Introduction: The presentation proposes a framework and a process for personal positioning strategies that newcomers can apply for navigating employability in the new market.
Purpose: This paper aims to help individuals facing the "what's next?" challenge develop a clear personal strategy for taking ownership of their strategic choices. It focuses on being strategic in acquiring the means needed for establishing employability, envisioning desirable positions in the new market, and measuring employability outcomes. The paper combines applied psychology related to significant choices with business market-entry strategies to assist individuals in investing in their competitiveness.
Method: The personal strategy work process involves investing in employability skills as market-entry entry points, making strategic choices, clarifying a desirable positioning in a new market, and measuring employability outcomes.
Results: The paper identifies four types of personal positioning strategies, each aimed at helping individuals invest in their employability to achieve competitive standing in the new territory for them. These strategies vary in terms of methods, options, positioning techniques, and employability measures.
Four distinct types of strategic choices define personal positioning strategies: career GROWTH-focused, securing a JOB-focused, crafting an EDGE-focused, and preserving the SELF-focused. Each of them reflects the nature of the necessary employability means and outcome measures.
Implication: Conceptually, the method broadens the scope of one discipline to enhance our understanding of what employability means and how it can be invested in. Two main groups of stakeholders are likely to benefit from this study, especially if the proposed framework is used for further research and policy development. The first group includes individuals facing the "what is next?" dilemma, such as graduating students, career changers, and life changers (e.g., retirees, veterans, caregivers), and skilled immigrants. Educational institutions, government workforce development agencies, and hiring organizations also stand to gain from this approach.