Odd Jobs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: Logo of General Motors Corporation. Source: 2007_business_choice_bro_en.pdf (on GM website). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Unemployed and Homeless (Photo credit: JanahPhotography)

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This is an important MUST READ article for millennials and parents, published in the New York Times. Check it out!

via Unemployed in Europe Stymied by Lack of Technology Skills – NYTimes.com.

Whilst, I understand the underlying evidence in this NYT article and the conclusions, I disagree.

Today’s millennials and their parents need to be much smarter. It’s no good just looking at today’s scarcities and job availability. Business leaders, recruiters and politicians are looking after themselves first and foremost. What’s much more important is for millennials to anticipate tomorrow’s trends.

Many traditional jobs have been off-shored or replaced by technology, and they are unlikely to return. More and more people are going to find themselves working in the service sector, possibly with unattractive jobs, at some stage in their career. In the US, Walmart has replaced General Motors as a typical major employer. Jobs like stacking shelves in Walmart may be unattractive but they are the new reality. In Germany, many people have multiple service jobs.

I would counsel millennials to acquire practical skills and technical skills that increase their chances of success in the jobs market or to possibly be self-employed. Let me give an example, some years ago, I marketed myself as an Interim Finance Director; many could match me on skills and qualifications but very few spoke French fluently, and even fewer had worked in thirty plus countries – I marketed myself on a series of skills that collectively made me unique – I used these skills to create by own brand which I still retain. [here are are my views on building a personal brand].

I strongly recommend that millennials improve their marketability. Here are a few ideas to get started:

1. Consider degrees in subjects that have some potential practical application – ideally where demand will increase in the future
2. Consider learning skills by joining the military services
3. Learn foreign languages
4. Work in foreign countries – what about teaching English in China?
5. Develop social skills, perhaps by helping others in charities
6. Obtain practical, hands-on experience, like selling in a market, car-boot sale or working at the likes Walmart, dealing with the public
7. Try out being self-employed, you may like it, and never look back – perhaps, you’ll become an entrepeneur
8. Be prepared to take risks
9. Think unconventionally
10. Consider Voluntary Services Overseas or working for a charity in the developing World
    

    Self-employed (Photo credits: http://www.myhardhatstickers.com)

Any more suggestions?

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