Managing your Career in a Changing World

Numerous coaching clients I work with are feeling worried about the changes that are happening in the world, specifically related to Artificial Intelligence (AI), and how it will affect their careers. The truth is that we are still in the beginning stages of the AI revolution and even the brightest minds aren’t one hundred percent certain about how it will affect society. All we know is that the power of AI will change the world, including the job market. There are ideas around what various jobs will look like with some becoming hybrid AI and human jobs and some being completely replaced by AI or automation. While this means that certain jobs won’t exist anymore, it also means that AI will create a completely new market of jobs that didn’t exist before. Being able to adapt is the key to success in any career and the changes that will result from AI are requiring us to be even more flexible in the way that we adapt moving forward.

With the AI revolution upon us, what’s the best way to manage your career proactively around what is to come?

Focus on the one thing that you have control over: yourself and your actions. Know that the world is changing and you can’t do anything about it so prepare and get ready to take ownership over your career. You get to decide how you want to adapt and to navigate your career in a way that benefits you and here are some tips to help you navigate the changing landscape:

• Build and Maintain your Network

• Do Research

• Develop New Skills

• Trust Yourself

Build and Maintain your Network

Regardless of the role that AI plays in the future, having a strong network of people you can rely on in your industry is invaluable to any career. Spend time networking and continue building your network regularly. Having mentors is also really helpful because they have more experience than you and can often read the landscape and surmise what is to come better than you can. They can be invaluable to you while you decide what direction to move in that will enhance your career. There are aspects of humanity that will be irreplaceable by AI and one of them is the power of human interactions and building genuine connections with others.

Do Research

The way AI will affect everyone’s job is going to vary greatly. Spend time researching your field and find out the ways AI is currently being used and how it’s expected to be used in the future. Knowing this will help you make better decisions as well as figure out the ways you can develop the skills you need for the future. Also, knowledge is power and the more you know the more empowered you can feel in your career. Pay attention to trends so you can ride the wave.

Develop New Skills

Once you are equipped with data around how your job field is likely to change, it’s easier to develop the skills you need to maintain relevance in the future. For example, currently a lot of jobs are using AI to help people perform better in their roles. From everything to journalists and entrepreneurs, to doctors and lawyers, there are a lot of people already leveraging AI to perform better at work. If your field is one where this is happening, educate yourself on how to use AI in ethical and productive ways to make you more effective and efficient. In many fields, it’s likely that knowing how to leverage AI will be required at some point so start learning how to use it now.

If you are busy, it can seem challenging to do this but remember that it's imperative to your future career to pay attention to what is changing and how it will affect you. Setting aside a little time every week or every month can help make the time commitment more manageable. Also, your current boss may support you in developing proficiency with AI so see if you can take advantage of training that is available to you at your job.

Finally, don’t forget your soft skills. Leadership skills are always going to be in demand and nothing can replace real and compassionate human interaction so developing the skills to be the kind of leader people want to hire will be invaluable. 

Trust Yourself

One of the things that develops your leadership skills is the ability to trust yourself. Building trust with yourself is the same as building trust in any relationship, it requires time and a demonstration that you are worthy of your own trust. If you have been navigating your career to this point in a way that you are proud of, that’s a great confirmation that you can trust yourself to navigate the upcoming changes too. Use that confidence as the foundation to navigate the new world of AI and know that you will be able to do great. If you are still working on being the type of person you can trust, preparing yourself for the AI revolution is a great way to start building that trust. The more you are able to overcome obstacles and do hard things the more you can feel good about trusting yourself to pilot your career in a successful way. 

While the AI revolution feels scary to some people, arming yourself with as much data and knowledge as possible will help you navigate this change in a way that not only allows your career to survive, it enables it to thrive. Change can be a positive thing if you know how to use it to your advantage so decide the AI Revolution is going to be great for your career and make it happen.