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• 1. Self Assessment
• 2. Research
  • 2.1 Career Trends
  • 2.2 Changes in Organizational Beliefs
  • 2.3 New Work in Alternatives
  • 2.4 Information Search
    • 2.4.1 Occupational Research
  • 2.5 Conducting Information Search
  • 2.6 Information Interviews
    • 2.6.1 Information Interview
    • 2.6.2 Information Interview
  • 2.7 Job Shadowing
  • 2.8 Gaining Experience
    • 2.8.1 Working Overseas
• 3. Decision-Making
• 4. Networks & Contacts
• 5. Work
• 6. Life/Work Planning

Step 2.1: Career Trends

This section will introduce you to trend analysis and suggest sources for further study and information

When making career decisions, it is important to remember that your choices must fit into the realities of the working world. It is possible to use trends to your advantage by utilizing those aspects of your personality and experience that are most compatible with employment demands. It will be up to you to gain a basic understanding of these trends so that you can adjust your career preparation and take advantage of emerging possibilities.

Labour Market Trends

Labour market trends are those that operate on a macro-scale and determine which employment fields will be predominant. Examples include advertising, research and development, information systems management, and social work. By analysing certain indices (in sources such as specialized books, business journals, government policies, even your daily paper and the Internet), you can begin to discern patterns that you can extrapolate into future employment prospects. Indices you can study include:

Demographics Technology Economic globalization

Domestic economic conditions and policies The state of the environment

A change in any of these indices has the potential to create new career opportunities or lead to the elimination of jobs. The impact of these trends is evident in the downsizing of the Canadian manufacturing sector, the diversification of the service sector, and the growth of small business.

Occupational Trends

Occupational trends, which are more micro-oriented, are concerned with your role within a certain field. For example, within "advertising", you can be a full-time or part-time employee of an advertising firm, you can be a freelancer or contractor, you can job-share, etc. Changing economic conditions are a major determinant of occupational trends, with events like recessions and economic restructuring playing important roles. Technological advances are also significant. One change due to the advent of high-tech tools has been the increased number of people telecommuting (working from home).

Additional Resources for Researching Future Trends

	The following materials provide excellent overviews of future trends affecting the work world:
Bridges, William. Creating You & Co: Learn To Think Like The CEO of Your Career. Addison-Wesley. 1997. Campbell, Colin. JobScape: Career Survival in the New Global Economy. MacFarlane JIST Works. 1997. Davis, Stan and Christopher Meyer. BLUR: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy. Werner Books. 1999. Feather, Frank. Canada’s Best Careers Guide 2000. Firefly Books. 1998. Foot, David and Daniel Stoffman. Boom, Bust and Echo 2000: Profiling from the Demographic Shift in the New Millennium. MacFarlane Walter & Ross. 1998. Handy, Charles. The New Alchemists. Hutchinson. 1999. Moses, Barbara. The Good News About Careers: How You’ll Be Working in the Next Decade. Stoddart. 2000.
There are also many excellent magazines that regularly profile trends; examples are: Business 2.0 http://www.business2.com Fast Company http://www.fastcompany.com The Futurist http://www.wfs.org

To continue to the next section. Step 2.2, click here.