Each year there’s a guaranteed influx of graduates into the job market. And with each passing year, thousands of aspiring professionals flock into institutions of higher learning. Why? Well, although people want different things, the most common reason is the pursuit of a better living. We all want a ‘brighter future’.
Education is important, but it provides no guarantees hence when things go south and it becomes survival of the fittest one has to implement a backup plan. This is where career adaptability which is the ability to successfully adapt to changes in the values of the job one has comes in. However, with it comes flexibility if one truly seeks success.
Firstly, one desperately needs to stay professionally relevant. That in itself loosely translates into hard work. Yet, hard work alone is not enough. Think of it this way, how come some people can hop from one job to the next while everyone else still struggles to land their first job? Or rather, why are some getting those promotions whilst others are seemingly overlooked?
This is neither rocket science nor quantum physics thus understanding how career adaptability can revive dead end should be fairly easy. To start with, in all games people win by playing according to the rules. Failure to comply with rules results in yellow cards and red cards. So does that mean job hunting and staying employed is a game?
Well, it all depends on how you think about it. But for now, let’s pretend they are. What would anyone do to win that many fail to do? How much effort must one put in to secure success?
According to Mary Ellen Slayter in 6 tips for remaining relevant professionally,
“Keeping up-to-date on the trends affecting your industry is a key part of staying relevant, because it can help you see how your career fits in with your industry’s ups and downs.”
Unemployment is rife and the thought of it is scary. Yet, change in job hunt strategies i.e. career adaptability can revolutionize it. “Perfect career” or “Perfect job” are both mythical. We have generic industries and/or career paths. That means that somehow everything relates with something.
For instance, some employers are in search of recruits with the ability to grow as employees. It goes something like this: one may be employed as a driver only to end up being in office. Another typical case is volunteering. While volunteering, one may have to put aside their credentials, but after enough exposure with the technical aspects of the entity become an employee. The list is endless.
In short, career adaptability suggests that to make it in the job market, many routes lead to Rome. Or as they say, there’s always more than one way to killing a cat.