INTHEBLACK September 2021 - Magazine - Page 60
F E AT U R E
// D E AT H O F T H E L I N E A R C A R E E R PAT H
a cocktail party. “If you are open to it, you can have these
completely chance encounters with people, and opportunities
can come from it,” he says.
LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY
Bright believes that, in order to recognise these opportunities,
employees should learn how to live with a measure of
uncertainty rather than becoming too focused on goal
setting and rigid targets.
“People often get stuck in jobs where they are stressed
or harassed, as they do in relationships, because of a fear of
uncertainty,” he says.
Rather than waiting for changes to occur, the most “career
resilient people” are those who are readily and routinely testing
their abilities against market demands. They are also keeping
their interview skills up to scratch by attending interviews
“even if they won’t necessarily take the job”.
“Sometimes, our work myths and projections are based on
the idea of stability, loyalty and long-term employment, but
the reality of work is that there is a lot of unpredictability,”
Bright says. “The more you can support yourself, then the
better off you will be.”
While Bright does believe that employer loyalty towards
staff still exists, he thinks the concept of workplace loyalty
can be self-defeating.
“People will come to me really broken, because they were
promised an equity partnership in a business and then the owner
sells because they get an offer they can’t refuse,” Bright says.
“I think a lot of employers want to do the right thing by
their employees, but as events like COVID-19 show, things
are not always in their control.”
SKILLS TO CULTIVATE IN THE NEW NORMAL
In addition to shifts in the employee mindset, Bright believes
there are a number of steps that workers can take, starting
with “war-gaming” exercises that map out routes through
unexpected events.
“This preparation is kind of like the awkward conversations
you have with a bank manager when you have to assess
whether you can afford the loan and what you will do if
interest rates rise,” he says.
Bright also adds that it is important to map out the
potential for positive unexpected events, such as an
international job offer.
“That way, you end up with a collection of maps for
different scenarios, so if anything does happen – negative or
positive – you can whip out one of these blueprints,” he says.
Secondly, Bright recommends improving transferable skills
– those that are not easily automated or replaced.
“Soft skills, such as creativity, will continue to be important
in the future, and you need to be aware of the new kind of
cultural expectations in the workplace,” he says.
“If you’ve been an employer in the past, you might
nowadays be asked, ‘How many women have you employed
in senior roles?’.”
Finally, Bright says “reaching out and connecting to other
people” is critical.
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“People employ people they like, and they employ people
who their friends have recommended, so that is why
networking is so important.”
However, he advises against being too cynical about your
networking efforts – don’t just aim to meet people who are
more senior than you to help you climb the ladder. Instead,
be generous and collegial.
“It’s obviously harder in the pandemic to meet face to face,
which is where social media becomes a great place to network,
especially LinkedIn groups or even Twitter,” Bright says.
THE RISE OF THOUGHTFUL CAREERS
Unsurprisingly, the greatest force for change in our work lives
in recent times has been the pandemic.
According to Kala Kularajah, from Malaysian global
management consulting and executive search firm Egon
Zehnder, the pandemic caused some employees to “hit
the reset button”.
“We are now hearing this term ‘core purpose’, especially
among younger people, and they want to know what their
purpose is at work,” she says. “I do believe that people have
become a lot more thoughtful about what they do and how
they plan their career.”
Kularajah also predicts a rise in gig contractor roles among
highly paid professionals who choose to move from contract
to contract for greater professional freedom.
“They may take a contract for a few months, and then take
a couple of months off to travel, go hiking or learn a new
skill,” she says. “So, they really value their time.”