Apart from derailers which are internal factors that could possibly undermine your chance of success, threats could also be coming our way and hinder us from achieving what we want.
Threats refer to external factors that interphase with us and influence us in a way that hinders how effective our actions are in achieving success. While it is nearly impossible to foresee what exactly will happen in 2021, there are numerous tools out there which could shed some light on how we may prepare ourselves.
PEST analysis is a commonly used instrument in business and strategic planning. To a certain extent, this could also be used in personal career planning. PEST refers to 4 aspects of external factors that could influence us: Politics, Economy, Society and Technology.
Politics
"Political" could refer to its literal meaning, i.e. the political environment of the international / national society, how government policies would influence our industry or company. However, this may seem to be too distant from career development's perspective.
This factor could be narrowed down to how an organization's changes in regulations and policies are affecting a person's working environment. For example, organizations such as Facebook has adopted a work-from-home policy till end of June 2021. If you anticipate to be working from home for at least half of the coming year, how is that going to affect your work environment, social life, or even well-being?
Economy
The impact of economic factors on a person's career is often overlooked, until the pain (usually people feel the pain, not gain) becomes prominent. For example, the lingering COVID-19 situation since January 2020 and the government's ESS protection period coming to an end this month would likely imply that companies in the aviation, retail and hospitality are likely to go through restructuring measures.
Looking ahead, what economy trends could affect the environment of your career, given that the tough economic situation is likely to continue in the coming year? What could threaten your uniqueness in the job market? How could you prepare for that?
Society
The society factor could be viewed from different levels. While one could approach from the broadest level, considering how the generic social trends are going to affect one's career, most people may find it more relevant to zoom in and analyze the social network around them.
Are there any changes in the lives of people around you? Perhaps a colleague is moving on to a new job? A friend of yours is taking a further study? How would these changes affect your career?
Technology
All of us experienced both the beauty and pain in how we are forced to work differently this year. It is highly probable that there is a permanent shift in the importance of virtual interaction in business and consumer behaviors.
Apart from the generic use of technology, every day there are new technologies being adopted in different industries, changing the way business works. Are you aware of what new technologies are influencing your industry?
It's all about being adaptive
We discussed 4 aspects from which we could anticipate potential changes and threats that could influence our career plan next year. While these are all external factors we could not control, we could however review how prepared we are in adapting to changes. Am I taking in relevant information to keep updated about these trends? How do I keep learning in order to remain agile? Am I prepared to be adaptive to unexpected changes?
Our Year-End Timeout service focuses on helping clients recap the eventful year, and prepare for what goals to achieve and what actions to take in 2021. Check out our page and give yourself or your friend an experience of reflection and exploration!
Commentaires