Employed, but are you ‘employable’?

If you wish to achieve worthwhile things in your personal and career life, you must become a worthwhile person in your own self-development
Brian Tracy

Being employed is different from being employable. We have to improve our ‘employability quotient’. This means that if you lose your present job, you will get another immediately. If you are just employed without employability and if you lose your job, you will be unemployed!

Your employability quotient depends on various factors. Check for the following factors:
•    Do you have not only the latest technology, but also the technology of tomorrow?
•    Is your skill set competitive enough compared to the world class?
•    Are your knowledge, skill and experience relevant not only to your present employer but also to many others?
•    Do you offer something unique and special  which others cannot?
•    Is your contribution to your company much more than what your company gives you?
•    Are you future oriented and keep your eyes fixed on the changes that are taking place in your industry and career?
•     Are you working hard enough keeping your eyes on the evolving opportunities?
•    Are you taking every threat as a challenge to develop and grow?
•    Do you ‘invest’ your time intelligently on critical priorities?
•    Are you creative and innovative?

If you pass the above test, you have passed the ‘employability test’!

N C Sridharan

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Do you have ‘relevant’ friends?

Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk with me and be my friend.
Albert Camus
I read a quotation which reads ‘tell me who your friend is and I’ll tell who you are’. This quotation is very common in many languages.

The quality of our life is influenced by what we constantly see and hear hence the profile of our friends is a key factor which will shape our attitude and thinking process. 

Decide what you want to be in your life and heights you want to scale in your career. Be specific in defining your goal.
Then ask the following questions to yourself:
•    Do I have relevant friends circle matching my career ambition?
•    Do I have a legend or role model among my friends’ circle whom I can emulate?
•    Do I spend quality time with such friends who are relevant to my life?
•    How do I benefit maximum from my friends’ circle to further my career?
•    How can contribute to my friends’ ambitions and goals?
May be it is a good idea to ‘audit’ this parameter of ourselves once a year! Take one area of your life and double the quality of your friendship in that area and notice what happens to your life in one year!

You will be amazed!
www.thetimefoundation.com
N C Sridharan

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An expert racer knows when to replace the tyres!

In a chronically leaking boat, energy devoted to changing vessels is more productive than energy devoted to patching leaks
Warren Buffet

Growth and decay are natural and so is change. There is no such thing as one time meal. Similarly there is no such thing as permanent knowledge and skill. You need to verify if what you have now is relevant to time and if it will stand the test of time.
A racer who wins the Formula 1 race should ensure that his vehicle is fit for the race he is going to participate. His car might have won him trophies. But he should know when to replace the tyres, and if necessary, even the car itself! 

We need to ask ourselves these questions periodically:
•    Am I in the right business NOW?
•    Are my knowledge, skill and experience relevant NOW?
•    Should I change my entire line of business NOW?
May be your current business and skill set gave you all your present comfort, wealth and money. But, that is not a sufficient reason to stick on to them when it comes to competing in world which is constantly changing and highly demanding.
Like a successful company continuously re-engineers and launches completely new products to remain in business, you have to redesign your deliverable continuously.
So, change, transform and get ready for a new innings!
N C Sridharan
www.thetimefoundation.com
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Keep moving to grow!

If you continue to dig the same hole in the same place in your life, eventually you will be standing in a grave!
Shannon L. Alder

If you want to be growing, keep moving.

Whichever stops moving will start decaying. Visit an automobile repair shop and see an automobile parked for a long time. You will see the rusted vehicles with flat tyres. It is a junk!

When water stagnates for a long time it stinks. Fishes will die and bacteria will grow. Of course the water will not be fit for human consumption.

If a patient is allowed to be in the same position for a long time without any movement, it will result in bedsore, otherwise called pressure ulcer. The best treatment to cure bedsore is to turn the patient every two hours.

This principle is relevant to our career also. If we remain in the same career for too long, we will start becoming outdated. We have to keep moving to enrich our bio-data. If an organisation does not remove old products, it will lose its place in the market. If the manufacturing process does not change with new technology, it will become uncompetitive.

Ask yourself: how long am I am in my current job without any change? What will happen if I don’t change my skill set?

Keep changing, and remain relevant!

NC Sridharan
www.thetimefoundation.com
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