Is Your Career AI-Proof? Preparing For The Changing Nature Of Work

iStock | hirun

There are a lot of strikes going on right now. The Writer’s Guild of America, The Screen Actors Guild of America, United Auto Workers, Airline Pilots, Hotel Workers, and Flight Attendants, to name a few. These strikes are not just about money. At the heart of these actions is an existential fear their professions are doomed.

Actors and writers fear Artificial Intelligence. Auto workers fear automation. Pilots fear self-piloting planes. Hotel workers fear they will be stuck in poverty. X workers fear the math won’t add up in their favor. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts the future decline or growth of labor sectors down to the number (results may vary).

If you think you’re in a doomed industry, company, or position, be proactive, but don’t panic.

1.     Change is evolution, not revolution. Societal changes take time, including work. Think of a Town Crier, who yelled the news to whole villages as far back as ancient Roman times and as recent as every British royal announcement (and still exists as a ceremonial position and  bizarre sub-culture). Now we have the internet and, by last count, 5.18 billion town criers who can yell to the whole world 24/7. Did the job really disappear or did it transform little by little until it became social media? You have transferrable skills that you can use to skip along the lily pads as required by any major changes in your status (aka doom).  

2.     Time is on your side. Once again, be proactive, but don’t be sloppy. You have time to research, formulate a strategic plan, and make big decisions like re-locating or moving in a new direction. Take small steps if you need to, like updating your resume and LinkedIn profile. Those are great ways to see knowledge gaps (resume) and tell your professional story (LinkedIn). After that, raise the stakes by exploring opportunities in your area and beyond. Start make an honest data driven assessment of your job landscape and see where it takes you.

3.     Doomed doesn’t mean done. For example, COBOL. Nobody uses that anymore – that’s a dead language, right. The point is, plentiful COBOL developer jobs and positions may be a thing of the past, but people who know COBOL are still in demand, sometimes high demand. Those skills are still needed to maintain systems still running COBOL, update them, or migrate them to new platforms like cloud computing.

4.     Doom can be balkanized. Some professions may be balkanized. Here are two examples. Women’s reproductive health care professionals and bail bondsmen. In some states being a reproductive health care doctor, nurse, or worker is a very risky proposition and in some states it’s fine and in (increasingly high demand). In some states bail is now illegal and your chances of working as a bail bondsman is doomed, but in many states it’s business as usual so your industry hasn’t vanished, it’s just moved to another state. If you can move, you can find the markets that still need your skills and experience.

5.     You may be able work on a remote basis. When you think about the way you go about finding work, and for whom you will work, you may consider broadening your horizons. Your type of work may be doomed where you live, but there is still a robust need for your services elsewhere that places you in a leveraged position. If you haven’t considered remote work before, circumstances may dictate you seek out new ways to use your skill set and remote work can be a rewarding and lucrative option.

6.     Always Be Training. Training, training, training! If you need to learn new skills, learn new skills. Think of it as swimming or drowning. It’s going to end one way or another so you may as well learn to swim. Explore job transition programs and aid from local and state governments, or the federal government. For example, AI. Everybody is justifiably scared AI is coming for their job and they may be right. They’re probably right. However, AI isn’t coming for every job, but it will transform the way things are done globally the same way the personal computer did. People with advanced computer skills had an advantage and people who know how to use AI tools will have an advantage. There is time to learn them, but get cracking!

---

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Give Your Career A New Year’s Boost With Cost-Effective Skills Training

iStockphoto.com | TCmake_photo

Happy Holidays!

Whether you are employed or a job seeker, “Always Be Training” is more than advice. It may be the best thing you can do to for your career in today’s labor market.

According to a CNBC report this year, “Instead of emphasizing the need for specific titles and experience, organizations are shifting towards a focus on the skills that a potential employee may bring.” In the same report, Janelle Gale, Facebook’s Vice President of Human Resources, said, “We actually value skills over experience in the grand scheme of things.

That’s a pretty strong endorsement to always be training – especially when most roles do not require the technological prowess of your average Facebook employee. The advantages of continuous learning don’t stop there, and include:

1. Personal growth and development. No matter what tutorial, course, certification, or other form of continuing education you pursue, you can learn technical skills that are foundational to the profession of which you are a part, or transferable skills that are wanted by everyone everywhere.

