Fight for your career

A title of a recent Fast Company article immediately caught my attention. The War for Talent is Over, And Everyone Lost. You can read it by clicking here.

It talks about how more and more people are miserable at work. It is thought that up to 75% of employees are "passive jobseekers", waiting to see if something better comes along. What a way to live! It is driving more people to look for alternatives such as self-employment or being an entrepreneur. But not everyone has the skills to try these options.

A lot of the article points the fingers at employees for failing to make people feel valued or being too pushy when it comes to expecting everyone to be leaders. To quote the article writers, "The result is a highly inefficient job market where most companies complain about their talent shortages while most employees complain about their pointless jobs."

The part that resonated the most with me was about self-awareness, and it is exactly what I talk about in The UX of ME. To quote the article again, "The better people understand their own strengths, limitations, and interests, the smarter career choices they’ll make. They’ll end up liking their jobs more, performing better, and staying put longer."

There is a battle going on when it comes to talent. Best not be a casualty. Equip yourself with self-awareness, find ways to improve what you do and sharpen your sense of purpose. You may find yourself having to fight for your job. Being at the top of your game, playing to your strengths and improving how you interact with those around you could make all the difference.