10 steps to future proof your career

1. Future Proofing
Your Career
HFL
Tuesday 26 July 2022
By Dayo Olomu

2. Future Proofing Your Career
The Aim Of This Session
By the end of this session
you will learn 10 strategies
for future proofing your
career

4. Future Proofing Your Career
What are the forces
shaping the world
of work today?

5. THE CHANGING CONTEXT OF
WORK, WORKFORCE &
WORKPLACE
GLOBALISATION
&POLITICAL CHANGE
TECHNOLOGICAL
CHANGES
GLOBAL PANDEMIC
ECONOMIC
UNCERTAINTY
ENVIRONMENTAL
CRISIS
SOCIAL &
DEMOGRAPHIC
CHANGE
Context setting
forces shaping
the future of
work
Future Proofing Your Career

6. Future Proofing Your Career
The world is VOLATILE
The world is UNCERTAIN
The world is COMPLEX
The world is AMBIGUOUS

7. The Job Market –
External and Internal
Future Proofing Your Career
• Yes, the market is tougher than ever.
• Yes, the competition for jobs is ferocious,
but this could be the perfect opportunity
to prove your real value
• In 2016, lynda.com author Mark Niemann-
Ross stated that, “In four years, you'll have
to relearn 30% of your job.”
• Everyone is going to have to up their
game
• Future proof your career now!

8. TOP 10 TIPS ON HOW
TO FUTURE PROOF
YOUR CAREER
Future Proofing Your Career

10. Set your
vision and
define
your goal
A vision is what a person wishes to be like
in some years in time. A mental picture of
the future. It is a perpetual force and a
critical anchor that drives decisions, actions
and judgments.
Future Proofing Your Career
Where do you want to be?
Where do you want to be in the next three
to five years and how will you get there?
Which one skill do you need to develop to
advance in your career?

11. Invest in
yourself
See your career as your personal business
by investing in it. Be prepare to invest in
yourself. Take responsibility for your own
development. Nobody is affected by it as
you, so own it and commit to ongoing
learning.
Future Proofing Your Career
Investing in yourself is
the best investment you
will ever make. It will not
only improve your life, it
will improve the lives of
all those around you. –
Robin Sharma

12. Future Proofing Your Career
DEBATE AND
DISCUSSION:
What tools/methods can you
use to develop yourself?

13. Future Proofing Your Career
Some tools and methods
• Bookboon
• Oracle
• Future Learn,
• edX,
• Coursera,
• New Skills Academy,
• Open Learn (Open
University),
• Udacity,
• Udemy

14. Future Proofing Your Career
DEVELOPMENT
OPPORTUNITIES
Networking
Meetings
Voluntary Work Internet/ Online Learning
On Job Instruction/ Learning
Reading
Shadowing/
Observation
New Responsibilities/ Experiences
Seeking Feedback
Conferences/ Seminars
Job Rotation/
Secondments
Giving a
Presentation
Being Mentored or
Mentoring
Dealings with
Colleagues/Manager
Professional
Qualification
Reflection
Training Courses/
Workshops
Covering
Holidays
Problem Solving
Action
Learning Sets
Project Work
Being Coached/
Or Coaching

15. • Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success
in any field.” ― Brian Tracy, Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to
Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
• Only 10% of the population has "the learning mind-set" that
seek out and enjoy learning. The other 90% will not look to
improve their skills unless they have to as part of their job
requirement. The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes
• As American writer and futurist Alvin Toffler cautioned: “The
illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read
and write, but those who cannot learn, relearn and unlearn.”
Future Proofing Your Career
INVEST IN YOURSELF

16. Personal
branding
Future Proofing Your Career
• A personal brand is your unique
portrait. It is how people see you,
what you project to others, what they
think of you and what shapes their
ideas and expectation of you.
• It is how you communicate your core
values and your essence.

