“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life, Think of it, dream of it and live on that idea. Let the brain, mussels, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success”. – Swami Vivekananda
We are living in the 21st Century, where technologies are moving very fast towards the digital economy in a highly competitive global market. Youth in most of the countries are very active demanding jobs, other facilities and have their better say in political policies and governance of their Nation In this internet era of high technologies, complex and uncertain work environment, competitive and cut-throat global market, sustainability of job and career growth are very challenging. The government policies of every country both at center and state level must cater for funding technical education which must offer diploma, degree and postgraduate programs, which are marketable so that passing out students are adequately equipped with required skills. This will make them readily employable and billable from day one.
Recent trade restrictions during 2018 between USA and China, USA and Russia are impacting global market. An amicable solution may help in migration of workforce in search of better job opportunity abroad.
Geopolitical Environment.
All developed nations like USA, Russia, China, Canada, Australia, England, Germany, France, Sweden and Italy are technologically advanced nations. They continue to create sufficient jobs for their citizens and even allow foreign citizens to come and work in their countries. Today’s younger generation of developing countries of Asia and Africa look toward advanced countries particularly USA, UK, Canada and Australia (English speaking countries) for lucrative jobs. China is encouraging English speaking courses at various levels of education to ensure better business environment and global partnerships. Large numbers of Chinese are continuing to move to the USA in search of a better career. All of these young students /professionals go abroad for the higher studies like Master /PhD Degree with a hope to get absorbed there itself. However, this is now going to be difficult since each country wants first their own citizens to have jobs and return foreign students back to their parent countries. As such, visa/ job permits, and travel regulations are going to be tough for those seeking jobs abroad. Entry to a foreign country will be on merit and only a few applicants having a higher academic qualification and latest skill set may be granted the visa. If you are seeking a job abroad, you must see their requirement of skill set, prevailing trends for hiring foreigners and their safety.
Domestic Instability. This causes a lot of domestic unrest and job disruptions since the government in power has little time to take good/hard policy decisions. A nation requires stable government at least for 8-10 years (two tenures) to implement policies on infrastructure, job orientated education, industrial policy and job creation. As a true citizen and professional, you are to go with the flow, work as per the framework of national policies but remain proactive and responsive to emerging trends and opportunities.
Impact of Technology.
· Job disruption. Rapid technological advancements in the field of Industrial Automation, Digital manufacturing, Structural Engineering, Construction Technologies, Mechanization of mining, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Robotics, Drones/UAV, 3-D Printing are resulting in job disruptions/ job displacements. To stay relevant to the emerging market, one must be fast and proficient in learning and using new technologies. Likewise, automation in offices, laboratories, studios, design offices, printing press, banking, healthcare, financial services, which are manpower intensive, jobs, are shrinking fast. It is estimated by PWC that by 2030, the USA may lose 40% jobs, UK may lose 30% jobs, Canada may lose 25% jobs and Australia may lose 20% jobs due to Automation, AI and Robotics. This trend is fast catching up in developing countries like India, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain and many others. Therefore you are to be responsive to such changes, keep learning and updating your knowledge, become multi-skilled and learning new skills to sustain the effect of emerging technologies.
· Creation of new jobs. On the positive side, technologies are offering more efficient processes and new jobs but those need new skill sets. Existing manpower above 45 years of age, will often find it hard to switch to new technologies. For instance, in Japan, 60% of the people above 45 Years of age will be soon redundant. However, while living in this chaotic world, you are still to progress in your career and maintain happiness at your workplace as well as in the family. You are therefore required to remain updated, continuously upgrade your skill set and quickly and efficiently adopt new technologies to stay ahead in the market.
· Uncertainty is a catalyst for innovation. Indeed uncertainty acts as a catalyst for research and innovations. It is ever true – “Necessity is the mother of invention”.
It motivates professionals in every field to research, develop their ideas, experiment and develop something new, which was so far unknown. As we recall, a large number of innovations/inventions took place during and post World War II. In the last 16 years, advances in technology, computing and internet applications have given tremendous momentum to commercial applications. All professionals are actively involved in skill building and are part of this wave. The contribution of your team for innovations will be highly appreciated and suitably rewarded. You will become more popular and much-needed person in the company. Your portfolio will reflect your contribution to the improvement of your CV for better next job.
