The global job market
Today, a college degree does not guarantee a job anymore. In this highly competitive market, students must understand that their future careers are depending on their knowledge and skills. To select the best career in this fast-changing job market, students must pay attention to the market trends, not just in their country, but also in other as well. With globalization, skilled workers can work in almost any place where there is a high demand for their skills. For example, The U.S. and Europe “import” hundred thousand skilled professionals each year.
A professional is people with a variety of knowledge and skills that can meet the needs of the job market. Having high demand skills, these people can travel to find the best job that fits their need. For example, a software developer working in India make $30,000 a year, but he could make $75,000 in the U.S. or Europe. Each year, India “Export” several hundred thousand skilled workers to other countries - mostly Europe and the U.S. Some students asked: “What's about China or other countries?” The answer is skilled Chinese professionals often do not have the English language skills, making them difficult to work outside their country. However, it is changing now, last few years, Chinese also “Exported” several thousand skilled professionals to other countries.
Today technology skills are the best asset that allows graduates to build a good career anywhere in the world. To meet the high global demand, students must follow the market trends and develop their specialty that allows them to distinguish from others. Lifelong learning and continual skill development are a necessary to compete in this market over time. As a college student, you must make the choice to take your career where you want and show hiring managers that you are a professional with a clear career plan for the future.
The best way to improve your value as a professional is to develop specific expertise that is in high demand. That means you must keep up with the trends within your field and beyond. You must pay attention to what is happening on the news relating to your area because technology changes fast. You must know who the experts are, which blogs are most popular, and which companies are important in the industry. You must do your research and find out everything about these high demand jobs. By selecting one that fits your interest, you can prepare yourself by learning as much as possible about that job. Knowing the requirements of the job will help you to prepare your skills.
Today competition for a job is fierce because you do not compete in the local market but also global. If you are conscious of your professional development, you must continue to learn new things and update your skills to succeed. If there is a new technology that you want to learn, you can find out about it via online training quickly. There are thousand of online training on the Internet that you can download and learn. Of course, most of them are in English, and that is why having language skill such as English is necessary for this globalized market.
Student often ask me: “But how do hiring companies know about me? How do they contact me if I have the skills that they need?” The answer is simple; we are living in a digital world where social media is the main thing that connects people all over the world. I always recommend my students to post their profiles on LinkedIn. This is the most important professional network on the web. But having a personal profile is not enough, they must also joining groups and participating in some technical discussions, sharing experiences with other professionals from their field. In this social media virtual world, hiring managers and recruiters often monitor LinkedIn to identify skilled workers that meet their needs.
Having high demand technical skills, soft skills, and foreign language are the ultimate differentiators between you and other candidates competing for a job. Once you develop these skills, you may not even have to look for a job since hiring managers are likely to look for you themselves.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
