The Future of the Job Market: Some Bets and Obvious Truths

There are few certainties in life, but at least in the professional arena, one thing is for sure: the market is constantly evolving in ways no one can predict.

So, how do you navigate your career in such an uncertain scenario?

The most crucial mantra in this undoubtedly is: “Don’t let companies decide your path for you.” One-third of our day is spent working, and over 40 years of our lives, on average, are dedicated to our careers. It’s a steep price to pay to delegate to a third party, whose interests are vastly different from yours, deciding how your literal life’s time will be spent.

For those who have been in the market for a little longer, around 10 years, they haven’t escaped unscathed from the idealized notion of a predictable and linear career path. Deep down, many still harbour this expectation, or at least it’s where they find the most familiarity. Today, we understand that the process has become increasingly complex, and the speed of change has forced adaptability to an unprecedented level. Many of the professions we now recruit in HR didn’t exist five years ago, or if they did, the required competencies were entirely different.

Career planning in this context has more to do with adaptability to the terrain than an idealized and predictable plan. You can’t sketch a 5-year career plan if you don’t know the terrain you’re entering.

In addition to adaptability, today’s professional aiming for career acceleration must be concerned with two fronts and act ambidextrously:

• Delivering the present, what is asked, your current project, procedures, and routine;
• Pushing a new frontier, expanding. What’s the next skill in my field? Being more provocative and a builder of the future in your area. Finding more efficient ways of execution.

Furthermore, three current movements should be considered when thinking strategically about your career:

1. Artificial intelligence as part of our daily work. A year ago, no one talked about Chat-GPT, for example, and now it’s involved in all areas within a company. It’s a new must-have, there is no escape.
2. Consequently, this forces new patterns of consumption and customer expectations. The customer knows more about how much their money is worth. They have the power of comparison. It’s much more challenging to serve a customer today than it was 10 years ago.
3. Technology shapes new customers who form new ways of managing.

The modern professional is constantly pushing the boundaries, finding new frontiers and seeking cheaper, faster, and more effective ways of execution. Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a key role in facilitating this. AI is no longer just an IT guy thing, it has become one of the most basic competencies, just like the new Office suite. From HR to logistics, everyone must now understand AI and its potential applications.

So how to combine my professional skills with AI?

Will technology replace humans entirely? No, but it will do more than the average human does. I am excellent at communicating compassionately. AI can’t communicate like me, but does the average human know how to communicate compassionately? No. So, AI excels better than the average human in empathetic communication. But I am secure in this skill.

Does that scare or reassure you?

The possible solution is: don’t be average at everything; find something that makes you above average. Dive deep into it; you’ll be happier, fulfilled, and employed.

AI is good at providing answers, but we must specialize in asking questions. To ask good questions, you need repertoire, curiosity, and openness to the new. Where can I get that? By accessing things beyond the average — reading the unpopular book, following the less talked-about news, taking the less fancy course, and serving the client everyone avoids.

The only safety net is our constant repertoire of knowledge—updating, challenging ourselves, taking charge of our career management, building new frontiers, experimenting, engaging in difficult conversations, tolerating the pain of change, and acknowledging that change is imperative. With these elements, a career plan is less important than being prepared.