The Reality of Working Life in Modern Industry

In years gone by, you would have simply followed in your father’s footsteps and gone into exactly the same trade as he was in. Whether you took over a family business or went to work at the same company or in the same industry, that was your lot in life. And ladies, you didn’t even get a look in.
Since then a lot of things have changed. Education and greater equality between the sexes means that everyone has a good chance of getting to wherever they want in their career. You just need to set your sights high and work out a strategy for achieving your goal.
But, once again, the goalposts are moving. The modern work environment is rapidly developing and over the next few years, we can all expect even more to completely change. Not only are more people inclined to become specialist freelancers but the most people will end up changing their career a few times over as needs change.
Instead of focusing on what you want to do, you need to think about who you want to be. And this is what you need to do to give yourself a chance at achieving that.

A Single Skill is Not Enough

Even if you are a specialist freelancer, effectively doing the same thing over and over for different clients, you should know that a single skill is never going to be enough to sustain your career over a number of years. This doesn’t mean that you have to offer that skill, it just means that you need to be prepared to learn so that you can change with the times if you need to.
This is just as important in every other role within a business. You need to show your employers that you can always add value and you are willing to learn new things to keep the business going in new directions. So, whether you choose to go on a course to study graphic design or compare different forklift courses, whatever you do, make sure that your new skill will bring value to your career.

Keep Your Head in the Game

The best way to choose which new skills to pursue is to keep an eye on the industry you are in and see where the gaps are emerging. No idea is a bad idea, but the best ideas are the ones that show your employer that you are capable of doing more than your current goal. This will encourage them to see your potential for promotion and may even progress your career faster.
Have a look at job offers and opportunities in your industry and see which skills are cropping up most frequently. Then figure out a way to develop those skills either in your current role or by doing a course or class outside your job. This way, when you are ready to move on, you will have mastered the skill or you will have made a good case to your employer for a promotion or salary increase.

Be Prepared to Change Things Up

Change is scary and lots of people put up with the same things over and again because they are afraid to move on. They pursue a single familiar goal because that is an easy path with a planned trajectory.
But pursuing a single goal may not be the most productive thing to do. If you are getting bored with your career or you are simply not enjoying yourself anymore, you should certainly look at other roles and industries where you could be a better fit. Even if you have no experience in that industry, this is about the skills you have and your ability to learn. All you need to do is persuade a recruiter that you are worth a punt.
Though your parents might have had a single career, or even worked in the same place for the vast majority of that time, millennials are much more likely to career hop to get better experiences. This is rapidly becoming a new norm so don’t stay put and stagnate out of loyalty – give yourself the opportunity to find something new and develop another side to your character.

Save and Be Smart

Because industry is significantly more volatile and businesses are appearing and disappearing all the time, you need to be smart with your money too. Try to save as much as you can in the first few years of your career especially as this money will be invaluable to you should you need to move on.
The more money you have saved, the more likely you are to feel confident when taking a work-related risk. For example, if you are desperately unhappy in your job and you can’t find something you like the look of, having savings might just give you the confidence to try freelancing out and seeing what happens.
Only you will know how many months’ worth of wages will give you the confidence you need but a minimum of 3 months is a good starting point.

Make Opportunities

Though most people are quite content to work for someone else, this doesn’t mean that you should stop making opportunities for yourself. While freelancers and entrepreneurs are quite adept at making connections and figuring out their next move, you should take their lead and figure out some ways to boost your own career path.
There are all kinds of ways to make new opportunities including building your skills and taking roles with different experiences but you should also build a professional network. You never know where the next chance to do something awesome might come from so going to networking events and chatting to new people is a good place to start.
Even when you are not particularly looking for something new, it is good to keep your finger on the pulse of the industry. This will give you a good idea of what is going on and where the next great thing could come from. Whether you use this information to benefit your current business or to get yourself the next role is up to you.