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Released On:
Saturday, May 16, 2009
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BYRON RICKS
www.byronricks.com
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LIFETIME EMPLOYMENT VS. LIFETIME EMPLOYABILITY
Career Track
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Career Talk
By: Byron Ricks, MA
Lifetime Employment vs. Lifetime Employability
In his book Circle of Innovation Tom Peters talks about the death of distance. Today, “Carrying a call from London to New York costs virtually the same as carrying it from one house to the next.” What this means to you is workplace competition has increased at a rapid pace. You no longer compete for jobs with persons in your specific geographic area. You compete with persons throughout the United States and indeed the world.
As much as it would like to, your organization cannot guarantee you lifetime employment. The rapid pace of business and the emergence of new business models mean that jobs must periodically change. The education and skills you have today left unchanged will not be sufficient or competitive in tomorrow’s job market. Experts who have examined today’s workforce trends say:
• A person will pursue an average of five different careers in his or her lifetime.
• The most successful companies will be those with the highest percentage of employees willing and able to meet the demands of constant change.
• People who get the most desirable jobs or roles will be those who are willing to continually learn new skills, work processes, technologies, and ways of teaming with others.
Every news medium you listen to, watch or read is reporting on the economic tailspin our economy and financial markets are experiencing. The workforce is decreasing by the thousands and unemployment rates are close to double digits nationally. There are many people in the job market today touting there professional wares to companies hoping that someone will give them a chance. The person that understands the difference between Employment and Employability will have the best chances for success. Lifetime Employability means possessing the talent, education, skills and attitude that a person, organization, association or company is willing to pay you to perform. The more you develop your skills and increase your knowledge, the more in demand or employable you will become. The Japanese refer to this as Kaizen which means “continuous improvement.” It comes from the Japanese words “Kai” meaning school and “Zen” meaning wisdom. The Kaizen philosophy is to do it better, improve it even if it isn’t broken. So, even though you may be still employed you must take advantage of every opportunity your employer offers you that will improve and increase your talents and skill sets.
The Kaizen principals using a Socratic approach:
1. What can I do better in a short period of time to improve my employability?
2. What specific skill or talent if developed will benefit me most?
3. What education/training can I get to improve my employability?
4. What company/organization could benefit from my talent, skills and experience if my company let me go - and how do I access them?
5. What is the risk of doing nothing because I am already highly skilled at what I do?
Answering these questions will open your mind and broaden your thinking. Executing your answers will allow you to see yourself as more than a person holding a job. You will see yourself as a valuable asset to the business community. You will no longer be seen as just another AP because you practiced the Kaizen principals (continuous improvement) and are now highly sought after for your talents. Lifetime Employment attitude, boy I hope nothing happens to my job because I don’t know if I can find another one. Lifetime Employability attitude, I have taken advantage of every opportunity afforded me and created them for myself when they weren’t there. My employer is a client that employs me for my level of skill and there are many other clients that need the talent and skills I offer. This is what will separate you from the crowd. There have been a lot of good sprinters in the Olympics however Florence Griffith-Joyner separated herself from the rest because of her quest for continuous improvement.
Orginal post by American Society fo Administrative Professionals. www.asap.com
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