Worried about your job? Hope is not a strategy…

~ Live & Learn

Klaas Verplancke, ParapluieHBR Blog Network: “…It would take something like 1,000 hours — and maybe a lot longer — to recover from a forced career change…

…If disaster were to hit, you’d like to believe that you could find another job. Well, as the cliché goes, hope is not a strategy. Especially in this job market.

…It certainly seems we are running harder and harder to keep up with the required knowledge in our specialized fields. What would you actually have to invest in order to stay in this race? In this race, information is the tiger and there doesn’t seem to be an end to how fast the tiger can run. But remember, the good news is that you don’t have to outrun the tiger. You simply have to outrun your competitors, people like you who are going to be looking for a job, once their industry becomes obsolete…”

…We aren’t talking about the cumulative time for the job search itself — of sending out resumes, networking and the like. We’re talking about 1,000 hours of retraining in essence to prepare for another job. All the job hunting you will have to do will be on top of that.

…Our suggestion? Find something that: (1) You care about — it will make it easier and far more enjoyable to put in the time and (2) Might be a safety parachute

…Start investing three hours a week in it right now. Yeah, we know that the rough math shows you need at least six, but let’s be honest. From a dead stop to six hours is rather like losing 20 pounds — the number is so big that you won’t start. And more than anything, you need to start. So start small. Trust that as your interest develops, it will be easy to work up to six hours…

…And if the worst happens — your job and maybe your industry go away — you are far better off than all those people who did not make an investment in themselves…”

See entire blog post @ HBR Blog Network: Are You Spending 1,000 Hours Preparing for Your Next Job?.

Image Source: carnetimaginaire (Klaas Verplancke, Parapluie) via madamescherzo

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15 thoughts on “Worried about your job? Hope is not a strategy…”

  1. This beneficial advice works on so many levels. It’s a constructive alternative to the job anxiety, it’s do-able, and maybe people will find something they enjoy and can make a living at in those three hours that they leave their jobs anyway. Thanks for the post, Dave!

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  2. An individual should never stop growing, so they should be learning new skills and knowledge each day.

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  4. Really good article. Preparation is the key to anything but in today’s economic situation it is more important that ever. It still amazes me how people really think their job is safe and nothing will happen to them. No back up plan, no parachute…nada!!

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