Product Life Cycle
The theory of a product life cycle was first introduced in the 1950s. It aims to explain the expected life cycle of a typical product from design to obsolescence.
The 4 stages of a product life cycle
All products go through the 4 stages
Stage 1. Market Development: This is when the product is first brought to the market. Sales are usually low at this stage.
Stage 2. Market Growth: This is when demand starts to accelerate and the size of the total market expands rapidly.
Stage 3. Market Maturity: At this stage, demands start to level off. There is limited growth.
Stage 4. Market Decline: In the final stage, the product loses its appeal and sales start to drop. Eventually, the product is taken off the shelves.
You can put all kinds of products on the life cycle to explain their growth and decline. Nokia mobile phones are one classic example that many people can relate to. The company started producing mobile phones in the 1980s. It enjoys its heydays in the 1990s and early 2000s.
When Apple iPhones were introduced in 2007, bringing in a new era of smartphones, the popularity of Nokia mobile phones started to decline rapidly.
In 2014, Nokia divested the mobile phones business to Microsoft, ending a three-decade run of a very successful business.
Product Life Cycle of a Jobhunter
Let’s apply the product life cycle theory to you as the jobhunter.
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Let’s assume that you earn your first diploma or degree and you start working in your early 20s. You are in the development stage. Finding the first job is always challenging as you have no experience or track record.
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After a few years at work, you move to the growth stage in your late 20s or early 30s. You experienced an acceleration in your career and your skills are in demand. You get promoted a few times and you change companies.
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By the time you are in your late-30s or early-40s, you reach the maturity stage. This is where you reach the peak of your career. There is a good chance that you can continue to grow in your career if you develop your product.
If you are still relying on your first education or the same skills that you started, you might go into the decline stage as early as your mid- or late-40s. You experienced your first retrenchment and you find that it is difficult for you to get hired at the same job level and pay.
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The reality in the job market is that many jobs are evolving and some are disappearing.
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Have you evolved your product in the last 5 to 10 years?
If you don't develop your product ("you"),
you will become obsolete.
Will humans be replaced by technology?
No, but jobs will evolve with technology.
Many intermediary jobs such as stock brokers or travel agents have gradually disappeared as technology has allowed us to perform many tasks by ourselves.
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In many supermarkets and departmental stores, you can buy items and checkout by yourself, without relying on cashiers.
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There used to be many bank tellers when you walked into a bank. Online banking has reduced the need for many bank tellers.
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Even in football, Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology is producing more accurate and unbiased results for referees.
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With the advancement of Generative AI, ChatGPT (GPT = Generative Pre-trained Transformer), a large language model chatbot developed by OpenAI, has the potential of performing text-based work in a very efficient manner.
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Jobs like copywriting, content writing, paralegal work, customer support, or even programming will be disrupted by ChatGPT or another Large Language Model (LLM).
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While I don’t believe that robots and AI will replace humans, I do believe that many jobs will evolve. As a jobhunter, you need to learn and evolve accordingly. Otherwise, you, as the product, will experience a decline. Your job may become obsolete.
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When I look at a CV, I want to identify growth in a person. The same goes for hiring managers. If a candidate is doing the same job for ten years with minimal progression, it often sends a negative signal that this person is not ambitious or not willing to take on more.
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To ensure that your product remains relevant, you need to invest in R&D!