When I was working on Wall Street some years ago, the new CIO said something that has stuck with me to this day. He was making a lot of changes as we moved to new technologies, with corresponding organizational disruptions. Many people were nervous and worried about their jobs. He said “I can’t give you job security but I can give you life security”. Yes, sounds a bit overstated but what he was trying to say was that job security is a thing of the past. However, if you keep your skills up-to-date and are fearless about learning new things and marketing yourself, you can stay in demand.
Count on yourself
That is even more true today. Gone are the days of someone working at General Motors until retirement. More than at any time in the past, you are in charge of your career. Today’s resume can have 5 jobs on it during a 15-year period without that necessarily sending up a red flag. We are in a much more fluid work environment and people must rely on themselves and their skills, rather than seniority. It is up to you to keep on top of the marketplace, to stay abreast of new trends, and to keep your skills current. Last but not least, you need to ‘advertise’ your talent – internally and externally.
Today’s tools make it easy
Building your brand gives you more weight within your company and also more credibility outside of it. Social networking is certainly a part of this. People promote themselves on LinkedIn, on Facebook, etc. They blog and speak at conferences. In FitBase, they contribute to the community by publishing articles and user or expert opinions on topics to share their experiences and show their acumen. Availing yourself of these opportunities lets you establish yourself as a recognized leader in your space. Not only will you have more value to your company but you will also have more career options, should you need them. There’s a great book by William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson called “Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand” (learn more at reachcc.com). Bottom line, leverage all the tools available to you and you can better control your fate.
How true! In today’s job market a person needs to be aggressive in building a resume of relevant, fungible skills that gives him/her options as well as be his/her own best promoter. Building your brand as well as establishing a strong and large network are key for your career surival. Over the past year I have seen so many people who have worked their entire careers in one type of job never having spent the time to build/ expand their resume and now find themselves unemployed with the need to remake themselves without a clue as to how to go about it. So don’t wait for the shoe to drop. Invest in yourself and build your brand so you are best positioned no matter how the tide turns.
Well said! It’s almost as if today, well-spaced job-hopping is becoming expected. I recall a job earlier in my career in the mid-90’s, hearing the news that our entire group would be out-sourced in a multi-billion dollar deal with a large consulting company. At the time, my employer was considered the one place on Wall St. where you could expect to work “for life”, secure in the notion of a comfortable retirement. Luckily I got the message early. Others have not been so lucky. While there are still many who do stay at one job for decades (and quite successfully), I would gather that the most successful ones do it out of choice instead of necessity. It’s only by knowing you can “get a job anywhere” that you can ensure your long-term success, even if by chance it ends up being with the same company.