Way to mitigate uncertainty. In today’s highly complex and uncertain world, there is no room for people who are less competent, lazy and possess negative attitude. You should develop a more positive attitude towards people and events happening around you. You must demonstrate this trait in your handling emerging situation. Some action points are given below:
· Unity. Unify your team, through shared vision and convert every risk into an opportunity to help in the growth of your organization.
· Integrity. If you demonstrate your good integrity and alignment towards your organization, you will be soon recognized as a reliable asset and rewarded for continuity.
· Skill Building. Continuously keep building your skill sets and update your portfolio to meet the requirements for future jobs.
· Be Proactive. You should remain alert and proactive to switch job/place of work, whenever situation so demands. However, do not take an uncalculated risk as that could destabilize you and your family.
· Adaptability to new technologies and business practices. Rapid developments in technology and use of IT have given a new dimension to the growth of service sectors like Banking, Insurance, Finance, Healthcare, Advertising, Journalism and Mass Communication, Marketing and Trading. Increased use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Digital manufacturing, Machine Learning (ML) has enhanced productivity but these areas need new skills. Therefore, you must learn new technologies faster, be proficient and become highly productive.
· Positive Attitude. It is your attitude more than aptitude which will help you at various stages of career and remain the most needed person, who willingly takes on extra responsibility. If you have a positive attitude you will say the glass is half full, while another person with negative attitude would say the glass is half empty. Imagine the same half-filled glass of water being viewed in two different ways. In today’s era of uncertainty, every employer looks forward to having a workforce which take every task seriously, willingly and deliver given task on-time and within allocated budget. When working in teams which are, dispersed, multicultural and/or multilingual, you are to be careful and reflect positive attitude at your workplace. Avoid company of people who have negative attitude. Always associate yourself with forward-looking people and seek inspiration from your mentors.
· Good Behaviour. Nobody likes misbehaviour at workplace or at home or in any social gathering. Your friends will resent your misbehaviour and may leave you alone. This may cause you isolation and depression, affecting your productivity. If you misbehave with opposite gender or seniors, you will soon be shown the door. Therefore, inculcate good behaviour and working with a smile to stay popular and relevant to the organization. This is the hallmark of stability and long retention of job.
· · Putting your best effort. Although you can’t always get expected result, yet you must put in your very best always. Irrespective of your position in the organization, it should be your best effort to demonstrate your will to do the best. Demand the best from yourself since others will expect the best from you. Similarly, demand the best from your team. Successful people don’t simply put in hard-work but their best-work to deliver on-time, every time and within the allotted budget.
· Exemplary Character. It is a sterling quality that where ever and whenever you are, you work wholeheartedly, irrespective whether someone is supervising you or not. You must not do anything which in unethical or immoral. If you demonstrate that you possess exemplary character, others will emulate you. Indeed, character is our most valuable possession as they say –
“When a job or wealth is lost something is lost but when a character is lost,
Everything is lost”
· Commitment. Your commitment to the customer, team, seniors and the organization will go a long way to establish you as a dependable asset, both by the employer and the customers. You should say what you mean and mean what you say. You and your team must meet deadlines given by the customers.
· Communication Skills. Your effectiveness in communication within the team, among peers, toward seniors and customers, is an important factor for your ability to stay on and be effective during all stages of ups and downs in the organization. Be kind, respectful and clear in your words and body language. This also comes handy while negotiating with customers and alliance partners. Above all, be a good listener.
· Dependability. Your capacity to work sincerely without any supervision will be soon recognized as your great trait for the growth of your organization. If you are dependable, you will be popular and most needed by the team, the seniors and the customers. This will ensure your retention while some other may get the pink slip to wait or quit.
· Determination. You need to have solid determination to keep going and perform any given task to your very best and never give up at any stage. It will be noticed by the people who matter like your immediate seniors, and senior management. Whenever there is any job cut, you will be retained since you are a determined person who puts in extra-bit to complete the race and win, while others may quit halfway or just short of finishing line.