17. Future Proofing Your Career
DEBATE AND
DISCUSSION:
Debate and Discussion:
How can you build your personal
brand?

18. • Figure out who you are and your signature strength
• Determine your outcome and what you want
• Understand how others perceive you
• Define your target audience
• Understand how to articulate your brand and prepare your
elevator pitch/narrative
• Grow your brand by putting out quality work
• Leverage social media
Future Proofing Your Career
Tips to building your
personal brand

19. Future Proofing Your Career
“If you’re not
distinct, you’re
extinct”.
A powerful personal brand is a great advantage in
building relationships, making money and making an
impact. Also, people who are known beyond the walls
of their cubicle are more successful than colleagues of
equal ability. They find jobs more easily. They rise up
the corporate ladder faster. Their networks grow
without much heavy lifting.

20. Be
Adaptable
Future Proofing Your Career
• It is the ability to embrace
change and adjust to new
conditions.
• We must adapt, simply adapt.
Think of adaptability as a
habit, something to practice.

21. • It’s not just about keeping an open mind to alternative
career paths, COVID-19 will have ramifications on our
future ways of working.
• Demonstrating your ability to deliver and engage just as
well in a virtual team as in an office will be a key
consideration for employers engineering the future,
mobile workforce.
Future Proofing Your Career
Adaptability

23. Get a
Mentor
Future Proofing Your Career
“Seek direction from one who's
already there." – Old Zulu saying.
Look for those who have done
what you want to do.

24. A process in which a person (mentor) is responsible for
overseeing the career and professional development of
another person.
Future Proofing Your Career
What is Mentoring?
Mentoring is
partnership
• Mentoring is a partnership between two people
built upon trust. It is process in which the
mentor offers ongoing support and
development opportunities to the mentee.
• Mentoring helps mentees and mentors
progress their personal and professional
growth. – Jenny Sweeney

25. Continue to
build, expand
and sustain a
network of
people
Future Proofing Your Career
Your network equals
your networth

26. Future Proofing Your Career
Networks
• An article in MIT Sloan management review “The Social Side of
Performance also stated that: “What really distinguishes high
performers from the rest of the pack is their ability to maintain and
leverage personal networks. The most effective create and tap large,
diversified networks that are rich in experience and span all
organizational boundaries.
• Renowned author Harvey Mackay says, "If I had to name the single
characteristic shared by all truly successful individuals, I'd say it's the
ability to create and nurture a network of contacts."

27. Future Proofing Your Career
Recent FT survey on what employers want from MBA graduates
• Ability to work in a team, to work with a wide variety of people, build,
expand and sustain a network of people where 3 of the top 5 skills
wanted
• What kind of people do you need to attract to your network?
• How can you go about expanding your network?
Debate and discussion:

29. Future Proofing Your Career
Embrace
volunteering
Volunteering can help you
develop new skills; build
professional and social
connections.

30. Future Proofing Your Career
Become
tech-savvy
We are in a digital world that keeps
improving very fast. If you are not tech-savvy,
then you will not be relevant to your
environment. In fact, you will be found
wanting.

31. Future Proofing Your Career
Be creative &
innovative
• Be ready and think on your feet to constantly
introduce new ideas.
• Be creative in your thinking. Your new ideas
can take you very far.
• The World Economic Forum reports that these
skills are needed to thrive in 2020

33. Future Proofing Your Career
Develop
resilience
Resilience comes from the Latin word resilio,
which means ‘to jump back’. Some people
describe resilience as the ability to bend
instead of breaking under pressure, or the
ability to persevere when faced with
challenges.

34. S/N
1st
Career
Goal
2nd
Career
Goal
3rd
Career
Goal
What (describe
your goal)
When (date
when you want
to achieve it)
Skills Required (what are
your development needs)
Do you have the required
skills, if yes, start applying
now and if no, how and
when do you indeed to
acquire these skills
Career Development Template
Future Proofing Your Career

35. Future Proofing Your Career
Summary
• Set your vision and define your goal
• Invest in yourself
• Personal branding
• Be adaptable
• Get a mentor
• Continue to build, expand and sustain a network of people
(Enablers)
• Embrace volunteering
• Become a tech-savvy instead of tech-averse
• Become creative and innovative
• Develop resilience

36. Final Thoughts!
Remember That If Plan A Fails, There are 25 more alphabets!

37. Future Proofing Your Career
Future proof your career – You got the
power!

39. Future Proofing Your Career
Dayo Olomu
Scan To
Connect
with
Dayo Olomu