The Assumption

Knowing how to get a job, and then, how to keep a job, is something which is often taken for granted. 

We often assume that as adults, whom have presumably endured some sort of formal schooling throughout our youthful days, we automatically possess the necessary skills and knowledge required to be considered employable.  We know what to put into a resume; we know what to wear (or what not to wear) to an interview; and we encompass the necessary skills and knowledge required to successfully seek out and obtain whatever type of employment it is that we’re after.  After all, they showed us in school and after that, it is assumed common adult knowledge, right?

Wrong!

With industries constantly changing and subsequently the nature of work constantly evolving, the skills and knowledge that we were taught back at school which constituted us as employable – even if it was just 5 or so years ago – may now be considered out-of-date by employers within the current labor market.
 

Furthermore, like any learnt knowledge or skill, if it hasn’t been put to practice for quite some time, aspects get forgotten.  Couple these missing pieces with technology evolution and subsequent changes to industries and business practices; is this still something we could reasonably assume to be common adult knowledge? 

Do resumes always look the same and contain the same type of information throughout the years?

Do cover letters still need to be indented at the start of every paragraph and hand written like they were 10 years ago?

And, is it still acceptable to simply walk in to a workplace off the street, ask for a job and expect to be working there the next day? 

The answer to these questions and the many others that adults looking for work these days may face is simply, no! 

Much like the evolution of our primary industries which ensure maintained competitiveness within a volatile market; as adults competing for sustainable, secure employment, in a constant changing labor market, we too need to continue to evolve and maintain our skills and knowledge to remain competitive and essentially employable. 

Now that is common knowledge!