My ‘Future Ready’
Career Development
Guide

To be at your career best it is imperative to assess and reassess regularly your skills from a much broader perspective than you use in your current role. What skills are you currently known for? Do you have the right level of challenge and are you using skills that motivate you in your current role? Do your current skills make you a high value individual? What specific skills would you like to develop? Those who are future ready seek out new projects that develop their motivated skills, talents and abilities while offering stretch and challenge.

Work that aligns to your purpose and "inner why" is hugely fulfilling and rewarding. Many do not think too deeply about why they do what they do, but it is important to be aligned to your values and purpose for optimal career satisfaction. A personal purpose statement simplifies your future career direction – your goals, work and employer either aligns with your definite major purpose or it doesn’t. Take the time to write your own personal purpose statement and then over time, come back and check if it is still working for you.

Personal resilience is a defining characteristic in dealing with the constantly changing priorities of the modern workplace. It is your capacity to actively respond to pressure and ‘bounce back’. Today you need to cope with challenges like constant organisational change, deadlines, and increasing competition from work and business rivals. Agility and adaptability are key traits sought out by Organisations in a constant state of flux. While some seem to be born with more resilience than others, you can learn how to adapt when the going gets tough.

The more complex changing world of work will require you come up with more creative solutions. We were all curious as children when we asked why? why? why? We were unafraid to ask questions, as we didn’t fear being judged by others. Research has shown that the longer we stay in one role, the more our curiosity declines. Exposing yourself to new experiences is a catalyst for increased personal job satisfaction and higher performance. Seek to become more curious by asking “why?”, “what if?”, “how might we?” more often.

Your CV is merely a document recording your career history most relevant of which is your past 3 years. In sporting terms, you would study an athletes most recent form but not their form from several years past. In your career, and being honest with yourself - are you in the form of your life or are there signs of a dip? If so, what has caused the performance improvement or dip? Think of times when you have been at your career best, was it the role, the skills you used, the environment or the people on the team?

Research conducted by John Seely Brown and Professor Peter Denning shows the half-life of a learned skill is now only 5 years! The pace of technology change will see new skills in demand and others obsolete. Conduct your own research into the skills and education most highly valued now inside your organisation and in the wider world of work. Ask why new people have been hired and what skills they possess? Research LinkedIn profiles of those in roles you would like to attain to gain more insight.

Professional development comes in many forms. Have you attended your membership body events or conferences? Have you a retained coach, mentor, sponsor? Have you read books, listened to podcasts, videos, Ted Talks? Have you completed work specific or open study courses or formal education? Have you written content or been interviewed as a content expert? Being busy is not an excuse. Professional development not only opens your mind, it also increases your network.

Carol Dweck coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence. You will only be interested in learning new skills and knowledge in an area that interests you. Learning is more than a quick fix course or gaining qualifications, it is about being curious, open to new experiences, testing, failing and applying your new knowledge into contexts that add value to your organisation. Seek out work projects that stretch and grow your knowledge.

AI and automation will transform roles and cultures within Organisations. Routine cognitive work will continue to be automated by virtue of the fact that any work that that is repeatable can be digitised. Our work will require us to use more critical thinking, collaboration and communication skills than ever before. These skills are uniquely human and is where we outperform machines. We need to be ready to collaborate, to work in unison with machines and not fear this change. Being future-ready demands that you disrupt yourself to learn more about AI and automation.

Data has become the new oil of the 21st century and new AI systems harnessing data across the organisation will see many silos broken down to increase efficiency of customer response. The world of work is now ‘open’ and your willingness to share knowledge will increase your value to your team, work colleagues and employer. Think about your distinct area of expertise and how you can add value to others. Focus on collaborating on projects that create the best win-wins for your career goals, but be mindful to collaborate efficiently and also learn to say “No” to overload.

Becoming a ‘go to person’ is about developing relationships with key stakeholders where you are known as a valuable partner in solving key business challenges. What ‘words’ or ‘statements’ would these stakeholders use to describe you? It is a revealing exercise to ask for feedback and gain a snap shot of your personal brand reputation. You may work very hard, but never assume others know what you do. Anticipate future challenges, be prepared to share insights in your subject matter expertise and to offer a contrarian view to the norm.

The most common way people traditionally progressed their careers was by responding to a ‘tap on the shoulder’ from a manager. This is a reactive career strategy and never of your own design and making. Being future career-ready requires you to confidently articulate your unique value proposition to your employer. Keeping a monthly achievement diary is a great way to note how you have added value and prepares you to pitch for future opportunities. See yourself as a consultant solving problems for your customer i.e. your employer.

LinkedIn is your personal shop window to showcase your career achievements and build your personal brand. LinkedIn is not just a recruitment platform, it is a research and influencing tool, so it is important to have a current, accomplished and succinct profile. Future thinking organisations want their people proudly representing their personal and corporate brands on LinkedIn. People join People, and Organisations today are eager to attract the best talent who research employers and their current employees before they join.

Many professionals become busy in their jobs and neglect growing their influence and network. Growing your network is important to gain fresh perspectives and information from a variety of sources. Many great innovations are coming from outside industry sectors - Airbnb was not started by hoteliers, Uber was not founded within the Taxi industry, Netflix was not started within the media industry. Start building a tribe from a variety of backgrounds, perspectives and experiences that broaden your view of the future of work.

The Future of work is impacting us all now and you need to be informed. The World Economic Forum provides latest global research on the Future of Jobs in demand and in decline. Simply using hashtags on twitter such as #futureofwork; #ai, #automation, #disruption, #digitalisation, #newworldofwork, #gigeconomy keep you up to speed and offer suggestions of who to follow. Recommended reads include; ‘Open’ by David Price, ‘The Rise of the Robots’ by Martin Ford,’ The Future of Work’ by Marcus Clark or Jacob Morgan’s ‘Future of Work’ podcast.

The voice of the customer is often forgotten in the busyness of our daily tasks. While your role may not be customer facing, it is important to learn more about their challenges and gain new insights? Product life cycles are becoming shorter and customer needs are constantly changing especially with the growing trend towards online and new business models. It is important to stay attuned to market changes, competitor activity and customer trends. It is your responsibility, to scan for future change - as it impacts directly on your career!

The modern addiction to ‘busyness’ can make you feel safe but lessens your ability to create the future you want. You need to commit regularly to researching and designing your next career move based on what you want, rather than what others want. In the future of work, the onus is on you to influence the design of your current or future role to fit your skills and talents. Your future employability is greatly enhanced by proactively seeking what you want rather accepting the job being offered.

There are people in every organization, industry sector and career field who hold authority and power. These are your ‘defacto’ agents whom you need to purposely build relationships with and get on their agenda. These strategic influencers help unlock new career opportunities. Your job is to ensure they know about your skills and future career growth aspirations so they have you in mind for career growth projects. New opportunities are offered to those whom are known and trusted by key decision makers.

The person who is most certain will always influence most when two people meet. The more certain you are about your next career growth challenge, the greater chance you have of attaining it. Research shows, 70% of those interviewed ended up where they did by chance. Imagine if you decided what you wanted and why and then started to communicate this to others? Research your market and then decide ‘what you want and why’. If you don’t find exactly what you want, you will have moved many steps closer than when you started.

The most important monthly appointment in your diary should be with yourself. The difference between future career ready professionals and others is they spend time working on their career and not just working hard in their job. The future of work is less about responding, but more about anticipating how you can change your course as you go. There is no 5-year career plan that will not change, today, you need to set your sails and be prepared to adjust course as you go. This monthly appointment time offers you this valuable time.