![\"Marija](\"http:\/\/www.pikaland.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/ind_1-560x767.jpg\")
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They say that school is where people go to learn.<\/p>\n
I beg to differ.<\/p>\n
While there are great schools out there, the majority of the graduates I\u2019ve encountered so far has mentioned how they were inadequately prepared for working life. When I graduated myself, I didn\u2019t really give it much thought \u2013\u00a0I just simply went out there and tried my best. Maybe I got lucky because\u00a0 I had really thick skin and didn\u2019t take \u201cNO\u201d for an answer. I used unconventional methods \u2013 this was when\u00a0Google was still in its infancy \u2013 and marched right up to companies in industries I had no prior experience in (and probably no business being in either) and told them why I should be hired. I sold myself the best I could.<\/p>\n
In all fairness, I was really curious about the work that people did. I was armed with a professional degree in landscape architecture but I wanted more: I wanted to demystify the whole creative career market to see what the world had to offer; and so I thought my best bet was to send in my application and see what the job entailed. I sent in my resumes to jobs that I found interesting\u00a0\u2013 a variety which included being a visual merchandiser at a mall, a carpet designer, and even an junior\u00a0florist. I was hired on the spot for almost all the jobs I interviewed for \u2013\u00a0save for a couple which I deliberately self-sabotaged because it didn\u2019t seem like the place for me: *cough* carpet designer *cough*.<\/p>\n
I thought people would naturally know about these sort of things (not the self-sabotaging one\u2019s interview bit, but the one where you hustle and tried everything because you didn\u2019t have anything to lose), but as I climbed the organizational ladder and had to interview people myself, I was in for a rude shock. Some were really, really bad. Some made me cringe. Some made me want to cry, but a lot of them just made me wonder.<\/p>\n
Some of them had great portfolios \u2013\u00a0but many took for granted that this was all they needed to get their foot in the door. Some were rude. Some were late. There were those who were shy, but there were a lot of people who didn\u2019t know how to communicate effectively.<\/p>\n
They say you shouldn\u2019t judge too quickly (heck, I said that myself last week) but when you\u2019re interviewing the 30th person for a few days at a stretch, you see a pattern emerge very quickly. Call it intuition or just plain experience \u2013\u00a0you get quite good at reading people after a while. And when you know these people can do better \u2013 I remember the impulse of wanting to grab their shoulders and give them a shake \u2013 you start to wonder: what went wrong along the way? Then I flipped the question and asked myself instead: what did I learn that they didn\u2019t?<\/p>\n
Turns out you don’t learn everything you need in school, and neither should you expect to.<\/p>\n
My parents \u2013 especially my father \u2013 held us to particularly strict standards. Me in particular. Being Asian and the eldest in the family meant that I would have to set a good example for my younger sister. He was a project manager in the construction industry, and for as long as I can remember, he was home on time for dinner every day when he was based in town (he was posted overseas several times throughout his career). I didn\u2019t realise it back then, but project managers had a lot to do; and the fact that he made it back in time everyday for dinner before the traffic pile-up, was a feat in itself that\u2019s worthy of praise.<\/p>\n
He drilled into us the importance of a few key things, a lot of which I took to heart. I\u2019m passing this on to you because I know I\u2019m lucky to learn from someone who\u2019s practical, efficient and very, very thrifty. So if you didn\u2019t have an Asian dad breathing down your neck when you were younger, here\u2019s what advice from him would feel like:<\/p>\n
Time management was one of the first thing we learned as a kid. When he said that we\u2019ll be out of the house by 10am, he would back the car out of the driveway by 9.55am. So we\u2019ve learned to ask the exact time when things would happen, or where we would be going a day in advance so that we could plan our time properly. My childhood (as far as I remember) was an orderly one \u2013\u00a0we were responsible for keeping our own time and failure to do so was frowned upon by my dad. A lecture would ensue about time-keeping and about being considerate to others\u00a0\u2013\u00a0a fate we made sure not to repeat.<\/p>\n
My dad was nothing if not for being one of the most efficient person I know. He would plan things in advance so that he could squeeze the most out of the day. Because a load of laundry takes time to finish, he\u2019ll make sure that it\u2019s the first thing to be done when we get home from a vacation. Or on a weekend. By the time he\u2019s pottered around the house completing the rest of his chores, the wash is done and he\u2019s done for the day.<\/p>\n
