Professionals used to be encouraged to be team players in order to be successful on the job, but for an increasing number of professionals today the focus is on individualism and entrepreneurial attitudes, not playing well with others.
Human resources professionals from across the globe are gathering outside of Washington, D.C. this week for the Society for Human Resources Management Talent Management conference. Sunday’s session broke down talent tomorrow, millennial hiring and handling tough hiring challenges. What does hiring tomorrow look like? Well, the challenges are as diverse as the demographic.
One thing that today’s economic climate and longer lifespans have created is a demographic of individuals who are unlikely to stay at one employer for the duration of their career. With no promise of a pension creating decades-long company loyalty, employees begin to ask the question, ‘what’s in it for me?’
Here at ClearanceJobs, we encourage job seekers to be their own career advocates. While human resources professionals spend a lot of time thinking about professional development and retention, they’re not focused on you, your career and your personal goals. You are your best personal advocate, and the sole owner of your personal brand. In a defense contracting environment, where employers are hiring specific skills to apply to specific requirements, thinking yourself as an entrepreneur makes a lot of sense.
When it comes to millennnials, the recruiting pink elephant, company culture has a big role to play. And that means hiring millennials means as much to the CEO as it does to the hiring manager. With the federal retirement wave allegedly upon us, it will be increasingly important for companies to focus on making employment attractive to every demographic.
Being an employee entrepreneur sounds a bit self-serving, but the fact is that it requires a lot of team-building skills. As a job seeker applying for a job, think not only of what you bring to the table, but about the importance of your network of contacts. How does who you know help your company? Entrepreneurs have long known the importance of relationships. With the rise of social networks, those connections are important to every employee.
There aren’t clear-cut answers to what talent management, employment, and hiring in the future will look like. What is clear is that skills, contacts, and your network will be more important than ever.
Lindy Kyzer is the editor of ClearanceJobs.com. She loves cybersecurity, social media, and the U.S. military. Have a conference, tip, or story idea to share? Email editor@clearancejobs.com.
