These simple tips will help you stay saleable, relevant and marketable.
Photograph: Matylda Czarnecka/Creative Commons
Our constantly evolving workforce is largely dominated by millennials who are thriving in vastly unconventional spaces and careers.
Millennials are focussed go-getters who won't stop at anything to achieve their coveted prize, i.e; success.
Remember the famous line from Fight Club? 'You're not your job, you're not the car you drive, you're not the contents of your wallet.''
Millennials seek meaningful work in a field they are passionate about, unlike their previous generations who placed financial strength and job security above everything.
The world is clearly witnessing a clear shift in terms of technology, socio-political and economic changes and other myriad factors that create constant changes.
The changing job scene
Statistics show a boom in digital marketing with over 8 lakh jobs up for grabs. YourStory reports this profession as one of the highest paid job profiles with the average annual salary starting at Rs 4,47,346.
Cyber Security is another blooming area which will see a demand in leadership roles and an increased salary anywhere between 25 to 35 per cent this year.
Machine learning and artificial intelligence have 50,000 additional positions waiting to be filled.
The demand for SEO (search engine optimisation) and content marketers have also soared drastically, with the former rising by 43 per cent and the latter by 33 per cent every year, as per a study.
Over 22,000 jobs on Python Programming are available on Naukri.com.
To stay saleable, relevant and marketable in this dynamic scenario, millennials will have to gear up and grow to their full potential.
Here are a few tips to help you soar higher in your career this year
1. Content is King, and you play it like you're Queen
We are in the age of converged media and media is all about content -- be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any social media site for that matter.
Functions like sales, marketing, product development help you connect with the audience to sell your content.
Being able to produce relevant, engaging content that caters to the audience is what will keep you in the game.
2. Engage
The organic growth of a company largely depends on the way you engage with your audiences.
Besides, it also allows one to network extensively, follow peers and other millennial influencers.
To be active in the professional circuit, you may also join relevant communities and stay abreast on the latest 'it' thing.
You should also sign up for commentaries on LinkedIn and participate in discussions on popular portals to register your presence.
Remember to keep your interactions meaningful and productive.
3. Volunteer/ Take up certification courses
How does one develop more skills and push their boundaries more while working a full-time job?
There are a plethora of freelancing jobs available just for the moonlighters, who want to hone their skills and earn some side bucks at the same time.
Certification courses on digital marketing, data science, project management will help you surge ahead in your career.
No matter which profession you are in, invest in building your skills.
Up-skilling will give you an edge over your competition.
4. Revamp soft skills
Besides possessing the right technical skills, you also need to be presentable and marketable to be able to cut through the fiercely competitive world out there.
Being qualified for a role with nothing extra to bring to the table reduces one to a commodity.
You must have the right attitude and aptitude for the job at hand.
Train yourself to learn soft skills like adaptability, resilience, leadership and communication.
5. Ask employers for assistance
American author Thomas Jefferson rightly said that 'If you want to have something you have never had, you must do something you have never done.'
Millennials are responsible for their own education and the due allocation of time and budget to learn and progress, which is achieved through participation in seminars, webinars , conferences and taking up courses.
It is always advisable to approach your employers since they will also benefit from having skilled millennials at the top of their game, raring to go.
If you are a millennial, remember to chase skills, not titles.
The author Varun Saxena is founder, Career Anna, an online learning platform.
