Success in the New Work Economy

Call it what you want – the new work economy, the age of the knowledge worker or the connected economy, will transform your career, your work and rewards. Those students (and professionals too!)that understand six fundamentals will be well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities and navigate the uncertainties ahead.

1 Portable Security

The “study for a degree and get a secure job for life” model is dead. Organisations can no longer guarantee lifetime employment and steady progression in position or earnings. Get over it. Your security comes from you, not an employer or the government. You can take it with you from Cape Town to Cairo. You can transfer it from working in the engineering division to a marketing venture. You can even own the intellectual property rights and build different earnings models for it. The bottomline is that you should prepare for different types of employment relationships, dozens of jobs and 360 degree career changes in your lifetime.  The investments in your career together with astute moves in the market will determine the degree of security you enjoy.

2 Brand You, CEO of Me

In 1997, management guru, Tom Peters launched “brand you” thinking and the concept of viewing yourself as CEO of Me.Inc. If you are employed, even on a temporary basis, then your employer is the most important “client” in your business. You must provide the best products, services and experiences for them. During your campus years, spend time to develop a powerful brand in the minds of academic staff and prospective employers. A simple example; drop them a quarterly e-mail about your achievements and thoughts about their business challenges. Remember, they could be your future paying “clients”.

3 Lifelong learning

In the new work economy, learning does not end on graduation day. Business is rapidly changing and this means, the willingness to learn, unlearn and relearn again. Many professional bodies have CPD (continuing professional development) requirements for their members to remain in good standing. However, don’t limit your learning experiences to your job or profession. Over the years, I have come across talented professionals from accountants to IT programmers that reach a career ceiling because they lack soft touch skills. Lifelong learning should include self management skills, leadership, diverse experiences and new fields of work. The biggest advantage of lifelong learning is the inherent opportunity for finding your passion, while your earnings tick upwards.

4 Unlocking Value

In the past, students were largely groomed for employment and entrepreneurship was frowned upon. Times are changing, albeit slowly. Never before has the individual had so many opportunities to create, share, control and monetise their value in the marketplace. Individuals will need to evaluate employment and entrepreneurship vehicles in unlocking this value. For example, Marc Zuckerberg was a student at Harvard University when he founded billion dollar company, Facebook. I doubt he would have been smiling to the bank if he had gone the employment route. If you identify opportunities in the market, go after them!  You could well be a wealthy entrepreneur before you qualify.

5 Highly Networked Individuals

Highly networked individuals have a competitive advantage in the market, from applying for a graduate position to starting a business. Your network is a research hub, fan base and reputation check, all rolled into one. There are numerous opportunities to build your network on campus from joining professional clubs to charitable causes. With business increasingly based on relationships and team work, highly networked individuals will be in constant demand over loners.

6 Track Record of Performance

Each year thousands of graduates struggle to find employment because they lack experience and more importantly, a track record of performance. As organisations move towards performance management systems and remuneration, you should be aggressively accumulating a portfolio of your performance. Showcase your volunteer work, experience from running a spaza shop or tangible results during vacation work. It provides a prospective employer with a greater level of confidence about you and your potential.