Yes a New Year is upon us. Happened faster than we thought. What else is new?

I think that there will be a lot of changes in the workplace in the coming year. There will be a shortage of talent especially top notch digital talent. Today, Digital Marketers, Digital Strategy folks, SEO talent, and programmers are all very hard to find.

If you don’t have those skills acquire as much game as you can learn.

More people will be moving around this year than ever before. Some companies will portray them as opportunists. Remember companies killed company loyalty, not employees.

So here are some career tips for the coming year.

First you must change because there is so much disruption in the world. Most people don’t like change. Changing your phone is easy. Changing your behavior is hard.

You start by acting upon the advice that is all around you. You are surrounded by career advice content.

Most people hear but few listen and a minority act. If you don’t change, circumstances will change you and you will have the additional stress of not being in control. If you don’t reinvent yourself you will be reinvented but that can be a painful path.

Don’t compromise your personal brand. I would start by refreshing all your personal marketing materials. I know you have read that before but here is some plain truth. I may have the perfect job for you and be connected with you on LinkedIn. I can also tell you that many people’s contact emails on LinkedIn are from companies they used to work for years ago.

Opportunities could be going to them that they never receive because they didn’t take the two minutes to make sure their emails are current. Your brand will be with you forever.

If you have an AOL email do people think you are a digital dinosaur? YES. AOL is older than your children. The digital world is a world of perception.

Content marketing is key for marketers and consultants. I am sure that you have read as much about content marketing as you have about big data in the last year. I personally know that content is a key element of my marketing mix. I try to market myself like I market my clients.

I am always amazed at how many marketers I check out online that aren’t in the content marketing or social media game. How can you lead and approve marketing programs in those spaces when you are a spectator instead of a participant?

The irony I have found is that many marketers embrace content marketing and improving their online presence as soon as they lose their jobs. They rush into LinkedIn.

You should also develop an editorial calendar for your online presence. There is a rhythm to news and in life and you should follow it with your material. You will find the time to be effective if you remove some distractions and activities in your life that aren’t really important in the long term and focus on what is. Your career isn’t a distraction because it is your livelihood and your family’s.

Also, content marketing requires critical mass. You won’t be the king of the internet with one YouTube video or one blog. You need to have enough presence to create a tipping point. My YouTube viewers increased dramatically when I had lots and lots of videos out there. Now I get as many viewers in one day as I used to get in a month. If you build it they will come.

This may sound like too much work for you so I ask you. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Where do you want to be a year from now or five years from now? When you read career tips a year from now will you be able to check off some accomplishments? In the New Normal people can becoming marketing dinosaurs quickly.

Connect with Hank on LinkedIn, Twitter, & Facebook:

Watch a Video called: Why Young People Shouldn’t Try to Get a Job.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdyeDv1Z7Rs]

I Love My Job.  I Just Want to Keep It.

Why Companies Need to Change Their Hiring Lens.