My Next Career Interview
On the 31st January 2019, Cedi was interviewed by Phuong Skovgaard of ‘My Next Career’. Following the interview, Phuong published the following article:
A different generation with different attitudes towards work
Cedi started mentioning the soft skills such as people behaviour, ambition, team player as such, for ambition he emphasized that he would focus on people wanting colleagues, teams and the organisation to achieve not just themselves. People need to possess the right technical qualification for the role they apply for.
The big change in organisational goals and people mindset has set us in a more challenging position with regards to building a mutual trusting relationship between the employer and an employee in order to invest in the organisation and people, as there is not enough time or fund allocated for the purpose. The organisation has become more finance focused and the young employees have got new needs including variety in challenges/progress and work/life balance, they focus more on the quality of their own life by being appreciated at work, being in a good team, and they don’t need security as much. With that in mind, the employers are not interested in investing in people. Employees are not prepared to stay in a job for more than a few years striving to meet their own needs including inspirations, progress and other personal demands, for which they invest in themselves, not necessarily in the organisations.
The generation before us people stayed in the same organisation for their lifetime, their values included consistency, security and hard work. They could work in different roles but in the same organisation. He apologised to his adult children that he didn’t focus on work/life balance but worked 7 days a week and also in their week off on vacation. He was committed to his family, he did what was expected of him and he gave all he had beside his job. Can we blame people with that level of commitment to their jobs, which was expected of them by the family and the society, the term work/life balance didn’t even exist?
Most of the millenniums do well in having demanding and senior jobs, and they make sure that they also have a work/life balance. Do they work less than their parent generation? Can the productivities be compared to the previous generation?
Job security is no longer guaranteed today, we are surprised and disappointed when it happens, even it is frequently on the news. We don’t want to accept the fact that time has changed, and we have to learn to adapt. With this challenge how can we help middle age people to find a job? He responded that they could start a business, which included being a freelance, changing to a new career or re-training, most importantly people need to invest in themselves, learn new skills and keep evolving.
Cedi found that following characteristics have helped him progressing well. In his career, which includes
Values, for him is a good work ethic.
His coaches and mentors
Invest in himself and the organisation
Network
Family
We have to work smart to be able to grow with change, but we also need to work hard when there are ideas and purposes in what we do, because the end results will be rewarding.
