With technology coming in strong and demanding more and more professionals, you may be reassessing your position on the job market. If you feel that your current training and skill set might be obsolete with more and more tasks automation, then here’s what you can do to prepare for the long run:
1. Analyze your current skills and top them off
Your position in the present may already stir you in the right direction if you have a good understanding of technology-related operations, programming, and automation. However, there are skills like management and team coaching that could come in handy as machines will not be able to pick that up so well.
Focus on what you already know and then work on skills that might not be your strong suit. Although technology closes the gap on what it can do vs. human-only tasks, specialists in psychology or education will be harder to replace. Get an advance on empathy skills, emotional and coping mechanisms or what we call “soft skills”.
2. Continuous education and self-learning
You can never reach the point where you learned enough and can relax. Being able to keep yourself active mentally and learn every day is what will place you at the top. If you consider a career reconversion in the IT direction, then you are in luck because there are infinite resources online and platforms to help you learn. There are many programming languages and never enough talents for the huge demand, so get your online subscription today.
All you learn is a great gain on your side and if you can become a valuable asset for employers as well, even better for you. Your income can increase drastically and you could even lay down conditions to get better deals. Get certified and priceless!
3. Keep up to speed with technology
The advancement is so great that keeping track of everything that is new can be a burden. However, do your best to read, learn and be in the loop. Integrate new tech in your daily life to get used to it and proficient. Use devices, tools, languages, and accessories to earn some ground.
You can update your home to a smart one, connected through your devices. You can download apps and try them, you can beta test new products and you can go to conferences.
4. Be passionate
Try to find a balance in your life by lighting up some passion in your profession. If you change to an IT career, make sure to find what drives you and work on it. Do not force yourself into a particular technology or sector of innovation, but rather explore to find what sparks your interest the most. This way you get set up for the future while also enjoying what you do.
5. Adapt, so you don’t fall behind
This will be your best friend from now on: the ability to adapt. As the environment is changing so much and so fast, the job market as well and IoT takes on more and more ground, what you knew 2 years ago already has a new face. If you are not able to adapt and embrace the new, this fast-forward pace will bury you.
When in IT, you need to be ready to take on any challenge, to face a completely new piece of technology and still manage to work with it. This is what being adaptable means. Be mindful and make it a goal to be flexible for future experiences.
6. Unleash your creativity
Creativity is shaping up to be one of the most in-demand soft skills on the market. This is something machines cannot do (yet). In a future where almost all tasks can be crunched up by machines, humans will be able to stand out only by innovating.
Don’t know how to stimulate your creative side!? Here are some ideas: take on music lessons, painting classes, improvisation classes, design your own home, play in the kitchen with tastes and ingredients. One piece of advice is to never be afraid to try anything, even what seems to be crazy and unheard of. That is where innovation comes from – something that hasn’t been tried before.
7. Network your way up
Your connections matter and they will in the future. What type of relationships you harness and what professional ties you might have can help in a great deal to change positions, companies or even domains. People work better with recommendations when someone they trust can vouch for someone’s skills and professionalism.
