Inform Career Preparation

Lessons from current events and research findings can prevent career preparation mistakes.

     China's President funded facial recognition technology to control the country, and suddenly the coronavirus required masks. In the United States, voters in primary elections discounted presidential candidate Andrew Yang's plan to give $1000 a month to every citizen over 18 years of age. A few months later, they received a $1200 check from President Trump. Research Robert Plomin presents in Blueprint shows genes have an important influence on a child's propensity to excel in certain fields, but some parents risk criminal prosecution to bribe their students ' admission into prestigious colleges unsuited to their normal development.

     Several examples suggest productive ways to think about preparing for careers in the rapidly changing future.

      As world stock markets tumble, Scottish investment firm, Baillie Gifford, prospers. By purchasing stocks in companies whose stock prices fell because  they channeled profits into preparations for online sales, Baillie Gifford willingly sacrificed short term gains for a future when stores would lose out to channels serving online customers. As a high school student, becoming a dependable employee in an unglamourous, low-paying position can be the way to a credit card and a bank loan for higher education or a business of your own. Shark Tank Daymond John spent years working at Red Lobster to help finance his first fashion business.

     Skills are transferable.

     Erik Larson's current book about Churchill tells how Lord Beaverbrook, the head of a publishing empire, became head of England's Ministry of Aircraft Production in World War II. He felt manufacturing executives in one industry could master another, just as knowing the basics of one religion enabled someone to grasp the principles of another faith. This summer, the lucky student interns working at home in virtual positions for one company are gaining the valuable skills needed to fill virtual positions likely to expand in many companies throughout the global business world.

     Walk back the cat.

     Consider how the management structure NASA developed to win the race to the moon, the structure being replicated to develop a COVID-19 vaccine in the US, applies to career planning. Beginning with the objective, do what intelligence agencies do when they are trying uncover a spy. They begin "walking back the cat" to see who had access to the information that caused a project to fail, whom those people knew, and so forth. I don't know if Barack Obama operated this way, but, if he did, he would have said to himself, "I would like to be President of the United States." What should I do? I need to show I can win an elected, high-level political office. I will run for the Senate. Who supports and funds this kind of campaign. Where should I attend college to meet the people who provide that kind of support, and so forth. Whether someone has a clear objective to be an astronaut, a president, a movie star or a millionaire, he or she needs to begin today to: 1) trace back the steps needed to reach that goal and 2) take the first step.