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Skill #4: Entrepreneurial Skills and Outlooks
A new graduate of a post secondary institution, a data entry person
in a large, downsizing office products company, and a hot shot programmer
who started a business that has grown to seven outlets across the country
- what do these members of the labour force have in common? Survival
in any of these situations requires being on the lookout for what's
coming and then identifying and acquiring what is necessary to find,
or to keep, work.
An entrepreneurial outlook includes being alert to possibilities, noticing
gaps in products or services, making connections that others don't see,
creating ideas on how to fill in missing pieces, and being alert for
the right person and the right time to sell those ideas. In today's
labour market, developing an entrepreneurial outlook is essential, whether
it's for non-standard or standard work, for employees or the self-employed,
for small, medium or large businesses. When entrepreneurial skills are
applied to thinking within a large company, they are sometimes referred
to as intrapreneurial.
Take the newly graduated student who has been told there is no market
for his degree. Diplomas or degrees from the best schools will get students
nowhere if they can't assess the market and market themselves. They
need to be alert to what is needed and aware of how skills can fill
the bill. So, the student looked for places his skills would be of value
and found that events co-ordination skills developed in his sports management
program could be sold as a valuable asset to a software corporation
for its community events development. His writing and research abilities
were valuable in writing plain language employee policies and user-friendly
product manuals.
And what about the data entry person in the large, downsizing corporation?
An alert worker would notice the signs of an imminent restructuring
and start to be aware of where the gaps will be in the new order of
things. For example, the data worker noticed a shortage of Spanish-speaking
salespersons in the globally expanding company and made plans to fill
the gap. She learned the language and took sales courses. However, the
best technical or academic skills will get workers nowhere if they can't
sell themselves. This worker raised her profile in the sales department
by chatting with the salespersons. She demonstrated her value by volunteering
to translate calls and letters that came in when the one Spanish-speaking
salesperson was unavailable.
Table
14: Careers in Tourism
Finding and keeping work in a world of volatile employment includes
knowing how to:
- generate new work when standard duties are outdated;
- see new possibilities for the company;
- see new possibilities for yourself;
- prepare yourself with the necessary training;
- sell your ideas; and
- identify what will sell and start your own company.
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