2.  Advanced knowledge can only help you with job applications, ongoing work challenges, and future performance appraisals. This ties in with personal growth and development. Applying your new knowledge and skills to the endeavors noted above will better your overall position.

3.  Proficiency in certain systems or applications may be required or preferred for particular job roles. Great companies will institutionalize periodic training for its employees to maintain a competitive edge. If you work in such an environment you may be required to engage in such training programs, which can often be in your best long-term interests; or continuing education options may be offered, in which case you should always take advantage of them. In the absence of such a structure, it is incumbent on employees and job seekers to independently seek out additional training to maintain their competitive edge as well. If you are passive, you could fall behind and fade away.

4.  Job recruiters and hiring managers will take positive note of candidates who use their time to keep current on the technical skills needed in their profession. Sometimes it really is the effort that counts. Job candidates who demonstrate a tangible commitment to learning or keeping current with the appropriate skills can keep themselves in demand.

According to a recent LinkedIn article, the top five “in-demand” hard and soft skills of 2019 were:

Hard Skills:

1.     Cloud Computing

2.     Artificial Intelligence

3.     Analytical Reasoning

4.     People Management

5.     UX Design

Soft Skills:

1.     Creativity

2.     Persuasion

3.     Collaboration

4.     Adaptability

5.     Time Management

It follows that the type of person the most “in-demand” would possess all of these skills. Let’s focus on the top skill in each category – Cloud Computing and Creativity. Cloud Computing is a technical skill. Creativity is a transferable skill. Someone with the technical skill and creativity to adapt it to whatever public good or business purpose is involved would be a real stand-out, and both hard skills like Cloud Computing and soft skills like Creativity can be pursued as formal courses and/or certifications.

Take special note that soft “transferable” skills are extremely important, yet there is no universal way of measuring those skills and, while they may be instrumental to your job duties, are still probably not taught in any formal manner. Continuous training may be the only way to add new vital skills to your repertoire and prove you can walk the walk on your resume.

There are many ways to “Always Be Training.” And many of them won’t break the bank.

• Local resources like colleges/community colleges. If you live in an area with a major college/university or community college, many offer courses and diploma programs for adults and are an excellent resource for working professionals who want to pursue continuing education. For example, the 100-year-old UCLA Extension program is one of the oldest and largest providers of adult education. Research your local options.

• Specialty institutes. There are many professional organizations that specialize in a specific area and/or are certifying bodies in their particular field. For example, the Project Management Institute is the certifying body for Project Managers and develops the curriculum and exam for the universally recognized Project Manager Professional certification (PMP).

• Specialty certifications. There are many vendor neutral professional certifications that may be administered by a variety of accredited outlets, but are considered best in class standards for those that hold them. For example, the Information Technology Infrastructure Language (ITIL) certification signifies a person, or department, is educated in IT Service Management best practices.

• Online resources. Yes, we do live in the best of all possible worlds. So many choices!

• YouTube: Don’t knock You Tube until you try it. It has videos on how to do almost anything, including polishing your professional skills. For example, when I searched “Salesforce”, the wildly popular Customer Relationship Management application, not only does Salesforce the company have its own YouTube channel (by subscription), so many Salesforce related videos came up it was impossible to scroll through them all. YouTube is a great place to start.

• LinkedIn Learning – LinkedIn Learning (which incorporated online e-learning brand Lynda) has over 15,000 online courses with a focus on business. They offer a free trial for 1 month, after which it is a monthly all-access subscription for $19.99 a month.

• Udemy – An e-learning platform offering 130,000 courses in 60 languages to 40 million students. Priced per course starting at $12.99.

• Coursera – Coursera offers many courses and professional certifications from prestigious colleges, universities, and companies worldwide. Membership in Coursera is free and so are thousands of courses. For courses that cost money, prices start at $39.99. Pricing for advanced certification and online degree programs are commiserate with current market values. For example, an online degree program from Arizona State University will run you $15,000.

• Global Knowledge/ Axelos / Udacity – These are leading IT centric e-learning platforms that cover every major IT course or certification. Prices vary widely depending on topic/level/specialty.

