This past year, YSN decided to get a closer look at college students around the globe to better understand the next generation workforce young people launching their careers. In case you haven’t heard, over the next 10 years more than one billion young people will enter the workforce. They may be your kids, your staff, your partners, your peers or even your competition, but however pervasive they may be in your world today, it’s time to ask yourself if you’re ready for these sweeping market and demographic changes. Are you globally savvy or internationally challenged? Are you ready to join the new world order?

The “Global Career Mindset Study” we conducted was the first of its kind, surveying students from 50 countries. The most compelling finding: 55% of students are looking abroad to launch their careers, and only 20% plan to look for work locally. What’s more, they’re skilled, they’re ambitious, they’re hungry for new opportunities to show the world what they can do, and they’re savvy — about politics, geography, world affairs and culture. Plus, they have the business skills the top employers and entrepreneurs are looking for in young talent.

Between the current economic turmoil and the workforce crisis, building a solid business or finding and keeping a great job is going to require a lot more effort. If you want to give yourself every possible advantage, it’s time to expect more from yourself. I firmly believe the smartest thing you can do to be competitive in the global workforce is to become more globally savvy, aware, skilled, refined, and cultured. Stop thinking of your own city or country as your community and start thinking of yourself as a citizen of the world. A few tips:

• Keep up on international news. Read it online or watch international news broadcasts.
• Build and nurture relationships with people from other countries, on and offline.
• Join international membership organizations.
• Attend and participate actively in global conferences and events.
• Travel as much as you can to experience different cultures first hand. In your own country, spend time with immigrant families with a strong sense of their native culture. (Visit with them in their homes if you can)
• Learn different languages. At the very least, learn hoe to exchange pleasantries (hello, how are you, nice to meet you, thank you, goodbye) in a few different languages. Practice and learn more every chance you get.

Lastly, open yourself up to new and different experiences. Embrace the idea of things and people who are unfamiliar and look at your exploration of the world as an adventure that will not only open up your opportunities, but change the quality of your life.

My best advice: Think like an economist, act like an entrepreneur and set your sights globally.

Early in my career, after I’d helped my first few hundred people discover new career paths, businesses and organizations to launch into, I found myself wondering why different industries fascinated me so much. It didn’t matter whether the topic was entertainment, finance, apparel, aerospace, publishing, technology, food service, fitness or stranger stuff like neutraceuticals, biofuels or nanotechnology! Every industry was a totally different world that had different experts, jobs, media, events, publications, education centers, trends, definitions of success, terminology and even dress codes! And every single one was packed with opportunities as limitless as your imagination.

As if all that wasn’t intriguing enough, there were endless ways you could find or invent opportunities in any combination of industries. For example, take animals. With a traditional eye, you’d probably think your career options might include pet stores, veterinary medicine, breading and boarding. But cross a love of animals with all the other ways you could serve them and their owners and you get clothing for pets (apparel), gourmet pet bakeries (food service), organic health supplements (neutraceuticals), magazines and books (publishing), animal tracking devices (technology), and so on. With a little creativity you could have a field day coming up with ways to play in this world.

Then one day, my good friend Bob Cohen from the Harvard Office of Career Services explained to me the difference between “function” and “industry.” Simply put, function is what you do, industry is where you do it. Your industry, he explained, is your playground. It’s the world where you can have the most fun doing what you do best.

I realized right then that one of the biggest things holding people back from loving what they do is not knowing what industries they should (or should I say want to) be in. And the simplest way to figure this out, if it isn’t already obvious, is to get someone to think about what they love doing. If you love playing video games, consider working in the video game industry. If you love music, there’s a whole other industry to play in. What you do in that industry is a question of function. You can be a writer in any industry, right? You can be doctor in any industry. An accountant. A teacher. A marketer. A salesman. The world really is like one big candy store of options and opportunities! You just need to find your industryxthen dive in.

Once you’ve identified your playground, it’s just a matter of getting yourself into the middle of all the action. Join the trade associations, subscribe to the blogs and newsletters, buy the top magazines, attend the conferences and events, follow the hottest experts and stay on top of the trends. For more information on how to Master Your Universe, check out the 10-minute podcast from our NY Times Bestseller, Secrets of the Young & Successful.