· Focus. You must stay focused on your planned vision with missionary zeal. Any distraction, fear or suspicion should be kept away. In any field, those who stay focused are the winners and they get laurels and appreciation from many. Our life is like a camera where the proper focus will capture good details of the object and the output (picture was taken) will be appealing to all. If you lose focus, things get blurred and lose relevance.
· Flexibility to change. Your first job will be as per your basic qualification at UG/PG level, aptitude and attitude, but you need to boost up your skill set and remain proactive towards to a better job, for which you are passionate and are more suited. Similarly, if there is an opportunity for better career growth; leave your comfort zone without worrying about distance or working conditions and you must move on.
· Go-Getter. You need to have ability and determination to outperform and get things done, which are considered the most difficult /challenging tasks. Your seniors and those who matter to review your annual performance and recommend your promotion/increment will recognize this special trait and support you.
· Happiness. Be happy and make others happy, both at the workplace and at home. Do not wait for things to get better. Life will always be challenging and complicated due to events beyond your control. Therefore, learn to be in the present, be happy right now where ever you are, otherwise, you may have depression or high Blood Pressure like ailments.
· Health and fitness. The healthy body and a healthy mind are most essential to withstand the pressure of work, travel and family responsibilities. You need to be disciplined to take a balanced and simple diet and do regular exercise to keep fit; else you may lose your job. You should eat just to keep your body energized and not to fill your tummy till it bloats. It is good to adopt yoga and vegetarian food habits for healthy living.
· Home life balancing. Don’t mix office work with home life as both are important, and you need to contribute for both but with proper balance. Do have time to play with your family members, particularly young children and elder members. Maintain dignity and respect for age and must recognize whom are you talking to, It matters less what you say but it matters a lot the way you say. You should have time to go on holiday during weekends and go far away from home.
· Integrity. Integrity is more than loyalty, where you demonstrate respect and praise for the team and your organization. Follow the rules and norms of the organization and insist that each member of your team also follows in your footsteps.
· Initiative. You need to be self-starter and go-getter. Your team and your seniors will always appreciate your initiative to come forward and take the lead in tackling any challenge which your organization may face.
· Innovation and creativity. Uncertainty creates an opportunity to innovate and stay ahead in the highly competitive market. Innovation is not an invention but to come up with an improved or new version which delights the consumers. Innovation is well designed and tested product/service which qualifies all standards tests and it is different than Indian Jugaad (improvisation). Your team must move away from traditional thinking and evolve out-of-the-box solutions.
· Knowledge and skill set.To keep pace with rapid progress in technology and evolving more efficient business models, you need to continuously improve your skills as per market demand. Learning and multi-skilling must be an ongoing and lifelong activity.
· Lead from the front. A leader has followers and he/she creates many more through personal and demonstrated performance. As a leader of a team, it is your ability to set the pace and take along the whole team to complete the journey/ Job.
· Learning from the past. Any experience, success or failure is of immense help to plan future strategies. Making a mistake is not a bad act but not learning from the past and repeating the same/similar mistake is harmful.
· Listening and get listened. Be patient and listen to others during any discussion and you may pick up more points to make your viewpoint stronger. Listen to the full statement of the speaker and do not interrupt midway. It shows maturity, good manners and increases your popularity among peers, senior management and customers as well as with alliance partners. People will follow your conduct and you may acquire the art of making others listen to you as well.
· Meditation and Spirituality. Despite many advances in science and medicines for providing better health care, meditation in various forms continues to be the main support to those who have stress, anxiety, depression or any other health disorder. It costs us nothing except sparing 10-20 minutes a day to sit quietly and dispel all the clutter you may collected in your brain. Meditation enables you to throw away a mental load of worries, anxiety and fear.
· Motivation and inspiration. Stay motivated and inspire your team to continue performing for producing best results. Maintain faith in self and God and remain calm during adverse circumstances.
· Networking. In high technology and cut-throat market scenario, you need very good networking with selected professionals and friends for which you should also exploit social media network.This network will encompass friends, like-minded people, mentors/mentees, principals and Heads of Departments (HODs) of the college/Institution/university you would have attended.
