HACIÉNDOME EL SUECO

¿Cómo elegir la profesión de tu vida? Con solo dieciocho años nos enfrentamos a una decisión tan importante como qué carrera o ciclo formativo estudiar con el fin de ejercer una profesión concreta. Hay personas que cambian radicalmente de rumbo con el paso de los años y hay otras que aseguran haber encontrado su vocación cuando eran adolescentes.  A lo largo de mis más de 20 años de trayectoria, he hecho muchas entrevistas, he escuchado con gran interés las historias de personas, unas más felices que otras con las decisiones que tomaron cuando eran jóvenes. He sentido la necesidad de poner negro sobre blanco lo que he aprendido y espero que pueda ayudarte a tomar las decisiones que te conduzcan a la profesión de tu vida. Quiero agradecer a mi amigo de la universidad, Borja Abós, la ilustración de la portada, y a Clara Criado de Letropía su revisión y ayuda en la edición. El libro está disponible en Amazon en el siguiente enlace:  La profesión de tu vida.

Todos tenemos un lugar en el mercado laboral, pero a veces sentimos que no terminamos de encontrarlo. Escribo estos consejos  dirigidos a jóvenes que empiezan su carrera profesional y q ue he llamado “ Reglas Vikingas ” porque me recuerdan a la manera de actuar de estos intrépidos pueblos escandinavos.

H ace más de 20 años que terminé mi Licenciatura y es sorprendente lo cercano que recuerdo cómo afronté mis primeras entrevistas, mis expectativas, mis primeros días de trabajo... ¡es cómo si hubiese pasado ayer!. También recuerdo cómo hubiese agradecido algunos sencillos consejos que en ese momento desconocía.

Los 10 consejos para afrontar una Expatriación La Expatriación es un reto personal y profesional que se afronta con gran ilusión. Si yo fuera a iniciar una Expatriación tendría en cuenta los siguientes 10 aspectos:

The first Viking Rule to build a successful career is to choose a career path that suits you. In other words, get to know yourself so you can find your "vocation".  Your  vocation  is the place where your talent meets what you like and what the world needs.

A new book has been published about the famous Swedish writer, Astrid Lindgren (1907-2002), who gained worldwide recognition for her infant books and specially for creating the character of Pippi Longstocking. You can purchase it at Amazon - Astrid Lindgren: The Woman Behind Pippi Longstocking .   As Nicci Gerrard describes in the  Book review, she had an eventful life. When she was 18, she was a single mother working in Stockholm far away from his son Lars. She had some difficult years. Then she became a very successfull writer and her tax bill one year was above 100% of her income.

The article Application of Machine Learning Algorithms to an online Recruitment System   is an interesting paper that describes a Machine Learning (ML) methodology to make the hiring process more effective. I thought it could be a good example to talk about ML and reflect on the massive selection processes we face today.

La corresponsabilidad es un término importante en la lucha por una efectiva igualdad laboral entre hombres y mujeres.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a wide term applied to machines performing intelligent task. Machine Learning (ML)  is a part of artificial intelligence. It is probably the part that is currently evolving faster and it is indeed revolutionizing many sectors.

I happened to be having a coffee with a friend and his wife when their daughter came to the living room and started to talk about the world of ancient Rome. 

There is a growing consensus about how diversity drives creativity, profitability, growth and ultimately, success.  Workforce diversity is currently at the top of the agenda for leading c ompanies.  Diversity is key to understand customer needs and it is critical to attract and hire individuals with diverse backgrounds that bring different skills and experiences. 

The career is organized around what we call Cycles , that is, the different roles and jobs you have during your professional life.  There is not a magic number of years you should stay in one job, but the time you spend in each place is meaningful in terms of building up your professional profile.

Let us start with the global trends to explain this Viking Rule, as Technological Innovation and Demographic changes are transforming the world of work. On the one hand, automation, robotics and artificial intelligence are changing the production processes and business models in all sectors of the economy. The labour demand is being modified according to the new skills and knowledge required by the new business environment. Against this background, the workforce must be trained to adapt to the new market circumstances. On the other hand, we have demographic trends, which in developed economies translate into an aging population that puts pressure on the social welfare systems. The solution in many cases is to extend the working life to maintain social security systems. In a nutshell , we will foreseeably have to work a greater number of years in the future. In summary, we have two major trends in the labour market: a continuous innovation process that rapidly cha...

