Digital Transformation: Don’t We All Want the Same Thing?

Since my last blog post, I have gained a bit more pandemic perspective having still been on the network watch and still unemployed. Recently I have been seeing data reflecting frustration on the part of employers regarding their challenges in transforming to the digital environment across all industries. This really makes me want to chuckle considering the consistency of most job postings during the pandemic that all stress working experience in every digital platform imaginable. Clearly these employers are having difficulty finding candidates to fit these qualifications as many postings have been in constant circulation since December when I started sharpening my focus on a career pivot.

Ironically the only individual who has come through with effort to cut me a break economically during this crisis is a long-time friend of mine who happens to value the quality of my artistic talent rather than my technological prowess. He commissioned three original color pencil drawings which brought my mind back to where I originally started in this crazy design business. I remembered I had been here before, although under less extreme circumstances. Back when the emergence of Windows 95 for the PC made all drawing board work virtually obsolete, I had successfully made a similar transition 20 years ago. The only way I was able to do this was for employers to give me the opportunity to learn with them, and it was a pretty successful dynamic that took only a short time to prove itself.

Where is that spirit now in 2021? We all want to get to the same destination, but is it really fair or even valid for employers to hold out indefinitely for a new workforce that is slowly being strangled by the economic effects of a pandemic? Even those who managed to find employment in other industries risk their time and resources being eaten away as they lose the opportunity to pivot within the area where most of their true talents reside. The next question is, what is the ultimate goal for organizations anyway? According to “Sell Like Crazy” by Sabri Suby which has been a runaway best-seller during this crisis, potential customers are not even moved so much by the latest digital whiz-bang advertising technology, but rather by basic email communications and marketing that play to their deepest emotional needs. If you subscribe to his philosophy, you don’t need a digital marketing degree and years of experience at this game. Anyone can follow what he preaches and be a success with the right amount of moxie and tech support. Or is this roadblock more about the “us and them” mentality that always seemed to prevent crossovers between 3D and 2D marketers simply because of the tools they use (PC’s vs. MAC’s)?

Job posters need to get on the same page with job hunters in the post-pandemic economy, or there’s not going to be an economy worth returning to. Like the spirit of our first responders which we all applaud so loudly, organizations should drop their selfish interests and help their potential supporters out in time of need!