or so, I’ve been arguing that we need to change not just how we teach, but what we teach. Google’s V.P. said that what they’re really looking for when they hire are people with these characteristics and skills: Teamwork; Communication; Risk-Takers; Creative Problem Solving and Self-learning.

The picture above is a screenshot of www.hiremeheadblade.com and yes, he got the job. He didn’t stop with his custom built website, he also made a video. He SHOWED the company that not only was he serious about them, but that he was a good fit for them as well.

The news article, Turning to video to help you land a dream job that reported the story added:

“Clearly, shaving your head in a YouTube video — or doing a video at all — may not be right for every job or job candidate, especially since so many people don’t feel that comfortable in front of a camera. But you may be asked to talk to a camera soon whether you like it or not. Video services like Skype and HireVue are being used more and more by employers as a way to check out job candidates.”

“While some hiring managers shun the often amateurish mini movies, others rave about them.”

“It’s virtually impossible to get an impression of someone from a résumé, and videos have saved us so much time in the screening process,” said Heather Logrippo, owner of Distinctive Homes magazine. So many people look great on paper, she said, but when they show up for an interview, they don’t match what they put down in their résumé and cover letter. “It allows us to see how a candidate articulates themselves, dresses, communicates, nonverbal signals come across well, and we don’t have to go through an entire interview process, like a bad date, if our first impression is unfavorable,” Logrippo said.”

NASH: For me, the video itself wasn’t all that good – just a bald guy shaving the stubble off his head. But then again, I don’t work for a company that has designed a product just for that. And we’re just at the beginning of Digital Age. Competition for jobs will ensure that things get better quickly. The question for you is, will you be ready?