Future Proof Your Career!

Mind Tools Newsletter 82 - 4th Sep 2007 This newsletter is published by Mind Tools Ltd of 2nd Floor, 145-157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY, UK. You have received it because you have subscribed to our double opt-in newsletter. To subscribe or unsubscribe, just click the links at the bottom of this email

Contents: What’s New? Future Proof Your Career A Final Note

What does the future hold for you and your career? Most of us ponder this question from a very early age. "When I grow up, I'm going to be a firefighter/film star/famous explorer" (delete as applicable). But in reality, what we want out of our career tends to evolve and change throughout our lives.

As we learn and gain experience, we find our strengths and build our skills. When we stumble, we find new ways to cope and adapt. As we find success, we extend our ambitions. And so, as we change and grow, we shape our futures.

The world around us shapes our futures too - advances in technology, changes in the economic climate, and many other factors interact to change our world of work.

So how, with so many unpredictable factors affecting your future career, can you take control and future proof yourself? Find the answer in this week's article, "Future Proof Your Career!"

What Else Is New?

Our second new article this week covers "Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions". This is a fascinating tool that helps us better understand what lies behind the cultural differences between people, thereby helping us work more effectively with people from different cultures.

Meanwhile, members of the Career Excellence Club (Mind Tools members area) have been discussing "Good Manners in the Office", "Team Building", and "Getting Back On Track" after a career setback. Career coach Sharon Juden looks at the importance of enthusiasm, whilst our latest Expert Interview reveals how to "Get Slightly Famous".

We hope you enjoy the newsletter, and find success future proofing your career!

  

James Manktelow & Rachel Thompson

James Manktelow and Rachel Thompson
MindTools.com
Mind Tools – Essential skills for an excellent career!

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New Article

Future Proof Your Career

Developing skills for your future as well as for today

How will your job be different five years from now? Indeed, will your job even exist in its present form in five years, or in 10 or even 20 years time? And over this time, what will happen to the company and industry you work for?

We really don't know what the future holds. What we do know for certain is that change is a constant in the workplace. This means that what we are doing now will be different in the future.

How can you predict and prepare for this workplace of the future? What should you be doing now to avoid reaching a dead end in your career?

This article gives you some strategies you can begin pursuing now. They will help you keep your skills current and your opportunities open. Pick and choose from among them to build your unique Future Proofing Kit. And remember, as your own circumstances change, your kit may need to adapt as well. Refer back to this list often and take inventory of what you should be doing either differently from, or in addition to, what you are doing now.

Future Proofing Kit

Find an "Academy" company. If you're early in your career, get a job at a company renowned in its industry for developing its people (traditional examples are GE, Toyota and Mars.) When you work for this kind of company, you are enrolled in a continuous development program that goes well beyond the technical skills you need for your current role. This forms a great foundation for a successful career.

Get and remain tech-savvy. Much of the change we see has to do with new technology. We keep finding faster and leaner ways to do things. Force yourself to keep your technical skills current, even if new developments don't seem directly related to your current job. Otherwise, you'll get left behind and may have to catch up a huge amount before you can head off in a new direction in the future. If that means learning the newest online tools like blogging and web conferencing, do it. If you're in a highly technical field of work, be proactive and stay current - even when your company does not.

Develop your competencies, skills and experience. Along with technical skills, it is critically important to continue your professional development to remain in demand in the marketplace. Make sure you develop the transferable skills that are universally sought by employers. Leadership, communication, innovation, stress management and interpersonal skills are all fundamental requirements of the jobs of today and tomorrow. Here are some ways to do this:

• Choose two competencies or skills to improve each year. Monitor and track your progress.
  
• Develop a five year learning plan to acquire the knowledge and education you need.
  
• Develop cross-functional skills. Beyond a certain stage in your career and in uncertain environments, specialization is no longer the route of choice. It can pay off for some; however, it has high risk of obsolescence attached.
  
• And yes, consider joining our Career Excellence Club to learn these skills.

Your specific technical skills may get out of date. That's why you see nurses with business skills and technology experts with financial experience. A broad range of competencies, skills and abilities can help you secure a new job or may even open the door to working in a new industry.

To maximize your chances of success, use the tips found in the Personal Goal Setting article to help you set development goals effectively, and if you have our Personal Development Plan Workbook, make sure you use it to plan your skills development.

"Think global." In many industries, geographical barriers to business are getting less and less relevant. Your co-workers, clients and stakeholders now and in the future can be from anywhere in the world. You need to acquire the ability to work within the international marketplace by:

• Learning about working with diverse cultures.
  
• Asking for assignments that require international exposure.
  
• Learning another language.

The more experience you get, the more confidence you will have when working in the global marketplace. This will make you much more attractive to employers in the future.

