Today, a machine rejected me. I applied for a job and got confronted with ATS (applicant tracking system). This is when a computer analyzes your cv and decides whether or not you are suitable for the position. This is our present, imagine our future.
The time has come for us to take ownership of this future. We hear about skills, about new jobs, new markets and are trying to keep track of this innovation spiral; or we simply feel left out and are trying not to ask ourselves too many hard questions.
Well, we should. If we want to have a sit at the future’s table, we have to prepare ourselves for this future and get the right passport: the cv of the 21st century.
Where to stand in the digital era…
The digital area is impacting the jobosphere deeply, not only by creating new types of jobs or rending many others obsolete, not only by changing the way to apply for these jobs and the way we are being assessed, but also by profoundly modifying the way we define ourselves and think about the space we wish to occupy in this fast-paced world.
By giving us access to the information, the web confronts us to the old universal questions: who are we? What is our purpose? What is our role? According to the empowering vision of the internet, it should be easy to have our say – through social networks, personal webpages, forums, articles, etc.- and to be able to learn what we need to get where we want – through moocs, digital media, online portfolios, etc. Nevertheless, most people are not familiar with this brand new world, its tools, and its rules. From an egalitarian wish we move on to a more and more elitist society: the ones who master the virtual expansion, and the ones who keep stuck in shortcoming materiality. Indeed, the key to activate the web empowerment prophecy is once again information but not standing on its own. People need a conduit to the future.
A conduit to the future: digital me
In the good old days – today – we used a curriculum to present ourselves. On a piece of paper was standing our active profile, a blend of our identity, of our experience, of our abilities, of our activities. It was all there! All? Really? Curriculums have been socially accepted tools but have never quite managed to figure our potential and the upsides of our differences. In the world of the internet, our ability to connect, learn, share, expand, discover, is crucial and our curriculums should reflect them. The future is more accepting. Even more, the future is nurturing itself from the core of the humanity: empathy, creativity and entrepreneurship. These profoundly human things are what will enable us to continue progressing next to the intelligent machines that we will have built. Machines that will allow us to focus on developing our unique human characteristics while taking care of the rest. Slowly, the educational systems are evolving to focus more on our preparation to such world and life. It will take time but we have to keep trying and, for that, it is essential to keep our goal in mind: we have to become our future self. We have to enhance our human potential, we have to forge our digital identity, we have to proactively take ownership of our future.