The year is ended. There's nothing more you can do about it. But next year and the year after, are sure to come and here are a few things I want to share, especially with the few who have interacted with me privately. Hopefully, this helps someone out there in shaping their career for 2024 and beyond, as well as helping you find a bit more fulfillment in those careers.
First, have this mindset in every job you end up in. There are 2 rewards you get out of every job - one is paid to you by your employers (salary and benefits) and the other, you pay yourself in the job (everything there is to learn in the job and from other roles in the organization). The first, you consume, the second, you carry away to open bigger doors in the future and it never diminishes. The former is limited by your employment contract and performance reviews, the latter, by how much you value your future and becoming indispensable and valuable. The choice really is yours.
Secondly, the world will move, your industry will shift, technology and new collective global priorities like climate concerns, governance, etc., will continue to disrupt how we do things, and also create new opportunities in the process - if you, or your career don't shift with these changes, you will both miss out on improving your earning opportunities and being fulfilled in your career. First, you need to accept and understand, that any year that passes without you adding value to yourself, is equivalent to about 20% of your current value being erased. Your earning power, your career satisfaction and your career progression, all depend on the value you have to offer or are creating consistently. Also, remember, that what may add value to you, is NOT necessarily what you like or love, but in reality, that's what you need - really, thats all that matters sometimes. You can by all means do the things you love, as long as you have no oversized expectations from them - the things you love MAY NOT always pay for the life you love. That's a reality check.
Career-wise, here is what I suggest - make some time, sit down, realistically assess where your career is at now, do some digging, do some reading, and talk to those ahead of you, find out in what direction your industry is moving, where it is likely to be in 10 years' time. If you can do that, it should be easy to see what skills, tools, insights you will need, to move you from where your career is today, to where it needs to be positioned, ahead of that future arriving. Always being ahead of the industry/market's, is what grows your earning capacity. Once you've figured out the skills, knowledge, insights you need, look for the right courses, programmes, internships, etc, to help you bridge those gaps. Now I need to sound an alarm here - GET OVER the mindset that authentic skills, knowledge and insights can only be secured in a 'Brick and Mortar' university or school or campus. No. The world has moved on. Please. There are reputable online platforms (example, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Khan Academy, edX, Udemy, Skillshare, Udacity, FutureLearn, Codeacademy, etc), to get some really good, practical, industry-led trainings on and believe it or not - outside of here, the world is more interested in what you know and can do, than the number of certificates you have to flaunt. There are also targeted, short-courses available on specific skills and knowledge. Its your life - invest in yourself and become invaluable. Its the best gift you can give yourself in 2024. That said, if you have never learnt academic rigor, or are not disciplined to combined work and programs or you simply function better with a structured-term learning approach - please, nothing stops you from enrolling in a traditional school system. I will warn you however - choose a school, whose lecturers are practicing or consulting in the industry you are heading into.
For the longer term however, Technology and Data are becoming BASIC complements to ANY "traditional profession" - so, make plans to integrate something more than just basic IT knowledge and Data analytics into your career - IF, you intend to be career-relevant for another 10+ years (but please think of your relevance from a global, NOT only Ghanaian perspective). So, for example, if you are an accountant working in practice, make long-term plans to learn things like Integrated Systems Auditing and Financial Data Analytics and Visualization, because traditional auditing or merely preparing financial statements are vanishing and no more considered as value-services to clients. Example, if you are a Legal person, an area to start exploring for long term career prospect, is ETHICS in Technology and Climate science - these days, you have interesting jobs like 'AI & Robotics Ethics Expert' and 'Climate Policy Ethics Specialist' and "Data Policy Analysts" popping up. Example again, if you are in Health, an interesting area to start exploring is AI, Data or Machine-Assisted Medicine, Data-Predictive Medicine, Robotic Surgical Assistants, etc. Follow the trend - find out what and what are intersecting and what is changing your traditional career functions. I am just helping you see that traditional jobs/roles are evolving - fast. The "World Economic Forum" annually publishes the TOP 10 or so Skills to have, based on several researches - that is a useful starting guide, on what areas (especially Soft Skills), to start exploring, in order to build some security around your job-market-relevance. If you are not adding market-driven value to your technical skills, you will soon become irrelevant.
