Institute For The Future

What youth can do now to prepare for the Future of Work

The world of work is changing. Automation is destroying more jobs than it creates and the sharing economy means fewer typical jobs.  We’re facing a possible student loan bubble.  Despite 57 months of consecutive job creation, most of those jobs are low paying. Income inequality is growing.  Parents these days have lots to worry about when it comes to the financial well-being of their children, but it’s not all doom and gloom.  Our recent Future of Youth Employment Report takes a look at modest wins and opportunities to help youth thrive in the coming decade.

1) Be prepared to prove your skills.

Job descriptions are often inaccurate, costing employers and jobseekers alike. A mismatch costs the company money and can cause a great deal of stress for the worker. A great tip for jobseekers, no matter what age, is to contact an individual at the firm where you’re seeking employment in the same position you’re applying for. Ask them what they actually do, compare their wording to the job description, and then reword your resume and cover letter accordingly.

The HR profession is trying to diminish these mismatches. Currently, if you’re applying for a job, you fill out an application online, submit your resume, maybe a cover letter. There’s an interview, occasionally a test. Kelly Hiring Services, one of the nation’s largest hiring firms, recently signed an agreement with Odesk that has the potential to uproot that logic. In the near future, firms are likely to assign applicants with tasks through platforms like Odesk, and then hire from people who perform well at those tasks.

2) Learn how to track and measure your past work.

Because of the power of tracking and evaluation software, workers are likely to develop detailed profiles showing how well they perform at tasks.  As our Flexing Economy Scenario explores, we’re likely to see a shift from static resumes to living online portfolios.  These portfolios will contain recommendations from peers and coworkers. Obviously LinkedIn already brings many of these trends to the market. But as work is increasingly digitized, it will become easier and easier to present a detailed digital footprint of everything you have accomplished.

3) Learn how to market yourself.

There is also a fascinating amount of information inequality in the job-seeking process. Currently, only 62% of college grads are working in a job that requires a college degree, and only 27% of grads are working in a field that requires their specific degree.  This means two slightly conflicting things: 1, that there are a huge number of underemployed graduates, and 2, that this isn’t necessarily because they’re majoring in the wrong thing.

What?

Conventional logic is that a liberal arts degree is losing value in the market.  But that’s not actually the case- it’s just that most graduates don’t learn how to market themselves in time.  It’s a hard skill, and ties back to some research we did recently on increasingly important job skills. Self-motivation and taking initiative is what really matters in education experience- proving you can think entrepreneurially, creatively, and take what you learn and make something meaningful out of it.  It’s not about what you learn, it’s about what you do with what you learn. IFTF’s Extreme Learners project has more on the importance of self-direction.  Although many people are uncomfortable with marketing themselves and selling others on their skills, that’s really what’s required to thrive in the job hunt.