Think of your industry as your playground and this powerful secret of the young & successful will cause a paradigm shift that can instantly turn your career exploration into an adventure.

Let’s face it, we’ve all done things we’d prefer to keep private — from embarrassing 6th grade photos of your “awkward stage”, to that crazy weekend that really should NOT be documented, but instead go to the grave with you and your best friend.

The Internet offers many amazing opportunities, but the reality is, it can also take them away from us.

Have you ever tried to google yourself? You should! It’s not just a vanity thing either. Today, investigating yourself online is what we like to call an ONLINE AUDIT.

Think about this. You’re in the process of just launching or building your career. Maybe you’re in your own business, or the officer of an organization. Maybe you’re in the midst of pitching yourself as an applicant against a sea of others eager for the same opportunity.

When you’re looking to learn more about someone, you look for them online, right? Well, so do most people!

What do others find when they search for you?

NOTHING

If I go to google someone and nothing comes up, my first thought is “haven’t they done anything notable in their lives”? At very least, I expect to see sports photos, or school photos, or an online profile (business or social) that says they’re engaged in the outside world. If they’ve reached a certain level of success, I assume I’ll find a bio, a web site, or something that acknowledges their career, their journey so far. Finding nothing doesn’t even really say NOTHING. In some instances, it actually says a lot.

STRICTLY SOCIAL

Okay, if someone is only visible via social sites and party recaps, you’d better bet I’m going to look a lot more closely for any signs of what they do on the professional side. Who knows what I’ll come across then!

SCARY STUFF

I don’t think we need to go into too much detail here, but anything that could possibly be construed as inappropriate, rude, mean, indecent, incriminating, or in poor taste can become a big problem for you. It’s not just your friends who can see this stuff (unless you’re profiles are set on private – but that’s no guarantee either.) People lose important opportunities and potential relationships every day because of what people find. If you’re not sure how others may interpret something about you, share it with some close friends to get their impression. Then pull it down, or beg your friend to remove anything questionable. Write to companies that post information on you that’s too personal or erroneous. Clear the record. Make a real effort to clean up your image online.

In every one of these instances what’s missing is your PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY. Who are you and what have you accomplished? What are you aspiring to do with your life? What do you really want recruiters, your employer, colleagues, educators, mentors, big contacts, and even your family to know abut you? This is the information that people really should find about you.

“Get your priorities straight!” is typically a comment or barb that comes hurling towards you in the heat/fog of bad judgment; but at YSN we rarely hear it talked about as a tool to empower you, make you happierxand of course, make you more successful. If you really think about it, having a clear sense of YOUR priorities, at any point in your life, is critical to making the right choices to keep you on the right path for YOU.

Think of your priorities as your own personal decision-making filter. Any time you have a decision to make that involves allocating your time, money or energy — from where to spend the weekend to how to spend the next few years of your life — run the idea through this PRIORITY FILTER.

Take the next 3 minutes and a pick out your top 5 priorities from the list below.

ACHIEVEMENT (sense of accomplishment)
ADVANCEMENT (promotions)
ADVENTURE (new and challenging experiences)
AFFECTION (love, caring)
COMPETITIVENESS (winning, taking risks)
COOPERATION (working well with others)
CREATIVITY (being imaginative, innovative)
ECONOMIC SECURITY (financial stability, independence)
FAME (being famous, well-known)
FREEDOM (autonomy, independence)
FRIENDSHIP (close relations with others)
INTEGRITY (honesty, standing up for one’s beliefs)
INVOLVEMENT (participating, belonging)
LOCATION (city/country, near family/friends)
LOYALTY (duty, respect, obedience)
ORDER (tranquility, stability, conformity)
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT (use of potential)
PLEASURE (fun, laughs, leisurely lifestyle)
POWER (control, authority, influence over others)
PRESTIGE (reputation, image, status)
RECOGNITION (acknowledgement of worth)
RESPONSIBILITY (accountable for results)
SELF-RESPECT (personal pride, identity)
VARIETY (diversity of projects, newness)
WEALTH (making money, getting rich)

Now you’ve got your own PRIORITY FILTER. Keep the list in your wallet, on your wall, in your deskxwherever you can see it often and refer to it quickly. But first, take it for a spin. Test it out on your current job. Or if you’re a student, test your current life against it. It should tell you a lot!