Third, please, don't leave it at just hardcore technical skills - learn something NON-technical too. Here is the trick - everytime you learn or master something new, your brain gets "rewired" (in very layman terms), your creativity sparks, life feels a lot more fulfilling. Please try annually, to pick and learn something you ordinarily wouldnt, I don't care what - learn how to swim, learn to make a new dish, learn to ride a motorbike, learn to grow some tomato, okro or lettuce at home.... learn to fish or wrestle, learn to speak a new language or make a cocktail or paraglide, or fish, or rear some animals. Please, learn something random, merely for fulfillment and to give a spark to your life. This might seem like nothing but believe me, sometimes, your lack of fulfillment in other aspects of life, does reflect in your career, marriage and social life - everything else, can appear unexciting.
Fourth and next, and this is a very important section. IF you can afford it - PLEASE, TRAVEL. My kid brother works at a bank and a few years ago, I encouraged him to take up a short-term role he spoke about, at the Bank's branch in DR Congo, where I had lived in the past. He hesitated but took the plunge anyway. Since then, he has been to a few others and Loves it all. If your organization offers that opportunity - jump, take it. Money cannot pay for the value it adds to your career - you learn cultural sensitivity and diplomacy. You expand your perspectives and your understanding of how the world works through the various countries or regions (internally) that you work in. But here's the added benefit - you can add geographic depth to your technical insight and your CV - because, believe it or not, your technical knowledge works differently in different geographical contexts. Many global employers know, that people with more than 1 geographical footprint generally have better insights, creativity and problem-solving perspectives on issues, whether technical or otherwise. Even something as seemingly mundane as maneuvering through different airports, hotels, environments, working teams etc - all add up to growing you in more ways than one.
IF your organization doesn't offer you these opportunities, travel locally, or find it elsewhere - almost every career you are in, has both entry level and specialist level openings in the 15 or more UN agencies, and over 200+ International Development organizations worldwide, and contrary to what many of you think - NO, you DON'T have to be in their Hedquartered countries to apply to their roles. But its hard work getting in. IF your career means that much to you, the initial hardwork in setting up your CV online on say https://careers.un.org or https://inspira.un.org or volunteering for a year in any of these 53 International Organizations (https://shorturl.at/giBP6), just to get your feet through the door and have the organisation on your CV, is worth it. Listen, there are some organizations that increase the value of your CV, just by having them on your CV, because employers and recruiters know the standards they operate by. My career took a totally different turn as soon as I had "The Commonwealth Secretariat" on my CV. And instead of asking for $100-200 from your uncles or aunties abroad for chilling or apple phones or watches etc, have it spent towards subscriptions on either an International job board for example www.devnetjobs.org, developmentaid.org or http://mottmac.com (these are just examples) or for an online programme that increases your value. Listen, DON'T limit yourslef to Ghana. Africa and the world is open to how good and valuable you are, not where you are. I know a young lad who worked with one of Ghana's Telcos until the beginning of this year, applied to a number of roles in Europe, got interviewed online and shipped off to Deutsche Bank in Germany with wife and kids. If you have value to offer, the world, is your platform. And let me also say, there are some truly amazing local and global organizations right here in Ghana to work for - you just have to do some work finding them and have value to offer.
Now let me say this - don't bother attempting anything above, if you havent invested in yojrself or in your CV or learning how to interview, especially online, as that is how many are held these days. I don't have much space for that here now, BUT, get help in shaping your CV - it is the first impression you make and it's the only thing that gets you a first foot in the door - put some small money and time in getting it done right. I have some 17+ years of concrete working experience but my CV is only 2 pages - enough to give you a jist of everything I have been involved in, but also short enough to make you want to invite me for an interview in order to know more. And you need at least 3 CVs. In my case for example, I used to have different CVs for consulting gigs, for delivering paid lectures, or for International Development assignments. It makes you flexible yet, tailored. As for interviews - KNOW the value you are bringing, understand what has been UNIQUE about your career journey so far and what it offers a prospective employer. And show, that there is congruence (a match) between your personal values and the organization/project's values - thats what sells.
