Suppose you are an office employee, in whatever level you are assigned, you will be running the risk of losing your job if you do not follow the trends and do not consider that self investment is necessary to keep up with the tremendous change in office routines.

To be in demand

• Office support staff need the skills to do graphics for presentations, manage complex communication systems, need strategic thinking and employ all efforts to work more efficiently.
• If you are a middle manager, you need more knowledge and skills of office management in dealing with unpredictable events in such instability of political and economical situation. Possible strike due to increase demand of employees will have a significant impact on product delay or service distribution, let alone financial risks.
  If you are an entrepreneur – you will lose your money. If you are an employee – your career is at risk.
• If you are manager, you have to be ready in dealing with unexpected events inside and outside your organization. Be prepared with handling issues and crisis management.

Organization reputation is number one, but your personal integrity is somewhat dominant. You will lose your chance of getting higher position just because you pay no attention to your ‘personal enterprise’ – you employment value.

• Today’s career is frightening, like a game with the unexpected moves and rules, often random, twists and turns. A mistake can mean that game – your career – is over.

If you are not ready to leave your present job in the next three years, you need to learn the tips from C.D. Peterson in his book Staying in Demand, on how to increase your self-investment

1. Commit yourself to never ending education and training
2. Evaluate what you are now and what your employment value to be
3. Decide your self investment strategy.
   Either become expert in one field or a generalist in several.
4. Achieve balance between expertise and flexibility
   If you become a generalist, stay flexible. If you choose to be an expert, totally focused.
5. Always be ready to recycle your skills, adapting them into newly marketable forms.
6. Develop tour hard and soft skills. 
   Hard skills such as language, science and mathematics, quantitative technique, statistical analysis, computer-based knowledge. Soft skills such as interpersonal skills, leadership, team building, timely decision skills, information gathering, political skills and versatility : board competence and adaptability.