• edX – FREE online courses from prestigious universities. Yes, it’s as good as it sounds. However, always read the fine print. The course may be free, but if you want a “verified certificate” (so you can prove you took/passed the course) it will cost you $50 and up.

• Futurelearn – e-learning site with course/certifications/degrees from top colleges and universities. They have a tiered pricing system. Free courses have restrictions. You can “upgrade” a free course to have access to it in perpetuity and get a “verified certificate”. You can pay $250 a year for unlimited courses. And like any online college/university degree programs, fees can reach into the thousands.

• Corporate Finance Institute – This financial e-learning company is for financial analysts who specialize in modeling and valuation. I know that sounds very narrow, but CFI is in the Top 10 of e-learning sites by volume of traffic.

Everywhere you turn on the electronic highway there is someone who wants to teach you something that will enhance your life and career. It has never been easier to “Always Be Training.” Take the plunge and you may just get hooked!

---

Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercareerstrategies.com.

10 Little Things You Can Do To Move The Needle In Your Job Search

iStockphoto.com | z_wei

Hunting for a job is no fun. It's a lot of hoops to jump through, and it can be demoralizing at times. Hit a roadblock? Here are ten little things you can do to move the needle in your job search.

1. Be nice to people. I'm not referring to just interviewers and recruiters, by the way. Be friendly. Say "Hello." Say "Thank you." Facilitate professional and personal introductions. People tend to help out nice people, and if you're on the market, and you made a positive impression, you may be front of mind when they hear about a job opportunity or are looking to fill one of their own. Jerks get referred less often than nice people.
    

2. Let recruiters know you're available on LinkedIn. There's a little box on LinkedIn on your profile page where you can tell recruiters combing the system that you're open to hearing about jobs, and how they can reach you. Why not make it clear you're looking? Here's the link.
    

3. Take quick and easy training. Applying to jobs that require Salesforce CRM experience, and you don't have it? Or maybe you need to buff up on your project management skills. Go to LinkedIn Learning, Lynda, or any of the other online training portals and take a seminar. Then add the class to your resume – it'll show up as a keyword (and a skill in your toolbox).
    

4. Circulating your resume? Send or upload a version made in Microsoft Word. Most Applicant Tracking Systems (employer databases) are optimized for Word since it's the most common word processing platform in the business world. A resume saved in Google Docs or Apple Pages formats and uploaded into an ATS might not keep its formatting. And an unattractively formatted – or just plain jumbled – resume may get ignored by a recruiter, regardless of the cause.
    

5. Contact your college's career placement center. So what if you graduated 20 years ago? Most colleges allow their alumni to utilize the campus career services office. In addition to providing access to job postings and career fairs, advisors can provide career coaching and facilitate connections to employers with whom they've built relationships. Remember, your college wants you gainfully employed – it's good for the school's reputation, well-placed alumni can provide students with internship and career opportunities, and a happy, income-earning alumni often become willing donors.
    

6. Be generous with "thank you" notes. It's a no-brainer to send "thank you" notes after a job interview – or at least it should be. This simple act of post-interview gratitude can propel your candidacy forward. And remember to show gratitude to anyone who does you any sort of favor in your job search.
    

7. Ask your former employer if they could use some help. Assuming you left a prior job on good terms and would be interested in going back, call your old manager. The combination of a low unemployment rate and an innate familiarity with your ex-employer's culture and workflows could position you as a desirable candidate.
    

8. Call a headhunter who has placed you with an employer in the past. You may not be on their radar. But if they were successful in placing you before, they may be willing and able to consider you for a new job.
    

9. Use a professional-sounding email address on your resume. It really doesn't matter whether your address ends with gmail.com, yahoo.com, outlook.com, or aol.com (I get that question a lot, by the way – people are worried about age discrimination based upon having an old ISP. Don't sweat it, unless we're talking about having CompuServe as your carrier. It's more dangerous to put your college graduation date on your resume if it's more than ten years ago). What does matter is not coming across as not being serious about the job search – avoid tags like partygirl23@gmail.com, sexydude71@aol.com, or ihatedogs@bellsouth.net.
    

10. Use your cell phone number on your resume. Be reachable, quickly. A missed call, or delaying a return call, could cost you the job. Side note: Have your voicemail set up with a greeting that says your name somewhere in the message, so that recruiters know they've reached the right number.
     

---

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.