Fifth - whether stuck here in Ghana or working with a global outlook - BUILD valuable networks. Not the let's party here party there ones. Build a network of people who you can offer some value to, but who in return are likely to offer much greater value. People whose own networks are more valuable than their individual selves. It requires some level of intentionality. Here are a few mindsets you need to have about building valuable networks (1) Most of them are not on social media and even if they are, they are mostly very quiet. You want to recognize them? Look out for their simplicity, the things they value, their depth or how measured they are in their commentary, and those in their circles. (2) It will cost you your time, and sometimes, money, to build these networks - but see it as an investment. Yes, reach out to these networks from time to time. Don't only reach out when you need something - that makes you appear as a digger. Know and remember their birthdays or something rare, authentic or uniquely worth celebrating them for. If that relationship grows, add the celebration of people who matter most to them - their children are a great bet - you get to their hearts easily - maybe its a particular kind of booze they love. The key in all of this, is to be one of the few people who recognizes what many won't, about them. It makes you one ofbthe few people who come to their minds when they hear or see an opportunity somewhere you cannot yet be. (3) Offer help or do things in areas you currently have ability to help them in. A good friend of mine in a church seminar on families, heard this really smart couple talk about the need for couples to do a lot together before having kids and how kids, once they come, change relationship dynamics. A few weeks later, she approached the couple in church and offered to come home to babysit their 3 under 10 year kids so they can spend the weekend by themselves and have some fun. 3 weeks later, they asked her for that favor she offered. Up to this point, she was still jobless. About 3 months later, she had a job - its been 3 years now - she has continued to build, and grow their relationship. To them, she has become family and has access to their networks too, of which I have become a part. Here's the lesson here - she "connected the dots" beyond what the couple were talking about at the seminar. She read the room, she saw a need she could respond to, she saw value dhe could give - and she was rewarded for delivering that value. Accomplished people, understand reciprocity. They may not necessarily give you money, but, they may plug you into spaces you couldn't have accessed on your own, or share ideas you may not have explored. And theres a few tricks - allow them to talk about their experiences, and learn to listen actively. Remember the things they talked about with extra excitement - those are the buttons to connect with them on and Oh, lest I forget - find 2 or 3 things common to you both - those are your refresher buttons whenever you meet again (4) Networks are not a numbers game. It is a quality game. That's why it is worth spending time DECIDING WHO should be in your network - you have some control over that. Look for people already where you are heading or smarter than you about where you're heading - its git absolutely NOTHING to do with age or titles. Keep it manageable. And let me add - know how much of leaning to lean on them and also know when to step back, so they can breath - be measured. You're smart, you know what I mean.
Sixth. At the end of the day, I know you studied in school all these years to have a career. But also understand, that the knowledge you acquired in school is FOR YOU, first and foremost. Not necessarily to be used only for a career. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot to learn and achieve in a career BUT, I am also saying, and hear me clearly - IF the knowledge you have acquired or the experiences you have had, can give you a superior advantage in a sector of any economy (local, international or both), to create and deliver something valuable to others, outside of the White and Blue colour career paths - Go for it. If you have what it takes - gut, funds, foolproof idea - take a plunge. Otherwise, be smart. Get a job, learn to be disciplined, do it as a side gig until it outgrows your 9-5 job. Look, all I am saying is - (1) Financial success and personal fulfillment, contrary to how we have been indoctrinated, doesn't always come from a 9-5 job and (2) If the knowledge and experience you have can deliver value and profits at a 9-5 job, it can deliver same elsewhere and (3) A Blue-White collar job, isn't for everyone because we are all wired differently. That said however, there is 60% chance, that it is in a corporate setting, that you might spot the loopholes and inefficiencies that you can build a whole valuable business around. Keep an open mind with regards to what brings a combined fulfillment in making money and solving problems.
Of course I cannot talk about everything - BUT, I am certain, this offers some help to growing your career, yourself and hopefully finding some fulfillment in both... perhaps even more.
Wherever you find yourself and whatever life brings your way in 2024 - Stay Open-minded and remember...
"TO THY OWN SELF, ALWAYS BE TRUE."
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