The last couple of years have been pretty tough from a career point of view, if you had a job, you tried to keep it, regardless of whether you truly liked it or not.  For many people they had no choice, redundancies were ramped up as companies scrambled to cut costs.  This period followed the boom of the resource sector where companies were desperate to recruit, and not much more than an application or a good network connection was needed to land a job. So its pretty clear that the last 5 years the WA economy has been at it’s most turbulent.  So with that, let me make some bold predictions for the 2018.

1.People will start to realise that artificial intelligence is real and very present. They may be surprised by the width and breadth of jobs that will be affected.  Everyone from back office support through to law advise and accountants will be sitting up and seriously taking notice.

2. A change in the way companies do business. Companies will be scrambling to make the necessary changes to compete in a new environment where the demands of their people are changing rapidly. Customers become king and will dominate what services they use and from who based on sophisticated, fast and direct online feedback on the quality of services and goods they receive plus the way it is being delivered.

3. Talent and attracting the right talent is the focus. Companies will realise that the new battlefield will be for great talent, not just technical ability.

Peoples capacity to work with each other, take initiative, lead when required and step up as needed will be just as important as their ability to do an outstanding job.  This will put stress on the individual trying to maintain a healthy work/life blend.

 

4. People will start to recognise that their ‘brand’ is as much a key to a good career as their talent and technical skills. People will recognise that their career is their responsibility and start to take charge.  How you present, how you look on social media, how people speak about you, who you associate with and what you do in the community will be exceedingly important.

You can’t just ‘pitch’ anymore and hope to land the dream job,

every part of your life is vulnerable to exposure

which will have an impact on your career ( both positively and negatively)

 

5. Your ability to be flexible in the range of jobs and the work conditions (part time, contract etc.) will become very important.  Companies will no longer be making people redundant to save costs, people will be made redundant because they do not have the skill set the organisation needs for the future to compete.

How do I make myself valuable in the work force of the future should become your prime concern.

 

6. Technology will increasingly dominate our lives, companies will expect to have your attention 24 x 7 via mobile devices etc. If you are not up to speed on technology and making keeping up with technology one of your primary goals in 2018, you may be left behind to your detriment, or spending far more time than you need to fighting with technology and impacting on your life

The rate of change is expediential and it will impact us all.  Companies are looking for well rounded individuals who are flexible, able to work in a team, can take initiative, are creative, make sound decisions and take the lead when necessary.  Focusing on developing your interpersonal skills and flexibility is probably the best advise I could give, as the world of technology and social media are impacting these soft skills which will become a highly demanded commodity.  Tread your own path….

For further information on taking charge of your career, please contact us.

About the Author

Peter James

Peter James is a professional career coach, with expertise in the areas of strategic and ‘hands-on’ change management, coaching, group facilitation, leadership development and organisational design and change. Peter James is director at Career Life Transitions.