Will my job be replaced by a robot?
In the age of computers, the way we do business is changing at a record pace. Some change is good. But, inevitably, some is also quite painful. One concern many professionals have is whether or not their job may be replaced by a robot.
Although it may seem impossible, there is a reasonable chance your job may be impacted over the course of your career. A study released from the University of Oxford found that approximately 47% of all U.S. jobs are at risk of automation over the coming decades. So, which jobs are safe and what can we do to minimize any negative impact?
Let’s start with the jobs least likely to be impacted. They fall into three categories. Creative jobs such as artists, engineers, and business strategists are least likely to be automated. These roles all require new, unique, creative thoughts each day.
Jobs that require a high level of human touch are also less likely to be impacted. They include social workers, nurses, and clergy members. These roles all require an extensive amount of human interaction to be successful.
Highly unpredictable jobs are also less likely to be impacted. Included are roles such as emergency plumber. They occur at random times and require unique solutions.
So, which jobs will be impacted? Anything that is routine and has the ability to be replaced by a computer is at risk. For example, a tax accountant may potentially be replaced by a computer program.
The same holds true for many logistics, transportation, and manufacturing jobs. Factory positions once held by people are being replaced by robots. Since 2013, Amazon has increased their use of robots almost seven fold. They’ve gone from an average of 461 robots per facility in 2013 to an average to over 3,200 per facility in 2017.
The area that’s the most surprising is sales. Sales has been a potentially lucrative job, tied to revenue and company goals for growth. But, predictions show that sales roles may be hit the hardest. In fact, it’s estimated that retail sales jobs may go away completely.
If you work in one of these areas, the prospect of a computer replacing your job can be scary. But, there are a few things you can do to prepare and to minimize the negative impact.
First, don’t assume you’ll work for one company forever. Working for more than one company diversifies your risk, and increases your professional network.
Second, work to develop more than one skill you could be paid for. This reduce the chances that you may end up with no options if your current job is outsourced to a robot.
Third, never stop learning. Gone are the days when you could learn one trade and stick with it. Change is constant, and to stay employed, you must also stay on top of trends.
Although the thought of robots replacing our jobs is a scary one, preparing will ensure you’ll be ready to grow and change along with the evolving job market.
Angela Copeland is a Career Coach and Founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
The Power of Punctuation
Your words are an incredibly powerful business tool that you use each and every day. This is especially true during your job search. Not surprisingly, the punctuation around those words can be just as important as the words themselves.
You may have heard me preach before about the space that appears after a period at the end of a sentence. Did you know that it’s now unacceptable to include two spaces after a period? The new standard is one space after the period. If you’re like me, your teachers engrained double spacing in you as if your entire future depended on it. You can’t imagine a world with one space after a period.
To make matters worse, when the standard changed to one space, no memo was sent around. Unfortunately, those who were taught to use one space judge the double spacers. It’s assumed that a lack of intelligence must be to blame. This feeling is confirmed in an article I recently read titled, “For the Love of God, Stop Putting Two Spaces After a Period.” Now, that’s passion. Don’t you think?
I learned this single spacing lesson the hard way, from the kind editors who review my column each week. The editor of my book had also shared the feedback with me, but I was so certain about the double space that I ignored this advice until I heard it multiple times. It still surprises me how much these small details influence the reader’s interpretation of the overall message.
On top of spaces, there are other punctuation marks that should be used carefully. The most important is the exclamation point! If you use an exclamation point at all in business emails, try to keep them to a maximum of one to two per email. It’s possible to show excitement through your writing without an overuse of this mark. Using too many will make you appear overly eager, immature, or as if you’re yelling.
Keep smiley faces and other emoji-like characters out of work emails completely if possible. These are best used between friends. Using them at work can make you appear unprofessional at best.
So, which punctuation marks should you use? The most used punctuation mark is the period. Other marks that can be mixed in are the question mark, the comma, the colon, and the semicolon. These marks will help you to express your thoughts in an even, business-like way.
Writing an effective business email is truly an art. It takes time and practice to come across clearly and concisely on a computer screen. Using punctuation to your advantage is the very first step to getting there. In fact, the better your communication is at work, the more likely you are to move your ideas forward. And, the more you’re able to champion your own ideas, the more you’ll find that the doors to your career open. Although punctuation can seem like a silly detail, it’s something that’s relatively easy to improve and that will leave a lasting impact.
Angela Copeland is a Career Coach and Founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
LinkedIn’s Latest HR Tool: Talent Insights
The hiring landscape is continuously being reshaped by the internet and the increasing data available to employers. On October 4th in Nashville, Tennessee, LinkedIn.com unveiled their latest human resources product offering: LinkedIn Talent Insights. It will most likely impact how you, the job seeker, experiences the hiring process.
Talent Insights is a technology that will be used by the human resources department (and potentially the hiring manager) to better understand employment trends. It allows the human resources manager to pull data on demand, in real-time – in a format that’s easy to digest and is sharable. One goal is to increase collaboration between the hiring manager and company executives, so they may create more effective hiring strategies.
Eric Owski, Head of Product at LinkedIn, explained that LinkedIn developed the Talent Insights product using data from its over 530M members, representing 18K companies, 29K schools, and 50K skills.
LinkedIn will offer two reports. One shares data around the available talent pool, and one shares company data.
