Navigating the maze
Yesterday's newsfeed was abuzz with Paytm's (a Fintech company) massive layoffs announcement owing to role redundancies and the introduction of AI to replace mundane jobs. Interestingly, a couple of days ago I was reading McKinsey’s weekly newsletter, "Mind the Gap" curated for the Gen Z. Here are some interesting reflections from the article:
1) Technology evolution is at a pace that is unimaginable and while it is exciting, there is also a collective sense of anxiety looming across the workforce.
2) The hiring landscape in companies is going to drastically change where candidates would be expected to recognise the potential of AI and demonstrate skills to handle disruptions.
3) While technical skills are extremely important, the job market will require a new set of "soft skills" to navigate the maze. Experts have identified 3 skills to brave the new world of work and they are Critical thinking, Intellectual curiosity and Flexibility.
4) Organisations would want to hire people with a growth mindset, one who would be agile and resilient. Learning, both formal and informal, will be the game changer in this era.
5) Strategic thinking becomes paramount, and candidates need to display such skills in the interviews by discussing any self-development initiatives, share details on how they have leaned into different perspectives to understand an issue.
6) Job interviews will no longer be mere discussions and job descriptions but much more in the areas of Reflective thinking.
7) One of the CEOs said, the younger generation is no longer going to be working in the area that they are graduating from rather continuously upskilling, reskilling, adding skills to their portfolios, switching jobs, switching careers -goodbye to traditional ways of thinking. Flexibility is the recipe for success.
Are we ready to lean into the unknown?
About the Author
Rampriya Sridharan
Global Head Talent Acquisition I CIPD Trainer I Career Transition Coach I POSH Trainer I Economic Times Best HR Leader of the Year (Gold)
