Steps to build future-proof career

Back in the 1980s, opportunity columns in newspapers mostly had job roles like stenographers, typists, clerks, or data entry operators. Today, while most of these job roles have become extinct, skills like typing have grown to become taken-for-granted criteria for most jobs available today.

Programmers, Software Developers, Big-Data Scientists, and Business Analysts are some trending job roles today. Will these remain relevant a few years later, or become extinct just like many other roles that got lost in the crowd is the question. According to reports, up to 34% of jobs are facing the risk of being extinct by 2040. That being said, a lot of opportunities and job roles are being created.

For example, a digital banker is a new-age banker who analyzes end-to-end customer activity and offers customized solutions to build a customer's fortune; or the role of a stenographer has transformed into an executive assistant who coordinates among key stakeholders to ensure effective communication and flawless execution. Similarly, digital and meta eras have also taken over today, making things like traditional billboard marketing or paper-based investments take a backseat. Thus, the ever-changing landscape requires professionals to constantly acquire new skills to continue being relevant.

Back in the day, stock exchanges had trading floors where brokers come together, find buyers for the shares they want to sell or sellers for the shares they want to buy. Now, the market has moved to online ordering and order matching systems, replacing physical shares with Demat shares, and moving to faster settlement and enhanced efficiencies. To elaborate, in today's time, a digital chatbot has replaced a front-desk receptionist; computers do mundane tasks every day, reducing repetitive labor and increasing productivity for humans. Thus, to stay relevant in changing times, one has to learn different things at different points in time.

Technology is continuously disrupting the nature of jobs. For job enhancement and enrichment, you must build expertise to be industry-relevant and have a sustainable career.

Here are key steps one has to take to build a future-proof career

• Identify your own strengths and interests

• Be ready and willing to change

• Choose a field where you have a clear advantage

• Don't shy away from new opportunities, just because they sound complex

• Learn continuously

Identifying strengths and interests is a crucial step toward building a sustainable career. Sharpen your strengths and work on the key weaknesses that might affect your career adversely in the longer run. Be open to change as it will help you upgrade your career and polish your own skills from time to time. Choose a niche field that is of your interest and is ideal for your given skills in the current industrial environment.

Take up new opportunities and challenge yourself to learn and perform. Every new opportunity will help you scale in new directions. Lastly, learn continuously by taking up futuristic programs from premier institutes in the interested domain. A skill relevant today will become redundant tomorrow. Stay updated with current industry trends to be able to navigate tomorrow's challenges.

Remember, the era where you do the same job till the day you retire is long gone. Job roles are transforming at speed with the fast-changing industry. Approaching a job with a short-sighted approach to simply meet the need of the hour, will not bring you long-term sustainability and longevity. Upskilling yourself with industry-relevant knowledge and practical skills to stay ahead of the curve.

With these steps and knowledge building, you can achieve a successful, stable, and growing career. Learning and acceptance see the future of everything. The more you learn, the better you get at building a career for the future, and the faster you accept change, the greater you prepare. Thus, never stop learning.

(The Author is the Chief Business Officer, TalentSprint)