U.S. Work World - Career News Briefs - February 2019

Newest Soft Skill Employers Want: Grit
 
Some employers are starting to consider that one of the biggest predictors of success in the work world is grit.  Grit is a combination of perseverance, passion, and goals.  People with grit have the abiity to keep trying in the face of failure or struggle; have a passion for their work; and keep an eye towards the long-term goals.

Grit is a combination several soft skills that employers try to find in job seekers. For example, resilence is needed for sales staff to work through rejection. Persistence is needed for creative and innovative jobs. Purpose is needed to help workers feel connected to their job and work as a team. G rit is considered to be a combination of these parts, and also more than the sum of these parts.  
Grit is needed because people underestimate the hard work that creative jobs require -- and that the first ideas are not always the best.  The worker with grit will put in the effort and not be afriad to think of additional ideas outside the box.  Plus, the worker with grit will remain steady in spite of setbacks -- a personality needed for business success.

Here are interview questions employers seeking grit will ask:
  • Describe a time when you turned a dream into a reality.
  • Describe when you failed, and what you did about it.
  • Tell me about a time that you improved something or improved a way to do something.
  • What do you do to keep a positive attitude in difficult and strressful situations?

New & Updated Lessons in U.S. Work World 
  • After High School Choices
  • Graduation! Did You Pack Your Bags?
  • Taxes - "W" Forms
  • Taxes - 1040 Form
  • Robotics Technician
  • E-Cigarettes & Work
  • Minimum Wages 2019
  • Internship Classes
  • Interview Tips
  • 2018 Average Weekly Earnings by Age
  • Shoplifting & Robbery
To download these new and updated classroom lessons, login to  usworkworld.com. 

E-Cigarettes & Tobacco Products in High School
 

Young adults are more likely to use JUUL e-cigarettes -- electronic smoking devices that look like thumb drives, charge in a computer's USD port, use replaceable "pods" filled with nicotine and flavored liquid -- and easy to secretly use. 

Some youth think that a JUUL does not contain nicotine, when one JUUL pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes.

For classroom lesson about E-Cigarettes & Work, login to usworkworld.com. Click on Career Lessons.


Massive Online Open Courses - MOOCs

The cost of attending public four-year colleges has increased by 3.1% beyond the cost of inflation in the last 10 years. The amount of student debt is also rising, and topped $1.5 trillion.

A new form of education is growing rapidly among those who cannot afford college, cannot qualify for college admissions, or do not have time to attend college due to work.  This new form of education is called MOOCs - Massive Online Open Courses.

MOOCs are providing free and low-cost access to knowledge to anyone with an internet connection.  MOOCs can save money because high school students can take a free MOOC that allows them to determine which career path is right for them before wasting time and money changing majors in college.  For example, a student may think that becoming a video game developer would be an "awesome career," but taking a MOOC like "Introduction to Programming" can help him or her understand what is involved and whether he or she would actually want to pursue that type of career.

The dropout rate in MOOC is high with the short courses having the best success rates.  Many MOOCs offer "verified" certificates that student may place on their job applications and resumes. In addition, MOOC certificates may lead to promotions.  MOOCs are available on mobile apps so that lectures and coursework may be completed anywhere there is time.

MOOC courses include video, reading material, activity or project, interactive forums, weekly assignments, quizzes, and final exam.

Best MOOC platforms of 2018 were: 
For classroom lesson that include information about MOOCs, login to usworkworld.com.  Click on Career Lessons and After High School Choices

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