New Year’s Resolutions to future proof your career.
It’s that time of year when, like it or not, we can’t help but think about what we need to do better during the coming year. According to a McKinsey report, up to 33% of the American workforce will likely need to learn new skills and find a different career by 2030.
In the light of this, instead of reiterating the most common resolutions, such as living healthier, losing weight and exercising more, we thought we’d take a slightly different approach by giving you 7 practical ways to future proof your career this year.
These suggestions could help you stay ahead in your profession and prevent you from feeling overwhelmed by the rapidly evolving workplace and the increasing pressures to excel.
Develop a life-long learning mind-set – be open to learning new things and enhancing your knowledge and skill sets. Make it a habit to learn at least one new thing a week. This is possibly the most important ‘resolution’ you could make as without it, none of the others are likely to succeed. Look for opportunities to learn how to do other jobs within your industry. Some companies offer a temporary job swop program to allow employees to experience other aspects of the business and develop new skills. If your company doesn’t offer this, you might want to suggest it.
Make an effort to stay up to date with technology. You might not ‘need’ the latest mobile device or use many of the available business related apps, but investing in these not only allows you to be more productive, it also helps you relate to and communicate with clients who do use technology to its fullest. Staying up to date on ongoing basis reduces the learning curve and increases your confidence.
Learn from leaders in your industry. Generally they will be in tune with how your industry is developing and will have valuable insights worth noting. You may find you don’t always agree with their point of view, but this is a good thing. It will help you develop and clarify your own point of view, which will give you greater confidence. This is how thought leadership begins.
Learn from top competitors. Take note of how they do business. What makes them successful? What should be emulated and in what ways could you exceed their strengths and develop unique strengths of your own?
Learn from successful startups in other industries. Often innovations are not industry specific. By taking inspiration from other’s innovations and applying these in your industry, can provide a powerful competitive edge.
Listen more. Really ‘hear’ what people are saying to you. Developing empathy and emotional intelligence will go a long way to future proof your career.
Consider learning another language. Multi-lingual people are in high demand as business becomes more globally focused. Fluency in other languages can open many unexpected career opportunities.
