Didn’t Learn It In School
Here are three things most of us don’t learn in school:
How to find a job.
How to work at a job.
How to change careers.
Given that Gen Z and late-Millenial workers are projected to have between 16-18 jobs and 5-6 careers during their working lives, learning about finding, working at, and switching from a job seems like a good idea.
These are projections, so who’s to say how it will turn out? That said, disruption from AI is in the air—not for all job categories, but some professional and tech classifications are in the crosshairs. What’s more, work tenures across the board have shrunk compared to back in the day when five years with one employer seemed short. Today's question is, “What kept you there so long?”
Based on what I see on the recruiting side, how can a young worker NOT have these many jobs when one and a half to three years with an employer seems the norm?
Are they/we prepared for this? We are about to find out.
For those reentering the workforce after significant setbacks, success comes from having the right mindset, planning, and focusing on a specific objective, a Job Search Objective. The goal is to secure a job that closely aligns with this objective. Then, strategically moving to a few more jobs (all connected to the first position) incrementally moving the person toward an eventual work/career goal.
These are planned moves facilitated through work relationships developed at each turn. This approach works for people with significant background snags and can work even better for those unhindered by such baggage, for example, those just starting or those transitioning to a new career.
But 16-18 jobs and 5-6 careers? That’s a lot. Perhaps the goal for young workers should be to avoid this by planning for 8 or 9 jobs in 2 or 3 careers (half what’s projected). The value of considering how many jobs/careers someone will have comes from just that, considering it.
Indeed, workplace change and disruption are inevitable, meaning flexibility and acceptance will be required. However, our young friend could benefit from seeing him/herself as a startup, beginning with a hypothesis (best-educated guess) of how their work and career trajectory COULD go. They have an entry point (their Objective) and a plan relating to what they will learn and earn, along with the key contacts they will deliberately make (I call these People Links).
Rare is the startup where everything turns out according to plan. The same goes for our young worker friend: adjustments and pivots must be made along the way. Nevertheless, just like in a startup, there’s a hypothesis and an execution plan, and there will be things that can be measured. Plotting things out is a very proactive move and can have great value because it provides a baseline (even if one’s projected) against which actual results can be measured.
Contrast this to the many job seekers who react and inevitably drift in the currents of the job market.
Achieving a goal, not to mention arriving at a specific location, is pretty difficult when you drift.
Onward!