Your Human Capital Goes With You

I was still thinking about the number of layoffs that have happened recently, and it got me thinking about a book I read by Terri Savelle Foy entitled 5 Things Successful People Do Before 8:00 A.M.

In the section entitled Invest in Yourself, she talks about human capital. She uses Sir Richard Branson as an example. Her argument is that if Sir Richard Branson lost everything and was left with only the clothes he was wearing, he could rebuild because of his human capital.

But Sir Richard Branson isn't the only person who has human capital.

You do, too.

Terri describes human capital as your “wisdom, knowledge, competency, skills, and experience.”

The more we invest in ourselves by reading books, attending seminars, learning new skills, hiring a coach, and gaining experience the more our human capital grows.

And this is what I want to say to those of you who have recently been laid off:

You may have lost your job, but you did not lose your human capital.

You didn't lose the years of experience you gained.

You didn't lose the problems you've learned how to solve.

You didn't lose the lessons you learned from your successes or your failures.

You didn't lose the relationships you've built.

You didn't lose the skills you've developed.

And you didn't lose the wisdom you've gained along the way.

All of that goes with you.

A company may decide that it no longer needs your position, but that doesn't erase everything you invested in yourself while you were there.

So, if you're looking for your next opportunity, don't just look at what you've lost.

Take inventory of what you're carrying with you.

Write it down. What do you know today that you didn't know five years ago? What problems can you solve? What have you become really good at? What experiences have prepared you for something you haven't even considered yet?

Your job was one place where you used your human capital.

It wasn't the source of it.

And maybe your next opportunity will give you the chance to use it in ways you haven't imagined yet.