Preparing for your future

Many graduates believe that once they have jobs, they can keep them for life. That may be true fifty years ago but not true in this competitive job market. There are many people that had good jobs then suddenly found themselves unemployed. Sometime because of the bad economy but sometime because of changes in the market needs. Students often ask me: “What should we do to keep our jobs?”. My answer is: “Know the market demand, make sure that your skills are valuable, and continue to improve your skills in this changing market”.

With globalization, geographical barriers are getting less relevant. Your team members, customers, and even managers in the future can be from anywhere in the world. According to the latest research, over 75% of software developers will be working in a distributed working environment. To succeed, you must develop the mindset of being a global worker who has the ability to work anywhere and with anybody. You must learn at least one foreign language (preferable English). You must learn about people from another countries by understand their cultures and customs. The more you understand foreign cultures the more confidence you will have when working in the global market. This will make you more valuable to your company or more attractive to future employers.

You need to have a career plan to help you advance your career. If you are good at what you do then you may get promoted to better positions in your company. What happen if your career is blocked by someone, regardless how hard you work or how good you are? Without a career plan, you may get angry, frustrated or depressed. However, by having career plan, you can review your options and take necessary action such as finding a new job. Many people only think about finding a job when they are no longer needed or get fired. That is too late as they are reacting to the situation. The best time to think about changing job is always open for new opportunities, whenever it comes. To do that, you must be proactive and know what you do well, your roles and responsibilities, and the successes that you have achieved and documented them in your own personal notebook. When apply for job, every new employers want to know what you can do for them so it is much easier to have everything ready in writing so you do not need to review your career.

As an active professional, you should develop relationships with other professionals, both within and outside your company. Some are friends, some may be your mentors. They can help you when thing changes, provide opportunities when your current job looks bad. Having a mentor is the best thing because they can teach you new skills, new technologies and things that help you to advance your career in the direction that you want. In this fast changing time, you must always be aware of changes in the economy and the industry. No one can predict the future but by keeping yourself informed, you will have better advantage than others. I know that most developers are busy and do not read books but I recommend that you try to read some books to keep your life balance. It does not have to be technical books but any book that can inspire you or interest you.

No matter who you are, what you do, you will probably encounter difficulty in your career. If you prepare well, you may emerge successful and consider such problems as learning experiences. The more you learn, the better you will become as it develop your character to be stronger, more resilient to external pressure. As students, you will encounter problems in school but I rather see that you failed and learn your lessons in school than in life. Nobody is perfect so making mistake is a chance to learn as long as you do not make the same mistake twice. You are responsible for yourself and your future depend solely on you and nobody else. Everything you learn in school can be very useful as you begin to prepare for your future career. Since the future is always uncertain, you need to be vigilant and always ready to build your future career.

Since your job may change in the future, you must ensure your skills are always up to date. With some planning, you can control your future career today. The key is not about predicting what will happen but how well prepare you are to the early indications of change. When you realize that change is constant and you are constantly learning so you stay ahead, you will find yourself in a great position to capture opportunities that come your way.

Sources

  • Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University