Here’s a window into how the talent pool portion of the product might work. If a hiring manager wants to hire a new electrical engineer, they will most likely reach out to human resources for assistance. The hiring manager will have many questions about the competition, and how likely it is that they will find the perfect engineer for the job. The new tool will enable the human resources manager to answer a number of questions for the hiring manager, including:
- The number of electrical engineers located nearby
- The number of electrical engineers who changed jobs recently
- The number of job openings for electrical engineers nearby
- How challenging it is to hire for electrical engineers
The company report within Talent Insights will provide the ability to benchmark a company’s competitors. It will allow the human resources team to research information including how many people are coming and going from a particular company. It will also provide a look into the skills the employees at a company have, and from which universities competitors’ recruit talent.
This type of data will have positive impacts on the hiring manager, human resources department, and the company overall. It will help employers to locate top talent outside of their local area. These insights may even encourage companies to adopt more flexible work environments (in order to recruit the best and brightest).
As a job seeker, these changes will likely create a ripple effect that will impact you. It may be easier for a company to find you – even when you’re not looking for a job. When you’re applying, the company may be more likely to see your resume. Companies may even choose to selectively show you job postings that they don’t show other people.
Although the full impact of these changes is yet to be seen, one thing’s for sure. The internet plays a critical role in today’s job search. Ensure you are using sites like LinkedIn, so you can win at the job search game!
Angela Copeland is a Career Coach and Founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
Freedom at Work
One of the worst feelings you can feel at work is trapped with no way out. I meet professionals every day who feel chained to their job. They are very often in unhealthy situations that make them miserable each and every day. Some have an abusive boss. Others work for a company they no longer believe in. But, because they rely on the income, they’re stuck. It feels like a dead end road with no way out. It can be stressful and emotional.
I empathize so much with this experience. Feeling trapped at work can feel demoralizing. It gives you a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. It increases your stress and decreases the quality of your work. But, there are steps you can take to begin to regain your independence and your sanity.
It may sound counterintuitive, but the very first step to freedom is to avoid quitting your current job if possible. Of course, this doesn’t apply if you are in a truly abusive environment. But, if your office is tolerable, try to stick with it until you have another job. The old adage that “it’s easier to find a job when you have a job” is true. And, if you’re out of work and struggling financially because you quit, you’re more likely to accept another dysfunctional job to replace the income. You already have one job you hate. You don’t need two.
Second, take the time to set up a budget for yourself. Make a point to try to live below your means. Revisit it each month to track your progress. This isn’t always possible, but if you are able to keep your expenses low, you will be less dependent on your current income. Then, if you do lose your job unexpectedly or do need to quit, you will have more time to find another job– and more flexibility in your job choice. Because you won’t be tied to a high level of income, you’ll have more choices in future jobs.
Make every attempt at creating an emergency fund for yourself. This goal can be tricky, but even a small amount of money added each month can add up. Emergencies are an unavoidable part of life. If you’re ready for them, you are much less reliant on your day-to-day paycheck.
Although these suggestions may seem small, it’s amazing how much mental and emotional freedom they can give you. Knowing that you are in control of your future makes a bad job feel less like a chore. Knowing you would be okay if your company went out of business gives you just a little extra breathing room.
So, while you are taking care of things at work, be sure to also take care of them at home. You will be amazed at how much better you’ll feel knowing you have a backup plan. In the end, giving yourself the mental peace of mind and freedom that comes with it is worth so much more than any fancy lifestyle.
Angela Copeland is a Career Coach and Founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
Always take the first interview
Have you ever received a call from a headhunter or recruiter out of the blue? Sometimes, they’ll call your work phone and leave a voicemail you weren’t expecting. They’re recruiting for a new position. It’s one you haven’t heard about, but they want to speak to you. You don’t even know how they got your name, or your phone number. The recruiter says, “I have a new position I’m trying to fill. I wanted to reach out to see if you know anyone who might be interested.”
It’s always a strange call to receive because it’s such a surprise. If you’re like many people, you may start to run through the list of your friends ‘might be interested.’ But, here’s the thing. When the headhunter asks if you know someone who might be interested, they’re really asking if you might be interested. It’s a polite way of asking if you would want to be interviewed for the job. They only want to know if you have a friend if you aren’t interested.
Once you realize the real question, you’ll probably try to decide which response you want to give. You may initially want to say you aren’t interested. You aren’t looking for a job right now. Things are just fine at work. Or, if you are looking, you may want to say no because you don’t have enough information. You haven’t seen a job description. You don’t know how much the job pays or where it’s located. You don’t know much about the company.
But, when you aren’t looking for a job can often be the perfect time to find one. It means that things at your current job are probably going pretty well. And, if that’s the case, you’ll have more leverage if you do land a job offer. You won’t feel pressured to take something that’s not the right fit if you have a job that’s going just fine.
Still not sure if the job is for you? The best way to find out is to have the interview. When the recruiter asks if you know anyone, let them know that you would like to learn more. You would be interested to speak with the hiring manager. Then, before you interview, ask for the job description and research the company. During the interview, ask questions to learn more.
Very often, job seekers tell me that they don’t want to waste the company’s time. If the job didn’t end up being the right fit, they would feel guilty. But, why? The company will interview many candidates who won’t end up being the right fit. But, they wouldn’t know who to hire if they didn’t interview them. How is going to an interview any different? And, how will you know whether or not a job is for you if you don’t learn more?
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever heard is this: “Always take the first interview.” You really never know where it might lead you.
Angela Copeland is a Career Coach and Founder of Copeland Coaching and can be reached at CopelandCoaching.com or on Twitter at @CopelandCoach.
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