· Negotiation Skills. It is an art of putting forward your point without offending another person. You must listen to others and get listened too. You need to be tactful and having good communication skills to convince another party (senior, customer, vendor, channel partners) and exhibit win-win proposition. If you as an employee expect best pay package for your experience and skill set, so is the employer or customer expecting you to provide them the best product/service and proving good value for money.
· Opportunity. Remain alert to grab the opportunity to switch career for more stability and growth. There may be an opportunity in own country or abroad. Seek advice and make timely decision to move on. You are to leave your comfort zone and take a calculated risk.
· Relationships. You are to interact with team members, peers, your seniors, customers, vendors/suppliers. You got to develop cordial relations at all levels to be in their good books. This will bring you recognition as popular and most needed professional. Don’t look back and crib for bad moments, instead build good relations both at the workplace and at home.
· Risk-taking. Take a calculated risk to change your job and do your best. Don’t bother what others say and be ready to face the outcome. If you play extra safe, you may keep waiting for the right moment and lose an opportunity, which is just in front of you.
“You cannot cross the river while standing at the bank but by jumping in and swimming across”.
· Skill Building. Do not try to be super specialist in any one area as that would restrict your growth. Infect, you need variety of exposure to take up higher job/responsibilities. Therefore, keep learning new technologies and new business practices to stay relevant to emerging market scenario. Keep, upgrading your profile and enrich your portfolio to gain better mobility and success in career.
· Speed in thinking and decision making. You need to think faster, do correct and faster analysis, using modern techniques, make faster and correct decision, take faster and appropriate action. All this is essential to move faster to the market and maintain business leadership. As a manager/team leader you are expected to deliver more with lesser resources and do it faster. You must remain alert, well informed, and take faster but not hasty decision. You must anticipate and take proactive action to be ahead of your competitor. This will help to study the market trends and make faster decision for winning strategy. In case you consider you are fast in thinking and action, but your organization is slow in response to any change, you may move to other organization which is progressive, and you will get more job satisfaction.
· Spirituality. Spiritual practices will bring relief from sufferings and establish psychic equilibrium leading to peace. Faith in God and self is important for self-understanding and discovering your latent potential as it will encourage you to succeed. When things go wrong, or many unexpected events take place at your workplace or in the family, faith in God and sincere prayer will give you soothing effect. It helps you to calm down and good things will happen soon.
· Synergy. While you should know your personal and team strength, you should also know where to get what you do not have. Go for win-win strategy and draw upon strengths from others and don’t try to be know-all.
· Technology Savvy. As technology is moving at a fast pace, so is the demand for latest skills to handle emerging technologies related processes and functions. You need to be quick on the uptake and grasp new knowledge. This will enhance your productivity and ensure that you will not be declared redundant.
· Time management. For sustainability and growth of your career you must learn multi-skills to do multi-tasking. You need time for your family and for all other events happening around you. Poor management of time will lead to back-log and you will be unable to meet your commitments. Time does not wait for anyone. You need good planning and control of time to cut out wasteful distractions and judiciously share available time to fulfill your responsibilities.
· Unique Selling Point (USP). All employees do their assigned job to their capability. However, to stand out in your team, you must have something special in you which keep you in demand. Multi-skills, Multitasking, Innovation and Speed in decision making will make you star performer.
· Vision. You must have a long-term vision (say 10-15 years) and mission (say 3-5 years). You should have full faith in your potential and must trigger others around you to make your vision come true.
· Winning spirit Winning and losing are two sides of the same coin. You should be determined in your approach to go through all odds and make it succeed. Every win boosts your morale to try another and life goes on. Infect, a failure should only remind you to recoup and try next time harder to win. Most of us are not trained to take losing game in spirit of sportsmanship. It requires maturity to play gracefully and accept the outcome win or lose. Sometimes, you should deliberately facilitate others to win, since Win-Win collaboration ensures sustainability
For More information : Refer my book “ Career Challenges during Global Uncertainty” available at www.amazon.com
Dr Sarbjit Singh, Former Principal, Apeejay College of Engineering, Gurgaon Haryana, India
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Great Aretiocle