Jobbio’s Amply content team creates leading careers content for a host of publishers each week, meaning we’ve got a front row seat when it comes to workforce trends.
2023 has been a bumper year for trending topics: from TikTok’s hugely viral lazy girl jobs trend to its “delulu method”, aka faking it until you make it, there are plenty of other things that have categorised the concerns of job seekers this year.
In particular, for those seeking to build a sustainable career that can span decades, we’ve identified some particular areas of focus to look at. Discover three of those below.
1. A hobby can help you to get ahead
In the U.S, research has shown that participation in team sports results in a higher GPA for both high school boy and girl athletes.
When it comes to work, a similar study from the National Library of Medicine shows that playing sports at any age (and perhaps more important at any level) can teach the life skills required to succeed in the boardroom.
On our partner Accounting Today, contributor Aisling O’Toole examines the reasons why. From good communication to people and teamwork skills, snap decision making and organisation, playing sports can in fact benefit many areas of your working life.
2. Meet the career lattice
We’re all familiar with the career ladder: it’s that allegedly linear progression we are meant to experience as we ascend through the ranks during our working lives.
However, most workers know this is a bit of a fallacy. Redundancies, sideways moves or maternity leave can affect how we progress, so these days we’re hearing more about a “squiggle career” which more accurately represents how many people actually experience their working lives.
Newer still to the lexicon is the concept of the “career lattice”, which content editor Aoibhinn Mc Bride explores on Hackernoon.
A recent study conducted by Korn Ferry found that U.S. employers are likely to offer less promotions and salary increases in 2024.
That’s why developing a career lattice matters as it helps to strengthen your overall skills and hiring appeal. What does it look like? In practice, taking a job that pays the same amount (or less in some cases) but offers more opportunity to grow your skill set is a good example.
“Very few roles these days offer pure next-step progression,” says Korn Ferry’s advance coach Frances Weir.
3. The T-shaped skill set is trending
Modern workplaces want cross-functional teams, meaning that no department works in a silo, with little or no collaboration outside of themselves, explains content editor Amanda Kavanagh on TechSpot.
Working cross-functionally brings disparate teams together under a common goal, ensuring problem solving has a more holistic approach. This all sounds very zen, but with different expertise and KPIs at play, and the process involving constant challenging and questioning, cross-functional working isn’t easy.
That’s why, she says, that software engineers in particular need to develop a T-shaped skill set. When engineers start out, finding a niche and excelling in it is all-important.
But as careers develop, being an expert in one thing is not enough. And especially in the face of increasing automation thanks to AI, it is incumbent on software pros to develop “soft” skills like listening and communication, adaptiveness, and collaboration.
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