A Job is Not for Life but You Are!!! Regardless of whether you are the CEO or CIO there are no guarantees, your job is not for life – you are. The average tenure for a CEO is now heading towards 24months.
A Job is Not for Life but You are – What do I mean? When we finally land that dreamed of job, know that it is the beginning of a new but short relationship that will change and grow and at some point relocate. Statistics tell us that young professionals will have 15 different jobs during their careers lasting approximately 3 years. If this is the case, it begs the question is there no permanency? Yes there is but its position has changed the only permanent fixture in your working career is ‘You’. You are your business of which you are CEO, the sooner you acknowledge this fact the safer and more secure you will feel. “The tragedy in life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach.” –Benjamin Mays
How can You Ensure Your Employment/Job equity? You have to become the ‘A’ student or the student who stands out, who is different… It’s easy become valuable and it’s fun… hmmm yes perhaps easier said than done. Today you have to take responsibility for your employment equity, your value, what you offer a company, this is all up to you. One of the finest ways of doing this is to keep learning, keep staying relevant, read avidly, follow innovative companies, listen to webinars, learn from forums, update your tech skills, keep current and know future trends. Yes it is a full time job but so is your life and that is what we are talking about, ‘You are your future and it all depends on You’. You can make a difference via your productivity, your enquiring mind, your connectivity, your ability to change, learn and grow. An
interested person is an interesting person. This seemingly provides a massive challenge, and in a way it is, however there are many, many benefits, not least the acquisition of key skills added to this is a new confidence, as you quietly and diligently acquire extra skills this broadens and strengthens your position. You become someone who is referred to, you are able to participate in more areas, your world of opportunity is increasing, and with this perhaps the direction of your career. ‘It is far easier to excel in a small pond’, the same applies to your career, however turn it on its head ‘It’s far easier to survive in a big pond with a specialist set of skills’. Along your journey of discovery and gaining new skills you may happen upon an area of knowledge that sets you on fire, that you become passionate about. You have now discovered your area of expertise and this is exactly what you need to hone in on. You need to become a unique expert specialist; it is these skills that will elevate your employment equity and set Your Brand, Your Business alight. Now that you know what I mean by saying a “Job is not for Life but You are”. Let’s get on with developing this further and increase the skills you need to learn. We live in a social world, therefore you need to be socially digitally fluent, Hub spot offer excellent online training or you could download the pdfs’ these will provide you with enough information to get started on all the social media sites. I believe you should have profiles on LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Youtube – seems like a lot, make a start a year from now your profile will look interesting and you will have gathered more connections. You connections, your tribe that surround you provide you with huge amounts of employment equity. Business begins and ends with People, your people, your connections are your tradable business currency, and this is the measure of your influence. We more readily buy a product if it is recommended to us by a friend than from an advert, in fact most of us Google the product first then we ask our friends about their experiences. If a company knows that you are surrounded by a fan base they will be eager to employ you as not only will you become an employee/client but so too will your tribe as you will become an advocate of the company.
Are you starting to see the strength of the business called You?
Now to secure this business of yours you should dress it in its own, wholly owned website sat on a URL (www) that is all about You. You need to choose a domain name i.e. www.Jameswatson.com or www.JamestheFinanceguy.com this is the future home of Your business, this will grow and change as you do, but this entity surrounds and presents all that you are and your connected networks. This site quantifies you and paves the way to your future, it is what people see and read about you before they meet you. A site owned by you is yours to do with as you see fit it is not controlled by an outside entity, it will not crash or disappear, your information is yours and yours alone. This is extremely important, as your ideas presented in your blog belong to you, the source is provable, providing you with Klout and authority, via your blog you are able to demonstrate your expertise in your chosen specialist field. Visit us at www.yourpersonalbrandname.com for a simple step solution to setting up your future career/expert specialist site. with thanks to Mark Zmarzly Controlling and owning your own site will require a few fundamental skills such as uploading photographs and emailing information, the rest is done for you. For those that are more adventurous we provide excellent video tutorials on WordPress101 and much like learning Code, knowing basic WordPress skills will set you apart. Today’s job market demands that we reach further and stand out farther, no longer are people employed for life, but rather for the term of their usefulness. It’s a sad state of affairs but unfortunately its real, the only way to ensure you have a future is to look after your own brand. Your Brand is your business; it is this brand that employers, clients and associates are attracted to, the stronger you make your brand the more success you will have.
Having a Brand requires responsibility and work; Your Brand will grow and change as you do and as your work and interactions change. If you treat Your Brand like your own business you will be successful, like any business it requires investment of your time and hard work. Growing Your Brand Equity is extremely valuable as it is this that will attract future offers and secure your place on an international business platform. “Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, magic, and power in it.” –Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
A Job is not for Life but You are‌.