Create and maintain a success journal. The time to start thinking about your accomplishments and skills is not when you are looking for a new job. You need to be proactive and take continuous inventory of what you do really well, the accolades you have been given and the noteworthy results you've been responsible for. Employers want to know what you will do for them. When you have a ready list of things you have done, it is much easier to recall your most relevant achievements and skills.

• Track your duties, projects and results.
  
• Keep a list of professional development activities you've participated in.
  
• List the training you've completed.
  
• Note your volunteer work.
  
• File your performance reviews and the written letters and emails you receive that note your performance.

Use this success journal to track your strengths and successes and also to affirm your wonderful qualities as well. All of us need to boost our confidence and self esteem from time to time. Having a list of objective strengths and accomplishments can do a lot to improve your motivation and belief in your abilities.

Build and maintain a professional network. Make sure that you develop good relationships with people both within and outside your organization. These people will be invaluable as the landscape of work changes. They can bring you along with them as they weather changes, and can provide opportunities when your current position looks uncertain. When you add a mentor or two to your network, you have the added bonus of learning new skills, technologies and strategies that will help you move your career in the direction you want.

• Collect business cards.
  
• Keep track of former bosses and colleagues.
  
• Join professional networking associations.
  
• Participate in a wide range of activities and build relationships beyond your current career or industry.

• Keep track of business trends by reading a good newspaper and the industry press.
  
• Complete a PEST analysis for your industry and others you are interested in.
  
• Analyze the attractiveness of your company using Porter's Five Forces and USP Analysis.
  
• Back your hunches and analysis with action. If you think your company or industry is in trouble, it's best to get out while the going's good!

Overall, avoid industries and companies that are on a downward slide. Being an expert in a dying field may provide a niche strategy into the medium term; however, you will eventually have to leave. It is better to prepare now.

Keep a clear career path open. You may be fortunate enough to be in an organization where there's a clear and attractive career path ahead of you. For many, this will not be the case.

This may not be a problem if you're in a fast growth industry – if you're good at what you do, opportunities will most-likely appear with alarming regularity. However if you're in a slow growth industry or are one in decline, then this is a problem: There may be no onward path, and development may be blocked, however hard you work. This will lead to frustration, boredom and, in the long term, failure to achieve your potential.

This is where you need to review your options and take action to unblock your career, even if it means a job- or career-change. See our article on Career Planning to find out how to do this.

Develop resilience. Because the future is uncertain, you will probably encounter setbacks no matter how much you prepare and plan. People who will be successful are those with the ability to bounce back and consider such setbacks as learning experiences.

• Evaluate and affirm your strengths on a regular basis.
  
• Develop realistic and achievable goals, monitor your progress and identify what is holding you back.
  
• Build your flexibility and maintain your enthusiasm despite what is happening around you.

All of these techniques can be very useful as you begin to plan and prepare for your future. And they all have in common the elements of risk management and career planning. You need to become good at both to secure your future career.

Key points:

While your job description may not be relevant in the future, you can ensure the skills you bring to the table are. With some forethought and planning, you can take control of your future career today. The key is not so much in how skilled you are at predicting what will happen, it is in how attuned you are to the early indications of change.

When you realize that change is constant and you are constantly planning so you stay ahead of the game, you will find yourself in a great position to recognize and capitalize on the opportunities that present themselves.

This article is supported by Dianna Podmoroff of the Mind Tools Career Excellence Club. Click here to contact Dianna and comment on this article.

The Mind Tools Store:

• The Career Excellence Club (The Mind Tools members' area): Make career development an every-day part of your life with member-only discussion forums, the Mind Tools Extended Toolkit, downloadable MP3-based Book Insights and Interviews, regular coaching, training, and much, much more. More >>
  
  
• How to Lead: Discover the Leader Within You: Learn the 48 simple but essential skills you need to become a top leader in your industry. More >>
  
  
• Personal Coaching from Career Excellence Professionals: Find career and life direction, bring your job under control, build self-confidence and put yourself on the path to long term success with a Mind Tools coach. Our coaches give you the focused personal coaching you need to make the very most of your career and life.More >>

A Final Note From James

Back from a short summer vacation, I'm enjoying using this time of year to think about the future.

This is an incredibly exciting time, just as long as you're prepared to take the time to understand how the world is changing. By spotting just a few of the trends shaping our world, you can prepare yourself to take full advantage of them. So use this newsletter's article (and, in particular, the strategy tools within the "Scan the Environment" section) to think about your future. It will be time incredibly well spent!

In the near future - in two weeks time, to be exact - we'll be back with two great new articles, looking at two different aspects of personal effectiveness.

Until then, have a truly excellent week!

James Manktelow

James Manktelow

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