We all know by now that having a job is no guarantee.
But it was back in the day, during the Industrial Revolution.
If you had a job then, you had it made.
Companies needed to lure people who had their own businesses – blacksmiths, farmers, barbers to work in factories so they promised them a high paying salary and a fat pension to retire with.
And things were great.
But then came along the advancement of technology, outsourcing, and globalization, and a job no longer became secure.
And many people are finding out right now just how vulnerable their jobs are and they’re also discovering firsthand the traps most jobs create.
Trap #1: The Trap of Complacency
People make the mistake of building a lifestyle around the income they get from their job, thinking that the income they get from their job will always be there.
What’s worse, they build a lifestyle that EXCEEDS the income they get from their job.
But we all know that the majority of jobs will not last.
Sometime in your lifetime, due to things out of your control, whether it’s outsourcing, competition, or the sequence of events that led to this current recession, you will be laid off or fired.
But it’s so easy to stick your head in the sand, to never contemplate that scenario out of fear and go on with your routine, thinking the job and the paycheck is going to last forever.
It won’t.
We all know it deep down inside.
But the majority of people won’t do anything about it until it hits them in the face firsthand.
The job is too comfortable.
You go to work, do the same thing, and get paid.
And then you relax during the weekends.
The routine is too comfortable.
And if you’re comfortable, you have little drive to do anything other than what you’re doing right now.
Accept the stark reality that sooner or later, you won’t have the job you have right now and get a back up plan in motion.
Have a business idea on the backburner or another job you know you can fall back on if you get laid off from your current one.
And get a hold of your finances to beef up your cushion to help you land when the rug inevitably gets pulled out from underneath you.
Doing those two things alone will add much peace of mind.
Trap #2: The Trap of the Pigeon Hole
This happens if you start to specialize in a field so much that you pigeon hole yourself in a certain type of position or industry, to the point where if you want to go into another field, you can’t transfer any of those skills or knowledge to that new field.
And that’s especially bad if you really HATE the field you’re working in, but can’t quit because you can’t find anything that pays nearly as much as what you’re getting right now.
So you keep on working, getting more experience, getting more specialized knowledge, and digging yourself deeper in that hole, unable to climb out unless you face and accept the facts that most of what you learned won’t be transferable to the industry you really want to work in.
For example, let’s say you’re a computer programmer, well versed in a certain type of programming language. You’re the best at it, get paid very well, but HATE it.
You want to get into personal fitness training instead.
But you have the golden handcuffs on.
And you know those programming skills aren’t transferable to the job you really want.
To avoid that trap, start learning CROSS MARKETABLE SKILLS that will serve you REGARDLESS of what industry or position you want to be in.
For example, if you can SELL, you will ALWAYS have a job.
And I’m not just talking about selling products/services, but also selling your IDEAS and YOURSELF to other people.
Learning how to deal with people (aka soft skills) – if you really know how to do this, that’s another huge door opener right there.
Management skills, basic computer skills, communication skills are other types of cross marketable skills to develop.
Cross marketable skills are your best friends in helping you to avoid the trap of the pigeon hole, not to mention finding what you love to do first so you never have to experience this trap in the first place.
Trap #3: The Trap of Dependency
It’s easy to become dependent on a company to always put money in our bank account every two weeks.
It’s easy to become BLIND as to how we can become self sufficient, which I think is becoming more and more important these days as we are beginning to see the pendulum shift BACK to entrepreneurship.
Look at the big picture.
Clients pay the company for a product/service, the company pays the employees who work to make that happen, and the company pockets the difference.
Cut the middleman out of the picture, which in this case is the company.
Provide value DIRECTLY to paying clients.
That’s how you avoid the trap of dependency.
Instead of adding value WITHIN a system, learn to CREATE VALUE AND THE SYSTEM ITSELF to serve clients DIRECTLY so you no longer have to be dependent on anybody else for your financial future.
There’s nothing wrong with having a job but it’s crucial to be aware of the type of traps jobs can create and to avoid them by being aware of what those traps are and doing what you can to stay one step ahead of them.
The world can change very fast.
Don’t fall in the traps and get left behind.
