“It’s not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent, that survive; it’s the one most responsive to change.” - Charles Darwin
Under siege from layoffs, outsourcing, off-shoring, rightsizing, downsizing and bankruptcies, America is in the midst of a profound business transformation. It’s the result of developments in information and communications technologies, changing human values and the rise of the global knowledge-based economy. The sheer complexity and technical sophistication of business has transformed the job market - not just here in America, but around the world. Business is becoming knowledge-based as well as technology intensive.
Knowledge workers are now the backbone of America. They are employed in all sectors of the economy, most prominently in the information technology and communications sectors, but also to a growing extent in healthcare, manufacturing, education, finance, natural resources, defense and government—in any field that requires innovation to sustain competitiveness. Competitive advantage is rooted in the new ideas of these skilled workers.
Of the 120 million skilled workers in America today, 24-40 million change jobs every year. Many people needlessly drift in and out of dead-end jobs because they don’t know which industries have a future in this new America, or how to present their value in the right terms to the people who can hire them.
Already reeling from outsourcing and the struggling economy, competition for the remaining U.S. jobs is tougher than ever, the rules for getting them have changed, and global competition will ensure the rules will change again tomorrow.
To succeed in the new world of work, you must have a plan. The plan must be clear and detailed in every way. It must be:
- Clever;
- Results driven;
- Marketing oriented;
- Inexpensive to execute;
- Realistic; and
- Achievable
No government agency, educational institution or think tank has a genuine crystal ball to make a call on the future; there are simply too many unknown factors when it comes to industry and job creation. One thing is certain, whether you are employed but unhappy, or unemployed and in need of a new opportunity; you as a job-hunter are at a strategic fork in the road.
Are you ready to take control of your life? Are you ready to become a Guerrilla Job Hunter?
Compliments of David E Perry and Kevin Donlin. For more creative job search tactics, go to the Guerrilla Marketing for job hunters blog and download the free audio CD.