You greet people. You say hello. Coming into a room silent without acknowledging people is very rude in our parent\u2019s eyes. Even if its our own parents! Cowering away in a corner was never an option for us kids. We were taught to say hello when we entered anyone\u2019s home\/office\/event and you learn that ice breaking is as easy as saying hello.<\/p>\n
When I was about 5 years old we sometimes had dinner at my paternal grandmother\u2019s house and they used chopsticks and bowls instead of a plate with spoons and forks. I was trying to use my pair very unsuccessfully \u2013\u00a0and if you\u2019ve ever tried to use a pair of chopsticks, you\u2019ll know that you can muck it up pretty quickly. So I kept trying and thought I had my rhythm going until my dad saw what I was trying to do and sat me down to teach me how to use a pair properly. And once I mastered it, I was so proud of myself \u2013\u00a0I could pick up the tiniest thing with my pair of chopsticks. My hand didn\u2019t hurt from holding it for a long time and I got nods of approval from old folks wherever I went. Sure I was creative \u2013\u00a0he gave me points for that \u2013 but at some point, it\u2019s better to learn how to fully utilise a tool so that it can help you do things faster and quicker. Plus using chopsticks the wrong way is an abomination (his words, not mine).<\/p>\n
As long as I can remember, my childhood was a series of negotiations done between me and my parents.\u00a0 When I walked into a toy store, my parents would notice when I was lingering at a particular toy. They would ask me if I wanted to buy it, and my usual answer would be no, it\u2019s alright (I rarely ask for toys \u2013\u00a0I feel bad because they had to pay for it). But one day, I saw this amazing purple My Little Pony with the most gorgeous hair cascading down its back. Hair that I could play with endlessly for hours on end. Plus there was a comb that doubled up as a lock for a compartment! I looked wistfully at the box \u2013\u00a0and my dad showed me another pony (and definitely not<\/i> from the My Little Pony collection) that was cheaper. I told him it wasn\u2019t the same. I kept quiet on the way home but once I got back, I began to draft a handwritten letter that stipulated that I would do extra chores like sweeping the kitchen floor after dinner to earn that pony and that it would be my last toy EVER. I presented my proposal to him. I got my pony. The kitchen floor was clean. Win-win. I\u2019ve learned how to effectively negotiate and trade ever since.<\/p>\n#6. Speak slowly and clearly. I can\u2019t understand you.<\/b><\/h3>\n
My brain would go faster than my mouth when I was younger \u2013\u00a0a fact I believe was what drove me to talk at high speeds so that my mouth could keep up. And this exasperated my father who would often then tell me to speak slower and to enunciate my words so that I could speak clearly. Sometimes I got ahead of myself and words didn\u2019t come out right either and it\u2019s times like these he\u2019ll pause and asks me to repeat myself \u2013 only this time to make sure I listen to myself as I spoke.<\/p>\n
I was considered a tall kid, and had a habit of hunching my shoulders to make myself look \u201csmaller\u201d like the rest of class. Towering over small people was no fun, least of all to boys who hadn\u2019t caught up to their growth spurt yet \u2013\u00a0so I hunched. I remember my parents \u2013\u00a0in particular my father pressing my shoulder blades to straighten my back whenever we walked. Bad habits shouldn\u2019t have time to form, he said. Besides, standing tall makes you more confident, inside and out. This one still sticks because I still need to be careful with my posture, lest I slip into old habits.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be a smartypants\u201d was one of the lessons drilled into me when I was young. If I wasn\u2019t sure about something, I should be asking someone who does. And I shouldn\u2019t just stop at one person \u2013\u00a0I should ask a few to make sure I got it right. Because people can be wrong. They might not be doing it on purpose, but we had to learn to listen and figure out what\u2019s right instead of merely depending on one one source. We were encouraged to put up our hands to ask questions, to step up and to make an impression \u2013\u00a0because people remember you that way. Shyness won\u2019t get you anywhere.<\/p>\n
Sure, you protest \u2013 no one ever says these sort of things in art school! Or design school. Or whatever school for that matter. Of course! In school, we\u2019re focused so much on the academic side of things that we forget the human side \u2013\u00a0how we communicate, how we approach others, how we manage time, etc. Those sort of things can be taught and learned \u2013\u00a0it doesn\u2019t mean you have to be in school for that. But it\u2019s precisely these small little habits that build up and can make lasting impressions and relationships at work. When you have a good solid foundation to build from \u2013\u00a0the sky is the limit.<\/p>\n
Making sure artists have a good foundation was the reason why I built my online course Work\/Art\/Play<\/a>