Slash Youth is becoming a trendy topic in recent years. As the world becomes more uncertain and unpredictable, the youth’s career is becoming shifting. Rather than sticking to a particular job, many youths are now pursuing multiple careers simultaneously. These sets of youths are regarded as slash youths.
What does the slash mean? The word “Slash” first emerged in the United States and was introduced by Merrick Alber. It is used to refer to people with multiple careers. The same word first surfaced in 2016 in China, and since then, it has gained popularity among young people. If the question you have in mind is “What does a slash look like”
In this article, we will give you an insight into everything you need to know about slash youth. Let’s get started with what is slash youth?
What is Slash Youth?
Slash is an English word, meaning a diverse lifestyle with multiple identities and occupations. This kind of group usually introduces themselves with slashes. For instance, I can say that I’m a developer/writer/designer/producer. We can also refer to slash youth to be a worker with multiple professions.
In 1988, a survey was conducted by the China Youth Daily’s Social Investigation Center among people aged between 18 and 35. In this survey, 11.1% of the respondents identify themselves as slash youths, 52.3% of the population indicate that they are familiar with the word slash youth, and 46.3% of the respondents said they aspire to become slash youth.
Many people want to become slash youth. Some impressive things about being a slash youth are that they can’t be tied to a single job, they can explore more opportunities by themselves, they can earn more income, just to mention but few. With all these benefits, we can conclude that this way of life looks attractive and promising.
The question that will come to mind is “how do you become a slash youth?” How can you tap into your multiple professional skills? We will discuss it all in this article, but first, let’s get to understand the concept of slash youth.
What are Slash Careers?
According to Marci Alboher states in her book titled “The Original Guide to Slash Careers”, people with slash careers are those that are making several incomes from different careers at once.
Before now, a slash career is associated with creative jobs, such as Writer/Photographer or designer/video editor. But in recent years, it is becoming popular among millennials in traditional careers. An example is Jackie Jade, is a Blogger/Lawyer. Looking at Jade’s case, what began as a passion or interests has turned into a side hustle.
Why You Should Consider A Slash Career?
There are several reasons why you should consider a slash career. In this section, we will discuss some benefits of becoming a slash generation.
- Greater Work-Life Balance
Work-life balance and satisfaction are guaranteed when it comes to a slash youth. In a Ted Talk discussion, Nigel Marsh said that work-balance has little or nothing to do with the time spent on a particular area. Rather, it has more to do with fulfilment across different areas (which can include physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual) that help balance one’s life.
When you adopt a slash career, if you feel unsatisfied in a certain area, you can walk toward balancing another area while you still get to pay bills and meet certain needs. For instance, if you are no more feeling fulfilled in your job, you can decide to take up a new skill like coding during your leisure time. And with time, that new skill can develop into an additional career path.
- More Desirable to Employers
As a slash youth, you can become more desirable to employers. When you have slash careers, you will have a broader skill set, greater creativity and discipline. Most companies are always on the lookout for innovators who can help them take their businesses to the next level. And these qualities are common among people with slash careers.
- Supplement Your Income
It’s no more news that millennials are struggling with money. A recent national financial literacy survey concludes that people aged between 18 and 34 did worse than any other age group. This age group has a higher rate of overdrawing checking accounts, late mortgage payment, and issues with medical expenses. Having a slash career might not eliminate the financial literacy aspect, but it can pay for some needs.
- Learn new Skills
A slash career allows you to learn a new skill, which will make you stand out from other peers in your organization or field. For instance, if you are a content writer in your organization, and you find it difficult to advance to a new position. If being a skilled editor is requisite to take up a new position at your current employer, a slash career can help you develop those skills. For example, you can decide to take up a free or paid intern role as an editor for a company or writing agency.
- Stand out from peers
During a crisis, employers usually differentiate their employees based on their potential and value. You might find it dissatisfying to talk about, but it is necessary. In tight situations, who do you think employers will retain? The staff who can handle job A or the one who can handle job A, B, C, and D. We all know the answers to that question. The company will keep the staff who can handle job A, B, C, and D at the same time
When you have diverse skill sets, your employer will always have a place for you. Even though they won’t be putting your other skills to use yet, they are sure that you can handle more than one job at a time. If companies want to downsize their staff, people with slash careers tend to survive downsizing more than people with no slash careers.
How to Develop a Slash Career?
According to Alboher, you can’t develop a slash career overnight. It takes time. Additionally, she believes that it is much better to take up a career, master it well, and then move to another slash career. Alboher started as a mental health counsellor. After that, she started a blog and went on to become a social media influencer.
When looking for another job or career path, you should consider virtual work. With the level of technology now, it is easier to start your business online. You can also attend seminars and interact with other experts around the world. Considering a virtual path is recommended for people with 9 to 5 jobs as it gives them more freedom. Below are steps to guide you on how to develop your slash career.
- Step 1
Before you start developing your slash careers, you need to think deep, or you can get advice from a career coach. What interests you? How would you utilize your current skills, and what new skills would you like to develop?
According to Glennon Doyle’s, in her book titled Unnamed, you need to lean into your dreams and imaginations and answer this question with honesty. “What is the most beautiful story about your career than you can imagine.
- Step 2
When you are done answering step 1, you can write your answers down. Have a deep thought about your answers. While doing this, ensure that you pick a pen to note your answers down.
However, if you want to discuss your ideas, you can get in touch with a career coach.
- Step 3
After you are done with step 2, then you should start taking actions. This means that you should start doing something. While this phase will make you feel nervous, it does not mean you should put all your money at risk. It means you should take a huge step. It means you should take a huge step. If you don’t feel nervous about this stage, you should go back to step one to avoid being on the wrong path.
- Step 4
This step or phase is a repeat of step three. And you should continue until you get an extra job with a good flow of income.
Slash Career Examples
There are tons of slash career examples. An engineer who is a wedding photographer. The counsellor who takes content writing courses online, a banker who is also a fashion blogger, and many more. When you combine technology with human imagination, the sky is not the limit when creating your slash career.
How to Market Yourself as Part of Slash Generations?
When you have developed your slash career, you need to put your skills out there. There are several ways to do that. You can go on social media like Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and many more. On the other hand, you can create a website such as a business website or a personal portfolio that lists all your skills.
Creating a personal portfolio is a great way to let people know what you can do. Companies who hire for creative positions like a designer, developer, photographers, painter and many more will always request to see your previous work. With a portfolio website, you can easily professionally display your works. And the good news is that you don’t need to have coding knowledge before you can create an awesome portfolio website for your business.
Several platforms can help you build your website without stress with little or no expenses. Strikingly is one of the great options out there that you can consider. It’s pretty easy to get started with Strikingly. Below are some steps to get you started.
First, you need to create your Strikingly account. Go to our homepage and input your email address, first name, and password. Then click on the “Get Started” button. Don’t panic, it’s free!. Alternatively, you can sign up using Facebook.
- Once you are done with the registration, click on login and input your details. You can now access the full functionality of the Strikingly website.
- You can choose your desired template to get started.
- Start editing our awesome templates to fit your personal preference.
Once you’re done editing your website, publish it online and connect it to your social media web page. Then you can start engaging your potential clients. There several freelance websites that can connect you to individuals and companies who need your services. However, don’t forget to include your contact details on your personal website. Ready to get started as a slash youth, create your own website today.
