Today, on World Youth Skills Day, we celebrate the importance of empowering young people with the skills they need to navigate the ever-changing job market. One of the most crucial skills for career success is resilience. In a world where ambiguity, uncertainty and rapid transformations is the norm, resilience is a key skill that helps young professionals stay calm, adaptable, motivated, and ready to tackle challenges head-on.
Here are some strategies to build resilience and prepare for career challenges:
▪️ Clarify Expectations: Working with leaders to align on clear, achievable goals provides direction and purpose. It helps maintain focus and motivation, even in the face of setbacks.
▪️ Maintain a Growth Mindset: Embrace the belief that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. This mindset encourages learning from experiences and viewing challenges as opportunities to grow.
▪️ Fail Forward: Failure is a natural part of any journey. Instead of fearing it, use it as a learning tool. Reflect on what went wrong, extract valuable lessons, and apply them to future endeavors.
Throughout my 15+ years in Learning and Performance, I’ve faced many complex and ambiguous situations – large-scale mergers, corporate reorganizations, significant reductions in staff. There have been times when I’ve done my most challenging and rewarding work at a time when I wasn’t sure if I’d be employed in the next month or two. For me, the keys to resilience during these times were maintaining a positive and optimistic outlook by assuming the outcome would be the best possible one. This enabled me to regulate my emotions and perform at a high level.
Fortunately, in most cases, things turned out the way I’d hoped. But worrying about it ahead of time wouldn’t have made a bad outcome any better. Instead, I was able to rise to the occasion, grow professionally and truly enjoy the opportunity to work on exciting projects I wouldn’t otherwise have had.
On this World Youth Skills Day, I encourage all young professionals to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth. Developing resilience will not only help you overcome obstacles but also enable you to thrive in your careers and make a significant impact in your organizations.
Let’s commit to fostering resilience in our youth and supporting them as they navigate their career paths. While circumstances will sometimes be less than ideal, together, we can help them maintain control, perspective and well-being while executing and delivering results.
Happy World Youth Skills Day! 🎉
Q: Experienced professionals and leaders, which other skills do you see as crucial for young professionals to develop for career success?
#WorldYouthSkillsDay #Resilience #CareerGrowth #YouthEmpowerment #LearningAndDevelopment #GrowthMindset
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