Adaptability and critical thinking holds the key to the future
The turn of the decade has brought with it a lot of insecurities be it one’s employment status, the future of graduating students, or the stress around keeping healthy and safe amidst a pandemic.
Every event has a silver lining and excess of time that has been gifted to us must be spent wisely- the question is, how? For working individuals or for graduate students, this period of 4–6 months is an opportunity to upskill oneself with qualities rather than certifications.
The only question is, what are the skills that are going to be relevant in the future? Big shifts in existing trends have started to emerge with workplaces adopting an online regime — IT companies playing leading the way.
Critical Thinking
The future will serve kindly to those who seek an ability to come up with solutions rather than just getting by. Corporations and institutions will require inputs from thinkers rather than doers, which is why it is high time to harness your skills. Why?
Corporations believe that the required skillset can always be taught to an individual but the way someone thinks, that is unique. It cannot be molded easily, it is something that you have or not and with the scarcity of jobs, it can be a make or break trait in your application.
Therefore, you should focus your energy on developing a problem-solving attitude. Think outside the box quite literally.
Start with the problems that exist around you in your daily life. Try coming up with innovative solutions to tackle those. Having successfully negotiated those, you can now branch out to tackling more institutional problems. You may not necessarily always be able to resolve these larger problems, but keep at it.
Media Literacy
Social media has risen to become one of the most important facets of a globalized world. The ability to leverage the available form of media effectively is going to be a game-changer. Let us consider a platform that is being used by millions of working individuals- LinkedIn.
It has become the go-to place for seeking an internship or for applying for a job. Millions of applications are submitted for job openings on a daily basis. Think you have what it takes to stand out from the crowd?
Given below are the applications of two candidates. If you were a recruiter, who would you pick and why?
Candidate A has a resume uploaded on his bland profile with no insights to who he actually is- hobbies, projects, and other recreational activities are all amiss.
Candidate B has a resume uploaded in addition a plethora of what you can call ‘sneak bits’ into his life outside academics- be it sports, vlogs of activities, blog posts, and a photography website that is set up purely based on passion.
Decided who to pick? Try using this insight the next time you’re drafting out a work application.
Being A Team Player
The importance of being a team player is on full display during this pandemic. With workplaces having to shift their operations to an online medium, effective communication within a team is crucial. The entire existence of smaller sized corporations depends on the ability of members of the team to cohesively work towards achieving a common goal- establishing sales and profits for the corporation.
Such virtual collaborations are going to assume a bigger role in the future which is why it is important to hone that facet of your personal development.
Communication Skills
As a continuation of the previous aspect, communication forms the foundation of your skillset. Be it written language or spoken, it is hard to find anyone that wouldn’t benefit by possessing this.
If you think of it, business essentially boils down to the ability of one trader to trust another based on what they communicate to each other. Sellers are trying to communicate with the prospective buyer using advertisements. Emails comprise of electronic communication between businesses.
Having established the importance of communication, a good starting point would be to establish a stronghold on at least these topics:
- Basic Grammar Formulation (Tenses, Sentence Construction, Etc)
2. Basic Copywriting Skills
3. Email Formation (Format, etc)
These are elements of language that are absolutely fundamental for any individual to have a grasp of.
Entrepreneurial Mindset
Without the initiative and drive of an entrepreneur, you’ll get lost in the shuffle of a fast-paced world.
-Ayodeji Awosika
There’s always a better way to do something, you just have to figure out what it is and how YOU can do that. Do not think that since you are a homemaker, you should not have this mindset. In fact, no matter what the profession, this mindset will enable you to pull out of your comfort zone and establish authority.
As goes the adage, life is about the survival of the fittest and those who will want to improve at every turn of life will do it. Thinking about it makes it more likely for someone to actually go ahead and do it.
The future is what you make of it!
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