October 2009
It’sreally odd when you think about it. Most people will be gainfully employed for 40 or more years but greater than 75% of them will tell you that they got into their job or jobs by chance. In fact the statistics are quite high of people graduating from college but never using their degree on the job. I am in fact guilty of this as well. I could not find a job anywhere for a philosopher. Not to say my college degree has not opened some doors for me but I have to admit I could have done a better job of career planning when I was younger.So how does one go about planning a career rather than letting it "just happen"? It’s a great question and has been asked since the modern business age arrived. There are a number of career test available which will give you an idea of your base skill set. Also, there are great personality test which should help guide you into a profession best suited for your personality. While that may not seem as important as a skill assessment,
some of my best friends in recruiting started out as accountants and found that they enjoyed working with people much more than auditing books. But back to the original question, how do you plan a career? The answer is easy......you don’t.
some of my best friends in recruiting started out as accountants and found that they enjoyed working with people much more than auditing books. But back to the original question, how do you plan a career? The answer is easy......you don’t.The days of working for the same company or doing the same job for more than 10 years are almost completely gone. Rather than career planning I would offer this suggestion, skill planning. I was speaking with an IT hiring manager a few weeks ago and he said he was planning his career by managing the work process involved in information Technology rather than doing the process. What he said made sense. I thought about all of the IT coding jobs that had been shipped overseas. With the skill set and experience he has developed along with his continuing education he will always be in demand.
Think about what you are currently doing. Is it an occupation that can be 
automated by robotics, completed by a software program or outsourced to another (cheaper) work force? If the answer is yes to any of these then it is time to think about some skill planning.
automated by robotics, completed by a software program or outsourced to another (cheaper) work force? If the answer is yes to any of these then it is time to think about some skill planning.Over the next few blogs we will begin to investigate careers that are limited, careers that have growth potential, and skills that will be needed for the future. I look forward to sharing the experience I have gained in the staffing industry over the last 20 years with and hearing back from you as well.
Your comments will always be welcome.