Career Futures Are Important Today
In finance we’ve heard of the term, futures. What about career futures? How is what you’re doing today connected with tomorrow?
Careers last a long time. For many people, somewhere around forty-five to fifty years. Recognize, that is a half-century.
Much can happen across the course of a career. Economic changes, societal changes, and even changes in your self-interest.
You may go through periods of time where you have different monetary needs, work-life balance needs, and different expectations of job roles and duties.
It is always the challenge on the outside looking in. Wondering why or how what you are doing right now will impact your future.
Honestly, it is easy to get comfortable and complacent.
Learning for the Future
Many college students struggle to see why they are required to improve writing skills when they are not going to be a writer. Why there is a foreign language requirement when you are not planning to work in a different country. Once upon a time, typing was considered a secretarial duty, “Why should we learn how to type?”
The answer is easy, futures.
It may not always be a matter of now. It is more about a matter of when.
It is not just about students, education, or college.
It is happening right now, in your career.
Career Futures
People fail to make connections or build relationships. They skip on building a LinkedIn profile because they believe that it is only for job seekers. When there are opportunities to learn more about their job, they’ll pass them up, because, well, they already have it so there is no need to impress.
Then something changes.
The economy shifts, the business shifts, things grow or decline. Businesses are bought and sold. Leadership changes and so does the mission and vision.
Suddenly, they are not the right fit and there is nowhere to turn.
Why?
Because they haven’t paid attention to their career futures.
Managing the Future Today
Managing the future aspect of your career is simple. When you need to tap deep into addition resources, you must already have the resource, not start trying to build it or collect it only when the need arises.
All of your learning, growing, and being committed will matter. Career futures allow little tolerance for coasting.
You’ll need to be prepared for change.
The only unknown is, when.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
