Think your career is pretty much guaranteed now that you are qualified in your line of work and have a successful job? Well, that might not be the case, unfortunately. There is no way to ever tell what the future has in store for us, and it may not all be good news lying in wait for us around the corner. So, it’s important that you take some time and effort to try and future-proof your career. Ready to do just that? Here are some things you need to do.
Prepare For A Health Emergency
You never know when illness or injury may strike you and cause you to give up full-time work, so it is always important to try and set up all the safety nets that you might one day need. For instance, it’s a good idea to save for an emergency fund just in case you do ever need to take a prolonged period off work. Taking out some industry-specific disability insurance, like the one mentioned on the InsureSTAT website, so that you are financially protected if you ever become disabled. That way, you have some financial help behind you if the worst-case scenario were ever to happen.
Watch Trends In Your Industry
It’s also a good idea to keep an eye on news from your industry as this will inform you of all the latest trends. Many trends have a knock-on effect when it comes to jobs and recruitment. If it looks like your particular industry or sector isn’t facing the future and seems to be very much rooted in the past, it’s a good idea to switch career so that you are in an industry that is already preparing for the future.
Get To Know People
Most of the time, it’s not about what you know but who you know. So, as you can tell, your connections within your industry will be extremely important. Whenever you get the chance, you should attend as many industry networking events as possible. You can often find out what’s going on in your local area by checking sites like MeetUp. Make sure your address book is full of contacts so that you have plenty of people to reach out to if you ever need to find a job quickly.
Learn How To Code
In the future, we will all be working online and with computers more than ever. So, tech and IT skills will become invaluable, no matter what industry you are in. For this reason, it is advisable that you learn how to code, as this is one of the most basic skills that everyone will soon need. And you don’t want to be one of the last people to learn, or else it could cost you your job! Once you can code, you can do all manner of things, from building websites from scratch to making apps.
So, do you think you need to start working your way through this list to future-proof your career? Don’t waste any time!