Karen Williams

“In the current economic uncertainty, you may be concerned about the security of your job and may be reluctant to make changes even if you are dissatisfied at work. But even if you are happy with the status quo now, what could you do to improve your opportunities in the future?

To future-proof your career, follow my top tips and take one simple action today.

1. Keep up to date with changing technology. What skills do you need for your job and what will help you in the future? Keep your technical skills current, even if it doesn’t directly relate to your job right now. If you are proactive, it will put you in a good position for future changes.

2. Develop your competencies, skills and experience. Keeping up to date with your professional development is important in any industry and will help you to develop skills that can be transferred to other positions. Competencies include areas such as leadership, communication, innovation and interpersonal skills. What competencies are important for you or your career? Take some time to design a plan to help you to develop these skills.

3. Create a record of your achievements. When many people develop their CV’s, they can remember the most recent achievements but forget those that happened a while ago. However, these may also be important to the requirements of a new job. If you keep a record of your achievements and successes, you will be able to list and describe these situations in an application or interview situation.

4. Build and maintain a professional network. When you are seeking a new job or are making contacts as part of your business, building a network plays a key part. Develop relationships with people both inside and outside your organisation. Make contacts with people who can encourage or mentor you, support your development and offer new opportunities.

5. Be aware of changes to your industry or environment. By reading trade journals, the business press and keeping an eye on the news, you can become aware of any emerging trends or challenges that may affect you. This will help you to take advantage of new opportunities or change jobs if the future looks tough.

6. Develop a plan for your career. There are few people who work in an organisation where they have a clear career path laid out ahead of them. As the adage says, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. To achieve your potential, consider where you want to be in one, five or ten year’s time. Then decide what you need to do to get there – set yourself some goals and most importantly, remember to take action!”