Now on his eighth career, Christopher Bishop speaks, writes, and consults on the topic of âimprovising careers.â He joined me on âTurn the Pageâ to provide guidance on how you can prepare for jobs that donât exist yet. Chris stresses the importance of devoting time now to work toward what youâll be doing next—your employability depends on it!
He suggests:
1. âIn the next 30 years, we will experience breakthroughs in education, mobility, communication, healthcare and energy to name a few â they will seem like *magic* to us sitting here in 2016. Get ready!â
2. âThe new job landscape will be driven by the intersection of historically unrelated disciplines â take nanopharmacology as a concrete example; lunar tour guide if you want a more far-fetched postulation.â
3. âGiven the rate and pace at which business and global economics is evolving â you must be prepared to learn new skills but understand that you also need to UNLEARN and RELEARN â to stay viable and employable.â
4. âFortunately, there are many more options for obtaining new skills than ever before â lots of publicly available learning assets including MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), SPOCs (Small Private Online Courses), TED talks, insightful blogs, e-books, and Meet Ups.â
5. âI know that increasing AMBIGUITY can be scary and off-putting â but try to learn to embrace it! We have no other choice.â
6. âStay ahead of the curve in terms of TECH and BUSINESS â chase the maelstrom and be always at the edge â then you will be viewed as a valuable contributor.â
7. âAccess tactical advice on how to apply my Three Secret Ingredients â Antenna, Voice and Mesh – through the presentation I delivered at the World Future Society annual conference in DC last July. Here is a link. It is called *How to Succeed at Jobs That Donât Exist Yet.â
8. The key to innovation is connecting unlikely dots â check out my post on LinkedIn â âThe Maxwell Approach: connecting unlikely dots to drive innovationâ
9. âShare the guidance and historical perspective I provide for recent graduates who have landed jobs at big companies â â6 Tips for GenZs at dinosaursâ
10. âCheck out Cambridge professor Carlotta Perezâs book âTechnological Revolutions and Financial Capitalâ for more insight into the cycles of innovation, and adoption that have been occurring for the past 350 years.â
11. âRead this great piece in the NY Times by Steven Rattner called âFear Not the Coming of the Robots,â in which he cites Queen Elizabeth refusing a patent for an automated knitting machine in 1589 for fear it would put her poor subjects out of work.â
Keep up with Chrisâs insights and guidance by following him on Twitter @chrisbishop, visiting his website, www.improvisingcareers.com , and inviting him to speak at your event on the topic of *How to Succeed at Jobs That Donât Exist Yet!â
Listen to my conversation with Chris to learn more about how the landscape of work is being reinvented and what that means for you!