Have you had your share of ups and downs with the job market, well it can get scary at times. Now this is a difficult situation to be in, not quite a pleasant one at that, you must be wondering by now, what is the remedy to all of this, it goes without saying that you need to go ahead and equip yourself with skills that stand the test of time and certainly increase the odds of staying employed.
A Steady Paycheck
The key is to go ahead, find out and develop those future – proofed skills which would ensure a steady paycheck no matter how bad the situation turns out to be. To begin with you may focus on the market driven skills, try and dive into the minds of the most discerning employers.
Stay Ahead of the Curve
Again it pays to pick up certain skills, that can surely boost profits or reduce the costs. You may also consider making the most of technology while you embrace your humane strengths at the same time. The job market is going to become all the more competitive in due course of time, so you need to stay ahead of the curve.
The Human Brain
You would do well to learn how to use technology more efficiently than you are using it today. This learning comprises of when and of course how to use a tool more effectively, you must not undermine the biggest and best tool of all the human brain, you may leverage on it to apply creative problem solving skills as and when required as it is only possible by a human and not just any machine.
Avoid Falling Into a Productivity Hole
You can rise above your peers as well as your colleagues by automating tasks at your end that would leave you with more time and energy to come up with great ideas as they are indeed scarce. Towards this end you need to analyse your time assets and time debts and balance them optimally so as to avoid falling into a productivity hole.
Time Assets and Time Debts
Time assets are essentially those actions or the choices that you make today which would save you substantial amount of time in the coming future. Time debts on the other hand are those actions or choices that you make today that are going to cost you additional time in near or distant future.
A Classic Example
Software makes a classic example of a time asset as it is written once, however it can be run multiple times, this essentially means you just make an upfront investment in terms of time but reap a rich payoff each and every day afterwards.
Payback Time
Email on the other hand comes across as a classic example of time debt, sending an email means you are committing to replying late and this creates a small debt that you have to pay invariably at a later time so create more time assets than debts, working on your extended mind tools would help you accomplish these goals.
Intuition and Creativity
Computers are far superior in more ways than one and when we combine the processing power of the computer with the intuition and creativity of the human mind, what we get is a superbly winning combination.
Human-computer Combination
The human-computer combinations are really valuable in the job market. The future is going to demand more of this ability, though to a greater extent, as it is only superior technology that enablers us to do things that our brains are unable to do.
Enhance Powers of Cognition
As a matter of fact we have always used various tools that enhance our powers of cognition be it printed books, telephones or faxes, these were the extended mind tools of the past.
Final Words
Talking of the future jobs, computers and mobile devices and specialized software residing on them are the definitive tools in the coming time. In order to ensure the continuity of your employment and in your very best interest, you would need to master them and any emerging technologies completely and thoroughly to come out with flying colours, no matter what the external circumstances happen to be at any given point in time.