Diversity. If you have any connection to a corporate job, you’ve heard the word Diversity. You’ve probably had it ingrained in you. You’ve been taught the need for it, encouraged to embrace it, and heard the exultation of the positive impacts it can have to your company or your job — unless you work for Starbucks; in that event you got a crash course after everyone else.
What is diversity? Merriam-Webster says, ” the condition of having or being composed of differing elements : variety OR an instance of being composed of differing elements or qualities : an instance of being diverse.
In your work, you’ve been taught diversity means that having different people, cultures, ideas, genders, and any other trait or category that makes someone unique is good for business. It opens the work world to new ideas, opinions, and views. And tolerance of diversity is important to the success and open idea generation needed to advance the corporate culture.
And I’m not here to dispute any of that. I’m not knocking it, and I’m not trying to diminish it. I’m here to talk about a different kind of diversity. My message is toward personal diversity. Just as diversity in the workplace has been hailed as a tremendous benefit to business, personal diversity is a tremendous benefit to individual work potential. Expanding your horizons, learning new skills, tasks, and general knowledge opens the door to your future.
I’ve made no secret of the fact that I spent most of my corporate career in retail management. My world consisted of operations management, facility management, personnel management, merchandise management, inventory management, customer service, and vendor management. Those categories garnered more skills than I can count. I’ve handled budgeted sales of greater than $70 million. I’ve handled HR and wages for a staff exceeding three hundred employees. I’ve managed a staff of up to twelve managers, and thirty department managers. Average customer counts were greater than 3000 per day. I learned to respond to emergencies, natural disasters, develop contingency plans, and control difficult situations. I argue that a retail manager — dealing with diverse customers, employees, cultures, unexpected circumstances and situations — is exposed to decision making which rivals some of the most intense positions in the job market. Yet, as a job prospect the only thing anyone sees on my resume is “retail.”
My management skills are applicable to nearly any business out there, but once you are cubbyholed, it’s hard to crawl out. Thirty plus years in one career, with one company may have had its pluses (stability, consistency, benefits), but it had its drawbacks as well. Had my work history been more diversified, my job prospects might have improved when I suddenly found myself facing the end of my career.
But rather than jumping jobs to build your resume, take the opportunity to add skills which clearly transfer to other careers. Certifications which you can carry with you in safety, health, business, and technology serve as door openers. Some are simple to attain at a local community college or a business organization. Certifications can often help in place of a degree.
And speaking of degree programs, many of those jobs don’t care what degree you have as long as you have one. If you started a degree when you were younger (like me) then it might be beneficial to finish the degree. It’s something I’ve been giving strong consideration. If you do choose to go finish a degree you started, don’t forget to get a list of your corporate or company provided training. Those training classes you had to endure (while souped-up on the caffeine of ten cups of coffee and the sugar of a baker’s dozen glazed donuts from the snack table) might help you shorten the number of credit hours necessary. College credit for life experience credit or College Level Examination Programs (CLEP) are real things and they could lower both the cost and the time required to get that degree.
Keep records of the company training, especially if they translate to another career field. They’re hard to get after you’ve left the company. Those training classes may need to find their way into your resume as well. Did your company require you to be licensed or certified for a specific task? Those licenses and certifications can help as well.
Don’t discount vocational training if you have a skill in which you are interested. Even if it is merely for personal interest, it may serve you in the future. Your hobby might very well need to become your career some day.
So invest in diversity — your personal diversity. No one is going to do it for you.
