The very good people at Forbes.com posed this question to its bloggers:
Question:
Recently, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a jump in the unemployment rate to 10.2%.Some economists think we could be looking at 10.5% by early next year.
Given these grim forecasts, how do you counsel recent college graduates and others entering the job market for the first time in this employment climate? Is there any advice or strategies you find particularly useful?
Answer:
What’s happening in the United States is a fundamental shift on how we approach the world of work. Considering the economic forces at play, it may be a very long time before we ever get back to normal. Now it’s time to imagine what ”the new normal” looks like. Let’s take a look at a few options.
Scenario No. 1: Think more entrepreneurially
No matter what age you are or what profession you are in, we all need to look at how we can approach our careers with a more entrepreneurial bent. If you are an accountant, you may be downsized out of your large corporate office but how do you create a niche for yourself and make yourself a valuable free agent so you can market yourself to not just one company but a whole bunch of them? You may remember that this was the picture forecasted by Daniel Pink’s brilliant book, “Free Agent Nation“ however it hasn’t been fully realized.
“A large reason why ‘Free Agent Nation’ never came to pass is that we didn’t have the kind of social services net to support that,” said Sharon Hadary, founder and former Executive Director of Center for Business Women’s Research. “You need things like portable health care to make something like this happen.” Now that there is substantive discussion on a nationwide health care plan that would allow self-employed individuals to afford health care, I see this as a trend that can finally have its day.
Scenario No. 2: It’s not about the job; it’s about “The Gig”
Recent statistics from the U.S. Dept. of Labor show that as an alternative to finding full-time, permanent employment, more individuals are choosing to look for temporary situations, or something I like to call “The Gig.”
Formerly thought of only as a desirable situation for those in a band, the gig has the power to completely transform our entire the way we approach the world of work.
Why would anyone want to be stuck in a job for five to 10 years without any hope of variation or excitement? That’s just not how today’s worker is built. My fellow Generation Xers have given up the notion that we’re ever going to work at anyone company and get a gold watch at the end of our 20-year tenure. That concept went by the wayside with my parent’s generation and other boomers.
The idea is simple: choose 2-3 areas that you love. Yes, love. Passion is a critical component of the Gig philosophy. You can now find work as an architect, painter and nourish your dream to be a triathlete. Or you are a stay-at-home mom that creates beautiful hand-made crafts that sell on etsy.com (the leading handmade craft website) and you write code as a programmer. People have been piecing together parts of this lifestyle for awhile because they have to. The change here is doing this because you want to, not as a makeshift answer to lack for full-time employment but a way to nurture your pocketbook and your soul. How revolutionary is that?
Scenario No. 3: People should only work at what they love
If today’s job market has taught us anything, it’s that most people are pretty sad to lose a paycheck but sadly few loved their job that much. In fact , for many the paycheck was the only thing keeping them going. But those who love what they do will always find a new and exciting outlet for what they do. They have to. This is their passion.
How many people have you worked with a job that are just there to fill the hours between 9 and 5? Far too many, I am sure. I know I have. And I’ve worked in every creative area of television, print and media imaginable. Work zombies are everywhere. But when you work with a person who is filled with passion, it’s contagious! You can’t wait to talk to them, to hear what they have to say. That’s the kind of enthusiasm that boils over when you are doing what you love from the very essence of your soul.
As Americans, we spend more than 60 hours a week, on average, at our job. Don’t we owe it to ourselves to be in love with what we do? Life is so short. It doesn’t have to be a dream! What we do need is new business models so that we can get paid to do what we love. Hopefully new distribution models such as cooperative sites on the Internet and new ideas in working such as co-working will help us along the way.
What do you think work is now? I’d love to hear your thoughts. If you like what you’ve read here, subscribe to this blog to get weekly updates.