Are You Asleep at the Wheel

Are You Asleep at the Wheel The stable/secure job is on the verge of extinction.   Are you paying attention? Have you checked your rear view mirror lately?   If you are not alert while driving your career, you could find yourself sitting alone by the side of the road (unemployed and unemployable). Distinguish Yourself Richard McDermotts article on Harvard Business Review is an excellent reminder that youll need to Distinguish Yourself from the Market, Not Just the Competition. He tells the story and provides the data to illustrate that professional service jobs we thought might be immune to lay-offs or outsourcing, ARE NOT. McDermott says: You need to do something to distinguish your skills from everyday professional services. What jobs are in danger? According to the Forrester study cited in the HBR article, these were the occupational areas predicted to be offshored: Administrative support Computer Business and financial operations Management Sales Architecture Legal Life sciences Art, design and related Why They Are Vulnerable In a wordtechnology. Make Yourself Memorable McDermott lists four ways to distinguish yourself (please go read the full post for the details!) Get on the cutting edge of your discipline. Become a contractor. Dont sell yourself short. Find a market niche. What About the Average Joe? This is alarming. I have to wonder, what happens to those who are just average?   What is to become of the people who just want to collect a paycheck? Is the global economy raising the bar for everyone and pushing us either to be uber-achievers or solopreneurs? Your Wake Up Call You can complain all you want, but the best advice I can provide is to take control!   NOW. Dont hit the snooze button. What do you think the options are to distinguish yourself?