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How do you know this is the job you’ve longed for?

In an older time, young adults liked to do job hopping. This of course happened because some felt that the only way to increase their earnings is to quit the current job and head on to another. The other has to do with a lack of love or passion for the job they have at the moment, or they dislike their employer for some reason. Suffice to say, passion and interest drives the individual in the job, at least for a time.

The 90s era was what would later become known as the “Employee Market”. Many companies had a healthy cash flow and there was plenty of FDI circulating in the Asia Pacific. Especially in a country like ours in the process of industrialisation with reasonably good roads, good infrastructure and supply chain and a trained and ready workforce.

However, good times only last for a season,.. and seasons, well, they change. Some economists feel that the reverberations of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis were just beginning to dissipate and things were ready to get back to normal. But just when you  get ready to feel the bliss, something else like September 11, 2001 shakes the world yet again. We suddenly had a world that was so different, so divided. The fear was all encompassing and it drove fear into markets and investors globally.

Now, we have the raging pandemic.

Determination vs Passion

If you’re stuck in what you see as a dead end job and there’s no prospect of a raise or performance bonus and other perks, think again. Perhaps this really isn’t your dream job and it’s been hard to seek out a passion for it,… but these are the worst of times. We encourage you to stick to your job and put passion on the back burner for now. The continuation of your current company ensures you of that job so therefore you are meant to be in this position at this time after all. Passion isn’t the only thing that you need to drive you right now and perhaps should be the least of it. Determination is the anchor that will hold your ship steady in the storm. If you have passion in your current job, that’s a nice bonus, but it’s really not the anchor, but rather think of it as the sunshine in the sky.

We want to paint a picture of a likely future for jobs in the coming months, even years. As the current situation in the country runs their course hopefully within this year, Malaysia will be forced to return and shore up its core economic strengths. What are those strengths?

Where the new jobs will be created

According to the World Bank, our manufacturing sector which includes electronics is the leading economic sector followed by agriculture, then retail and service/hospitality and tourism sectors. Our leading exports are consumer electronics, petroleum, chemicals and palm oil. Malaysia is still the 4th largest economy in S.E Asia according to the IMF in 2020 and the economy is the 27th most competitive in the world.

The current global slowdown as a consequence of the virus simply stalled business as usual. Once the world at large is vaguely ready and if we can get such a vague foresight as early as possible, then the government must give the push needed to resecure our footing. It’s too early to tell how slow or fast the growth will be but the main area that could bounce back quicker than the others in the cities and industry are likely the services sectors.

This is where the new jobs and opportunities will be created. Just think about it, only essential services are operating now. Most of the other services like a car wash or the entertainment services have been halted. So what is stopping an entrepreneur from thinking out of the box and creating some new form of entertainment service? One of the main sectors which will see a global resurgence will be tourism.

Current Human Mood

If you can vaguely gauge the mood of humans now, what do yo think they want to do?

Yes, they just want to get out of the city and go somewhere; to get away. If this is true and it obviously is, who will receive them on the other side? Naturally, the resorts and hotels. It could be concluded that local tourism will see a brief growth for a certain period of time. Malaysia must then prepare itself to receive a sizable amount of foreign tourists because if we don’t, then our neighbours will. Therefore with this in mind, this sector, and not forgetting all its value added services, will need much manpower at the given time.

What is the favourite Malaysian pastime? Answer: Eating out.

Yep, this is a huge part of our culture that seems a distant memory. Many are operating on a bare minimum now, just keeping their heads above water while a huge number have gone bust. We hope all these small businesses will come back. It also appears that many have gone creative and opened up quite a number of online food services with unique menus. Are we looking at a new revolution of online food services? These web boutique outlets are energetic, fun with loads of creativity and youthful energy. They are the new players in a market previously dominated by mall outlets. They have low fixed cost and their following seems to be growing. They understand that our society loves its food and why. They understand the times and have identified certain niches to their advantage.

Herewith, in conclusion to the thoughts above, watch out for the economic sectors that will open up and therein lies your opportunity for that future job.

Follow Opportunity, not Passion

It seems to us that opposed to passion, opportunity is what we should follow. As an example, If you know how to manage a small kitchen and dish out food for delivery, despite an opposing passion that says you should do something else, will you pass up the opportunity? Therefore, if you have a job right now, but have a terrible boss and colleagues. The stress is pulling your hair out but you are still able to live, take care of yourself, pay your bills and loans, you can be thankful. This is where you are meant to be now.

On the other hand, if you were a small business owner and went bust, your choices are limited. You must secure immediate employment of whatever sort of job you can do or try restarting a business where there is more demand. This is a much more difficult situation, we must admit.

In conclusion now, let us hear what Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs had to say in a recent interview with The National Desk. “..people who have a skill that’s in demand and who are willing to go to where the work is have unbelievable opportunities. Those skills don’t go on holiday just because there’s a lockdown. They are the very definition of essential workers and they’re gonna be able to write their own ticket for years to come. So in a general way, if you’re willing to travel and if you’re willing to get your hands dirty, there’s never been a better time to master a skill that’s in demand right now.” 

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