During the Great Resignation, people are making sweeping changes in their professional and personal life. According to some statistics, though, Boomers and GenX’ers are opting to stay put for now. But could that decision have a detrimental impact on GenX’s viability in the future of work? With the oldest Millennials turning 40 this year, if GenX’ers aren’t upskilling, they will be left behind.
The forgotten generation was already feeling the professional squeeze between Boomers delaying retirement and Millennials entering the workforce en masse. Before the pandemic, GenX’ers began questioning when it would be their turn. As a member of the X-crew myself, I too was wondering when I would see the promised land. You know the promise…check all of the boxes, keep your head down, and work hard, and soon it will be your turn.
Alas, we were forgotten as the Millennials and now GenZ made their presence known on the battlefield. They are a take-no-prison type of crowd. But lest we not forget that GenX laid the groundwork for the Great Resignation. Though we are the forgotten generation, we are also the savage generation. We’re the ones that no one messes with on TikTok.
But for all of our bravado, during a time when people are writing their own professional tickets, GenX is staying put. That might be okay if we are upskilling. More GenX’ers, especially those approaching 50, are reporting more experiences with age discrimination. We have taken to covert ops to conceal our entire work history on resumes and LinkedIn. Luckily, it seems as if time has forgotten us as we don’t appear to age (at least that is what we tell ourselves). Pre-pandemic companies could afford to look past our resumes based on the assumption that we aren’t tech-savvy or we are too expensive and not equipped with the skills they need most for the future of work.
The Great Resignation, however, gives us an opportunity for a Great Revelation and Revolution. Recruiters are gasping for air as they ride the proverbial Pelton bike of their career – finding suitable candidates in a shifting workforce landscape. People want to get paid well, treated like human beings, and want the flexibility to work from wherever. Candidates aren’t doing the rounds upon rounds of interviews unless they truly want to, nor are they falling for the banana in the tailpipe of the performance task, i.e free work.
Signals indicate that the top 10 skills in high demand are a blend of technical and soft skills. If you aren’t using this time to upskill in the following four areas, you will find yourself in the past in the future of work.
Executive and Leadership Coaching
Most people cannot stand their bosses. Study after study has indicated this for years. And this moment in time has given rise to people hitting the bricks. Companies will no longer tolerate poor leadership. If they see someone with high turnover, they are likely to either get rid of them or get them coaching. The soft skills of empathy, vulnerability, and development are en vogue. The pandemic surfaced a lot of callous managers and workplaces. The rise of tech has led to a fall in basic communications and influence. According to the Institute of Coaching, 86% of companies surveyed said they experienced a positive ROI on executive and leadership coaching. Now is the time to opt into executive and leadership coaching to level up your skills. Do this even if you aren’t a people leader. Leading through influence is still the way most things get done in the workplace.
Basic Technology Skills
If you can’t convert a Word document into a PDF or attach a file to an email, you will find it difficult to advance. Companies are not interested in people who can’t do much with their computers beyond turning them on and answering email. It’s okay if you don’t know how to do something, but you must demonstrate a willingness to learn. Take a look at job descriptions, technical skills are a requirement. Your future (or current) co-workers don’t want to answer your tech questions anymore. They are not tech support. Google it. Top systems to learn Google Workspace, Microsoft Suite, Asana, Trello, Slack, Zoom, Dropbox, and Box. These are productivity tools that teams are using to stay connected and boost productivity.
Storytelling + Creativity
Mr. Wonderful, Kevin O’Leary, from Shark Tank said that he would have guessed that engineering would be what he would major in if he had to do it all over again. But now, he sees things differently. Given the rise of tools to connect people and distribute messages, he would focus on the arts. In his mind creativity is growing and getting hot. Video is becoming the medium of choice as people upload 500 hours of content to YouTube every minute (Statista). TikTok boasts about 65 million active users per month. People want stories in bite-size pieces that thrill and captivate them in 15 to 30 seconds. Sure. No problem.
Also, there is more data at our fingertips than ever before, which poses the problem of communicating that data in a way that grabs people’s attention and helps them make decisions. Data visualization is huge. Huge I say! Those people who are able to go into the weeds and emerge with gems of actionable insights will thrive in the future of work. Plus, working with the graphic designers or data scientists to visualize data will be the hand of the Queen, or the Queen herself.
Personal Branding
Developing and deploying a personal brand is not something I see a lot of GenX’ers doing. There is a notion that personal branding is spending all of your time on Instagram posing for naturally posed photos. Everyone needs to be on LinkedIn. In 2020, people weren’t ready for the great firing. They took to LinkedIn with no or a small network. No bio. No headshot. Just no.
Why? Because they felt safe. Many learned that no one is safe and that if you don’t have plan B, C, or D, life get’s really interesting really quickly. Develop your personal brand by starting with your why and uncovering your superpower. Then take one hour a day, three days a week to focus on deploying your brand on LinkedIn. Post a combination of things from insights on articles, short videos, or engage on other people’s posts. Take time to find and connect with people.
If your first reaction was “I’m not getting on LinkedIn and doing all that. I don’t have time”, your potential future employer’s reaction is “They didn’t even take time to post a nice headshot, update their bio, or use the easiest free tool in America to showcase their talents. Pass.”. If you believe that your job is safe, check your timeline. Many of your GenX peers have gotten the message and jumped ship to start their own businesses.
It’s okay if you want to stay put, but what are you doing while you’re there. Millennials turn 40 this year, you no longer have the “I bring wisdom” narrative to rely on. So, if you aren’t upskilling, you will find yourself on LinkedIn searching for opportunities and connections one way or the other.