In an earlier post, we spoke about the first Viking Rule to build a successful career: get to know yourself so you can find your vocation , the place where your talent meets what you like and what the world needs. The second Viking Rule is to understand the market needs. When you start your professional career, it is normal not to know how the labour market Works and what companies need and offer, so you may need to consult people with more experience than yourself to find out the long-term characteristics of each career path. A Mentor is a person with experience that helps you in your development within a formal program or as a result of a more spontaneous relationship. In other words, a Mentor is like a friend who listens to you and gives you advice on any subject that you are free to accept or reject. A Coach is something different, it is usually a specialized professional who directs you towards concrete results in the profe...

Gender Equality fosters birth rates and economic development in modern economies. I have found an interesting article that explains the rationale behind putting Sweden and Spain in perspective.  T he paper analyses the relationship between birth rates and attitudes toward Gender Equality in a range of countries. The conclusion is that traditional family structures in developed countries correspond to lower birth rates, while other countries with more Gender Equality in the workplace have higher rates.

En el lenguaje común hablamos de un expatriado cuando nos referimos a una persona que está residiendo en un país distinto de su país de origen. En el mercado laboral, y desde una perspectiva más técnica, se suele entender este concepto de una forma más restringida: La Expatriación es un  traslado internacional temporal   con compromiso de retorno a l país de origen, que se incentiva con ciertas compensaciones y ayudas  temporales durante el tiempo que dura la asignación. Las Expatriaciones suelen tener un horizonte temporal de entre 1 y 5 años, conllevan el mantenimiento del contrato en el país de origen. Este concepto se distingue de las asignaciones a corto plazo que suelen ser por un periodo inferior al año (aunque luego se puedan prolongar) y de los traslados permanentes que suelen conllevar la formalización de un contrato local en el país de destino. (Otras definiciones ponen el límite de la asignación a corto plazo en los 6 me...

Os recomiendo el siguiente artículo que habla de la iniciativa de Netflix de conceder bajas por paternidad ilimitadas, se publicó en el Huffington post hace unos años pero no ha perdido interés desde mi punto de vista: Here’s What It’s Like To Have ‘Unlimited’ Paternity Leave At Netflix .

Everyone has a place in the labour market.  Nevertheless, sometimes, specially when we face difficulties in our way, we perceive our place is hard to find.  These guidelines are mainly aimed at recently graduated students who look for their first job.  I have named these rules as " Viking " as they remind me of the attitude of these brave Scandinavians. The rules include both personal and professional aspects, and short & long term actions. Naturally, these rules apply equally to men and women.  T he Viking Rules to Build a Successful Career can be summarized in 5 points: A) Get to know yourself B) Understand what the market needs C) Invest continuously in training D) Act as a Viking E) Last, but not least, enjoy the journey.

I have already written about previous McKinsey reports on Gender Equality including “Why Diversity Matters” issued 3 years ago. The  global awareness for inclusion and diversity (I&D) has only increased since then. Companies regard Gender Equality as a source of competitive advantage. A new McKinsey report has been published in 2018, “Delivering through Diversity” confirming that  many successful companies regard I&D as a source of competitive advantage. The key finding of the report is that “The relationship between diversity and business performance persists. The statistically significant correlation between a more diverse leadership team and financial outperformance demonstrated three years ago continues to hold true on an updated, enlarged, and global data set.” The recent research is based on a set of over 1,000 companies.

Una carrera profesional conlleva mucho esfuerzo y exige constancia. No se trata de un esprint, sino más bien de un maratón, o mejor dicho de ir trabajando en nuestra carrera todos los días como el que cultiva diariamente un jardín. Hay que cultivar todos los días nuestra carrera profesional  Como resumen de las reglas vikingas, se podría decir que " Conocer tus preferencias " (regla 1) es saber qué árboles quieres sembrar, y "Tener un buen mapa del mundo laboral " (regla 2), es conocer el entorno de clima y tierra en el que vas a sembrar, ya que los  árboles crecerán más si las condiciones son las adecuadas.  Si tu plan no es realista, empezarás a sentir estrés y frustración, que son síntomas que te deben hacer revisar tus objetivos o el mapa del mundo laboral que tienes en la cabeza. Nuestra actitud tiene que ser armónica o estar en sincronía con nuestro entorno para que nuestra carrera fluya adecuadamente.