How to remain employable forever
For most of us working in jobs, we need to learn how to be employable and remain employable well into the future. This will enable us to continue earning income to meet some of our basic needs.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs confirms that we all need money to meet our daily needs. Without income, we will not be able to have basic needs like food and shelter.
When we do not have these basic needs, we will not be able to think about other needs in life.
What does employability mean?
Our experiences and professionalism will contribute to our performance and employability. These will differentiate us from other employees and job seekers.
In essence, we have to use our unique experiences to sell ourselves within our workplaces and to prospective employers in the future.
Employability development is a lifelong process!
Always recognise the value of work experiences, whether locally or overseas.
Foundations of employability
Employability is not the same as employment. No one can guarantee you a job.
Employability is about acquiring the required knowledge and skills of our profession.
It’s also about developing our personal qualities and capabilities that will make us more effective and valuable employee overtime.
By doing so, it provides career progression for us.
Your goal is to uniquely differentiate yourself from your competitors (i.e., other job seekers and employees) so that you are considered the right person for a job.
Always use your experiences gained to demonstrate current and future value to an employer. Effectively show how you will contribute to the organisation.
Do remember that past performance may not necessarily be a good predictor of future performance. It is our job to convince people that we have what it takes to perform better.
Employers are constantly looking for workers who can perform effectively in the workplace to advance their organisations. They expect employees to be able to work with other people, to communicate effectively, have critical reasoning and problem- solving skills, be committed to their jobs, and be able to take initiative and think outside of the box.
Therefore, it is important to understand the kinds of qualities that make you employable.
Performing a gap analysis of what you have and what you need in the future will give you concrete action steps to close any deficiencies in your current skills set.
It is imperative also that you are the right ‘fit’ for their organisation. You need to embody the right organisational values and culture. You need to go out and experience life.
To remain employable, you need to:
(a) Be aware and understand what your employer expects and want from you in terms of performance, attitudes, and behaviours.
(b) Constantly acquire future-ready skills, experiences, and knowledge that will make you employable well into the future.
(c) Realise and constantly strengthen your employability by reflecting on the learning and experience you’ve gained and will gain.
(d) Transfer and apply your learning and experience into positive workplace performance so that you effectively achieve your performance goals and meet stakeholder’s expectations.
The key to your long-term employability is to learn and develop from experiences. You need to recognise how that learning makes you more effective and productive in the workplace when you do the job.
Continuous development of skills and doing the job are two key elements of employability that are cornerstones for you to continue earning an income.
There is a need for workers to obtain skills, understanding, and personal attributes and behaviours that will increase their chances of retaining and gaining employment. We need to be successful in our chosen jobs, careers, and possibly vocation or calling.
It’s also important to successfully perform the job effectively to the required standard, rather than just having the knowledge. It’s about doing the job well and efficiently with the skills and knowledge that we have.
Knowledge is potential power. We have to apply the power effectively to perform at our peak.
As such, there is a difference between being good at a subject and being good at doing a job well that meets the employer’s expectations and standards.
Employability is about developing tangible but positive achievements and outcomes that will enable you to perform effectively in the workplace.
Factors impacting your employability
The labour market
When labour market conditions are challenging, it can become difficult to secure the employment that you want.
In these difficult conditions, there is more emphasis on being employable in a job and maintaining your employability.
This is important as the number of job seekers will be much more than available job vacancies in the years to come.
How we think about jobs and careers
We don’t think in terms of a job for life anymore. We think in terms of different phases and sequences of employment and cluster of job skills.
It’s not uncommon for people to be working in many different roles over the course of their working lives, either voluntarily or involuntarily.
Social profile
It is an unfortunate reality that due to a range of societal biases some people can be disadvantaged or discriminated against in finding or maintaining employment.
Gender, age, ethnicity, access to higher education, disability, or socio-economic status can negatively impact an individual’s employability.
Attitudes and behaviours
An individual’s ability to cope, be flexible and be pragmatic in the choices that they make can impact their employability.
Be willing to continuously re-frame or transform your abilities, skills, and knowledge to new or different tasks. Be flexible and adaptable for different roles, organisations, and industries.
Employability is not absolute. There are some things that will be beyond the control of the individual.
Being employable doesn’t automatically guarantee your future employment. But it puts you in a better position to manage these external factors.
What do employers expect?
Many people struggle to understand what employers actually expect from them.
There are unwritten rules around employer expectations and standards that usually get us into trouble when both expectations don’t meet. There could be an unrealistic ‘shopping list’ of expectations that employees need to understand, navigate around, and potentially meet.
Sometimes employers don’t communicate their expectations because they don’t even know what those expectations are in the first place.
In the past, I have explicitly asked my managers what their expectations are for me. This is the best way to clarify expectations. It will guide your work in the right footing.
Then constantly check-in on whether these expectations are still current or if there is a need to pivot the expectations to meet the changing requirements of the job or circumstances.
What makes us employable?
We need to know which skills, capabilities, experiences, and knowledge that are important to the employer. Have a clear understanding of what a particular profession or job entails, the culture, the values, the expected standards of behaviour, and the general ideology.
Then align yourself with those expectations in order to operate and perform successfully in the workplace.
Go beyond what you “look like on paper”. Fully understand how your experiences and capabilities can make a difference to the organisation. It’s the effective application of these experiences and capabilities that will truly determine your success, performance, and achievements.
Experience develops your employability
Employers expect their workers to have a certain level of knowledge, skills, and personal qualities that will enable the workplace, team, and individual performance and achievements.
These qualities are most effectively developed through experience and doing the work. Qualities like confidence and resilience are valued by employers.
By actively participating in a range of workplace and job activities, you are applying certain skills, knowledge, and behaviours. You are also developing particular skills and capabilities. These are all part of your personal work experiences associated with those activities.