Future Jobs Demand: Skill Up, the Future is Here

Introduction: Skill Up for Future Jobs Demand

The Screwtape Letters

Celebrate how far you have come. That is something that I have to work on. I do not celebrate the successes in my life enough. You have completed 11 months of the Strategic Reading Challenge and you have one month to go. You are close to the finish line, so do not stop moving forward. You are ready to start Month 12 of the reading challenge. You have many of the skills needed to position yourself for future jobs demand.

If you have been reading the monthly assigned books, by now, you have learned many skills that can help you to accelerate your career. Learning the key workplace skills is not enough. To benefit from the newly learned skills, you have to apply them in the workplace. You may know how to do that, but if you are unsure, talk to your boss. Ideally you want to have a career conversation with your boss at the beginning of the Strategic Reading Challenge. You need her support to get a special project to work on that will allow you to use your newly acquired skills.

Just to recap what we have covered so far, here are the preceding posts in the series on learning the key skills to thrive in 2020.

Have you read?

Improve Your Soft Skills at Work to Rock Your Career in 12 Months

List of Work Skills: 12 Months to Accelerate Your Learning and Career Development 

Future Jobs Demand: 12 Months to Develop Key Workplace Skills

Skills You Need for a Job Today: 12 Months to Master Key Skills in the Workplace Like a Rockstar

Guide to Learning Key Skills for Work: 12 Months to Master Key Skills in the Workplace Like a Rockstar

List of Skills and Abilities: 12 Months to Master Key Skills in the Workplace Like a Rockstar – Month Six

Job Skills List: 12 Months to Master Key Skills Like a Pro – Month Five

List of Professional Skills to Thrive in 2020 – Guide to Learning, Month Four

Guide to Learning 10 Key Skills to Thrive in 2020 – Month Three 

Guide to Learning 10 Key Skills to Thrive in 2020 – Month Two

Guide to Learning 10 Key Skills to Thrive in 2020 – Month One 

Month 12: Strategic Reading Challenge – Books for Career Development

We are revisiting Europe and Africa because there are so many countries on those two continents.

Strategic Reading Lesson Plans (Challenge Requirements): Month Twelve – Read Europe, Africa & More

The Story of Philosophy

1. Read a book written by an author from Europe.
2. Read a book written by an author from Africa.
3. Read a book about a religion.
4. Read a book about philosophy.
5. Read a book purely for entertainment.
6. Each week, read a technology article from a well-respected journal/magazine.

Library Thing French Literature

Library Thing English literature

Library Thing Spanish literature

Library Thing African Literature Reading List

The Story of PhilosophyMeditations (Dover Thrift Editions)The RepublicZen and the Art of Motorcycle MaintenanceLetters from a Stoic (Penguin Classics)Man's Search for Meaning

Strategic Reading Challenge: Books for Career Development

Actions to Take

1. Sign-up for Strategic Reading Challenge.
2. Join the Facebook Group.
3. Spend three hours deciding which books to read for the first three months – that’s 15 books – of the challenge.
4. Schedule your reading. Will you read a set number of pages each day, or for a set time period each day? One recommendation is to read an hour every day.

Strategic Reading Challenge, What’s Next?

Imagine that you have been participating in my reading challenge for 12 months, you’re in strategic reading groups, or you have been participating by yourself. You have been diligently following the strategic lesson plans – the monthly requirements. And if you were reading a book, every six days, or so, you have now read 60 books for the year. You have read 60 books for career development.

You have now developed a list of professional skills because you applied the new learning in practical ways. And if you have been taking notes when you read, as well as combining the ideas from the books you read, you would now have a whole lot of ideas to play with. How will you use those ideas? One way is to connect ideas to human needs. This will allow you to profit from the ideas. You have invested your time reading the books.

Have you read?

Abraham Maslow and the Hierarchy of Needs

How can you use your notes? You could turn your notes into an e-book, so that you can teach others what you’ve learned from the experience. Target people who you know are interested in learning new skills for work. Are confident that you learned the skills needed for future jobs?

So, what’s next? You could start the challenge again. Or even repeat certain aspects of the strategic reading challenge. The choice is yours. What reading challenge ideas would you like to share?

Future Jobs Demand: Global Reading List from Europe and Africa

The Screwtape LettersA History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and IslamSiddharthaBhagavad Gita: A New TranslationThe StrangerPride and PrejudiceRobinson CrusoeDon Quixote (Penguin Classics)The Shadow of the WindThings Fall ApartSo Long a Letter (African Writers) by Mariama B (1989-06-28)God's Bits of Wood