Bllamas, New Year resolutions, and your job search this 2012
Posted on January 17, 2012
Filed Under Employment, Finding a Job, Hiring Forecast, The Workplace | 1 Comment
We do it every New Year: ring in January 1, proclaiming change. Feeling refreshed, optimistic about the promise of a new year, we commit ourselves to a series of resolutions, regardless of whether we possess the will to follow through with them. Growing up, my proclivity for the absurd was put on full display each New Year’s Eve. As a child, and on into my youth, I relished the rather insensitive thought of making a mockery of the whole process. I would silently commit myself to incredible, extraordinary, and sometimes egregious resolutions, such as plotting the genetic sequence and splicing together the DNA of a bull and llama, creating a bllama. A “bllama,” I resolved, would be an animal with the valor and august disposition of a llama, and the innate competitive spirit of a bull. Let it suffice to say, none of my far-fetched resolutions (of which the above resolution is merely representative), ever came to fruition. So where am I going with this? Believe it or not- your career.
MarketWatch contributor Ruth Mantell recently published an article, 5 must-have skills for job seekers in 2012, which, ironically, lists only three skills (she does mention two addition skills, however, in her introductory remarks). Although the mastery of each skill will not guarantee job success in 2012, resolving to become proficient in each skill is feasible, unlike my childhood dream to genetically engineer the king of all quadrupeds. In addition to adaptibility and creativity, Mantell lists the following as must-have skills for job seekers in 2012.
- “Technical literacy.” Notwithstanding some catastrophic cosmic event—of which, a coronal mass ejection would be one (look it up)—which propels us back to chiseling in stone, in the 21st century, technology is a fundamental facet of human life. Don’t get left behind, says Mantell. In addition to becoming familiar with social media, workers should be capable of working “at a variety of levels to be familiar with some of the technical, if mundane, processes that keep organizations running smoothly, such as data input.”
- “Business acumen.” Although this skill may seem a tad abstract, Mantell’s explanation is wholly concrete: individual employees need to become familiar with their companies financials, and, well, the bottom line. “As companies remain concerned about demand for their products and services, a wide variety of employees should think about sales,” observes Mantell.
- “Flexible proficiency.” Think Renaissance Man. Or, better yet, that old idiom, “Jack of all trades, master of none.” Employers desire employees with, what I would call, cross-functional proficiency. Or as Mantell describes, “Companies are looking for workers who are flexible and can take on functions in various jobs as market demands change.”
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[...] [To compete for jobs, sometimes you need to be a “bllama.”] [...]