There is no doubt that the cost of living in some of Asian countries is much cheaper than that of European countries. As the largest continent with the biggest population on earth, Asia has rich natural resources as well as huge human resources. But do these assets guarantee an easy access to employment? Unfortunately, that is not always the case, especially in the era of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) where both business and talent competition becomes fiercer and more competitive.
AEC is aimed to build a strong economic integration in Asia by envisioning ASEAN as a single market and production base where there will be freer flow of capital and skills. With no border in the employment of foreigners, this means that local talents often have to compete with migrant workers. Therefore, if you still wonder around and have no idea of your place and role in facing the AEC, you should be wary of your future.
Yet, knowing your role in AEC might not be as easy as breathing the free air. People say, “Doing nothing will not get you anywhere”. The moment you take the first step out of the comfort zone, you will realise that we are living in the middle of a global crowd nowadays. If you have excellent skills and attitude to prepare for the AEC, there are good chances that you will be able to keep ahead of the competition and be on top of the game. Conversely, if you have poor skills and attitude towards AEC, you will be left out in the talent market. So which one are you planning to be?
Before answering the question, you should first know your role in AEC. By knowing your role, it will be easier for you to define your worth and compete in the job market. Here are 6 steps to help you find role in the ASEAN Economic Community:
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If you feel secured with your current skill, you are totally wrong. In today’s era called globalisation, you are required to constantly upgrade both soft and hard skills. To do that, you can either come to courses, sign up online classes, or simply conduct self-learning process and acknowledge yourself with the current issues around your area of expertise. However, you should be careful in selecting the courses as enrolling in the courses you don’t like will only waste your time and money.
To compete in the ASEAN Economic era, you should definitely alter that old mindset. It means that you should change your perspective and open up your mind. Enriching your perspective can be done by reading news or stories of successful people, or listening to podcast of successful figures. By doing so, you can learn how be an open-minded individual.
Don’t just be a spectator, be a doer too. In this AEC era, you should be smart in grabbing any opportunity. You might be happy getting promotion in your current company, but have you ever thought that you could be happier if you have your own business and open up employment opportunity for people who need jobs?
In that case, you should be able to eye and find good business opportunity. Don’t be shy to ask people for their advices because it will help you grow. Set up a plan and start realising it.
Following the step number 3, you can do this when you already build a business. Nonetheless, if you are a newbie in the industry, you should focus more on growing your current business before taking further step into the global market. In order to make your business known to people, first you should know the business target, understand the external and internal factors of successful business marketing, as well as conduct research regarding to your past business’ failure.
Having solid and accessible infrastructure is really important in doing a business. In today’s digital era, you can make use of everything, such as social media and online marketing, to build a strong and accessible business infrastructure. Not to mention, you should not forget your employees’ wellbeing in this matter as they are the company’s lifeblood that ensure your business runs well.
The last thing you can do is that you should be one of a kind. Having a different personality from others will be a very big advantage for you in surviving the ASEAN economic era because nowadays those who are not afraid of changes are the one who can stand strong. Nevertheless, being different is not as simple as folding a paper plane. Owing to this reason, you should be able to handle those obstacles of being different.
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