Did you know that there’s a whole industry dedicated to trend watching? In other words, some people spend their days trying to figure out what the future has in play. They don’t just do it for the sake of being first to know but companies pay substantial cash to figure out where the world is going in the hopes of not behind left behind.
Trend watching should also play a key role in your career development. Trends mean change and this change can make you or brake you.
Twenty years ago, if you told people that it would be possible to make a living on something called the information superhighway aka the Internet, they would have called you a lunatic.
Today for example, more than 750 000 people are said to be making a full-time or part-time living off eBay!
One hot trend that people are hyped up about is the economic rise of the People’s Republic of China.
Companies are excited about the endless possibilities: “Wow, this is huge goldmine! A target market of one billion people!” Of course, these same companies have a hard time increasing or keeping their market share in their own countries but they see greener pastures but that’s another story…
(Their utopia is partly founded: Seth Godin posted on his blog a few months ago an astounding statistic: 55,000,000 (Fifty-five million) children play the piano in China! You can now imagine how excited Yamaha, Steinway & Sons, Bösendorfer and other piano makers are.)
As the rush to China increases, smart people should try to benefit from the trend. If you are a job seeker, you can make yourself noticed if your CV (résumé) shows that you have expertise that can benefit companies trying to do business in China.
What type of expertise?
- Ability to speak Chinese or any language spoken in the People’s Republic
- Ability to understand the subtleties of doing business in China or with Chinese people
The above are just two straightforward examples that can differentiate you from other job seekers that don’t even know a great deal about globalization.
If you are able to write and effectively communicate in Chinese and you’re still without a job or can’t get your career to move forward, you are asleep on the wheel!
If you have knowledge that pertains to doing business in China, you could even start a blog about it and/or contact print or online business publications and offer to share your expertise in form of articles or featured contributor. Sooner or later, companies impressed with your expertise will come knocking at your door.
You’ll see this kind of phenomenon during a crisis… something that makes big news happens in a little-know country and on all the TV channels, radio show and newspapers columns, you are exposed to (usually) the same experts on the kind of crisis that’s happening or in the area affected.
Such experts usually go on to become hired as employees, freelances or consultants because the mere fact of appearing on TV, radio or print media is a powerful credential that separates them from other people who might be looking for the same job or contract.
For now, just know that China could be your key to your visibility. We’ll discuss more trends that you should pay serious attention to, as they might be a boost to your career.
