What a pleasure to see some sun at last after one of the coldest and surely wettest winters for many years. There are buds on the trees and the birds are singing merrily. There is still a chill in the air but surely Spring cannot be far behind …

Talk of green shoots is also in the air with a technical end to recession and some increased consumer confidence. Yet a sense of fragility and uncertainty persists … it scarcely feels like recovery. And anyway, do we want to recover what went before or do we need change?

The issues that need to be addressed are being masked by the slow grinding process of politics and media analysis.  The prospective solutions on offer remain unclear and this uncertainty will continue at least until the general election is out of the way and there is a new wind to steer by.

Nevertheless, there is every reason to look now at our own individual readiness and whether we are fit to face the future. Readiness is about both our attitudes - how we choose to think about what’s out there - and our skills and abilities.

We need to be realistic. The landscape will be permanently changed in many sectors and we will not return to business as usual.  The structural changes in organisations - and in the public sector - will often be uncomfortable. For example, a client has recently told me of the effects on the UK organisation of a strategic shift in focus away from low growth, ageing Europe towards the Far East.

It will remain difficult for graduates and others to get started in the jobs market. Demographics and pressure on pensions mean that many will need to think of working longer than they might have hoped.

Those shaken out face the reality of not being able to find similar jobs.  Clients are needing to revise expectations about the type of jobs that will be available to people with their background and experience. 

To understand what is going on in our own spheres - and the career implications - we have to take time to observe, to listen and to reflect.  The opportunities that emerge may not be packaged as full-time jobs and may be more susceptible to freelance or interim working.

But we also need to be optimistic. Alongside the excesses and mistakes of the last 10 years, we have absorbed many positive developments – in technology, information, diversity, cultural awareness and exchange - that will feed new patterns of activity.

So we do need to understand the technologies and business models that are emerging in our own sectors – and be open to the differences and changes. Are our skills are up to date? Is our experience relevant? Is it transferrable?  Are we making the most of opportunities to learn?

Above all, challenging times put us on our mettle and encourage us to think about our own individual talents and motivation and values and how we want harness them to the world so that we relish the challenges ahead.

Jo Ouston
March 2010