Employed and employable – The road to a secure job

How to get a “secure” job.

A text by Natasha Ivanovska

We live in a time of constant change caused by factors we can’t control. With that, the following question becomes relevant: How do I get a job that guarantees security? Many clients in my many years of work as a career counsellor have the need to focus on this aspect of their job, so it’s useful to take a look at some of the aspects of the subject:

**Defining what a secure job is in your opinion

Even though the need for security is universal, the definition of the word is individually unique. For some people a private firm is secure work (It depends on how well I present myself, and contribute), for some people the public sector (it looks like the positions there aren’t influenced by the state of the economy, and on top of that it provides guaranteed pay). And for other people independent work is the most stable. So the first question is – What is secure work in your opinion? What do you want from the workplace, employer, to have the feeling of security? How do we back up our opinions? How are they supported by the time we live in? What other sources give us the feeling of security?

*What does it mean to be employed?

Throughout the discussion, we seamlessly come to the need to be “employed” and we come to the same question again – what does it mean in your opinion? To get paid, to have "Signed a contract", lasting a defined time period, an undefined time period... There are many options. Clients usually come to their own definition during our conversation and a specific need that they have related to their job, in the short and also in the long term. Waiting for the perfect workplace is rarely the optimal course of action, when compared to getting general work experience and accreditation even when not formally employed.

*What does it mean to be employable??

There are employees who are unemployable, just like there are unemployed people who can easily get a job, because they are employable. Because they are competent, have a good mindset and are generally employable and useful in the workplace. Having a diploma, license or certificate isn’t a confirmation that one has the needed skillset to be useful in a workplace in today’s circumstances. Or another example is, someone that has a 10yr work experience doesn’t necessarily have to be skilled or to have progressed in their skills. The best work to get employed is to constantly work on being employable: To become more competent and become an asset to employers. Organisations are always looking for the best and most competent employees that could positively contribute.