Working World - Career Transition

Ok, so you’ve made it through the first week of your New Year’s resolutions. Diet and exercise, I’ll bet. What about your career goals and strategies? Did you make a resolution or two for your career? Remember, there’s no such thing as job guarantee in today’s world. So, it’s up to you and good career management to protect your future. By this I mean being knowledgeable about your skills, abilities, interests and personal motivators. And even more so, being a vigilant observer of the external and internal environment and then developing ongoing plans to meet any challenges.

So, with that in mind, here are some key work trends I think will impact on your career and career management strategies in the next few years.

Job Satisfaction

Recent employee surveys tell us that organizational culture; in other words, the work climate and the interpersonal environment are more critical to job satisfaction than monetary rewards. But, did you know that most job candidates don’t inquire about the work climate nor do they assess the match between their own personal needs and the job offer? Well, if you don’t want to face a critical career mistake 3 months after starting a new job, plan to do a lot more research and ask a lot more questions. What people say about the work climate and what the situation really is can be two different things.

Skill Currency

Does that old parental phrase “education never ends” ring in your ears? Is your boss always talking about “continuous learning”? No matter. It’s true! You simply cannot afford to let your knowledge and skills get behind. When there’s a call for “knowledge workers” in the future, you’d better make sure you’re one of them! Don’t wait for a company sponsored training program or use time and l cation as an excuse. There are plenty of flexible educational programs nearby and well recognized online distance programs just keystrokes away.

Entrepreneurial Mindset

Flat organizational structures with increased front-line employee decision making will continue. To be successful, you’ll need a strong sense of business literacy, customer service, and operational and financial management know-how. You’ll need to understand how compa nies leverage resources, and manage risk. So, keep your problem solving and people skills current and sharp.

Information Technology

Being skilled in the use of information technology is a given. But companies are seeking more effective ways to evaluate your productivity so get comfortable with increased employee monitoring. On the other hand, technology enables you to answer email and voicemail at home, at all hours of the night of course, so be careful to balance this with family or personal responsibilities. After all, you won’t be any good to anyone if you are too stressed out, make job errors and unfortunate career mistakes.

Diversity at Work

Our work world is no longer one dimensional; we operate in a multicultural milieu and are proud of it. There’s no more men’s versus women’s jobs. People from all ages, racial backgrounds, cultures and religions fill our workplaces. This is diversity! And, diversity will continue to grow as we struggle to fill the many skills gaps. So, as a successful worker of tomorrow, be prepared to improve your skills in ommunicating, managing and motivating within this multicultural, multilingual milieu.

Continued Contradictions

Work is changing so fast we can’t keep up and the resulting contradictions will simply take time to resolve. We’re reinventing jobs, customer and employee relationships, changing work processes and scrambling to create new corporate infrastructures. The best skill you can develop for this environment is called managing ambiguity. In other words, don’t get upset when things aren’t just the way you want them or within the timeframe that you think things should happen. Learn to see the “big picture” while still having the patience, skill and tenacity to work around the contradictions.

Continuous Improvement

Companies will continue as lean machines with small management teams and limited promotional opportunity. They will continue focusing on improving work processes. Therefore, your career strategy should not focus on moving up the narrow old fashioned career ladder; instead broaden your skills as much as possible. Learn a variety of work processes; accept increased responsibility and the opportunity to work on and/or lead new projects. You will gain new skills at a faster rate thus increasing your readiness to take on a larger career move earlier in your career.

Accountability

Corporations are facing a much more litigious environment than ever before and will not tolerate inappropriate employee behaviour. Be sure you are fully aware of all operational policies and procedures, and company guidelines for employee relationships. At the same time, organizations will need and want employees who will speak up when things go wrong and when new and innovative ideas are needed to solve a problem. Take responsibility, speak up. But don’t just criticize, provide creative solutions and offer to work on the problem.

Employee benefits

Health care costs will continue to increase significantly and companies will be aggressively seeking ways to cut costs. Many costs are shared with employees so it is critical to completely understand both your needs and the benefit plan. Be prepared to accept some of the future costs yourself. And finally, never base a career decision solely on the availability of company benefits.

It was interesting to note that over 40% of employee survey participants indicated workplace issues, (i.e. job satisfaction) were a top priority for 2002. Job satisfaction and career management are your responsibility. So, if you haven’t already; sit down, take charge, set some 2002 goals and get moving.

Survey source: Workforce Forum

Barbara J. Bowes, FCHRP, CMC
Barbara Bowes is President of Legacy Bowes Group. She can be reached at barb@bowesgroup.com.