23: Your next job doesn’t exist yet with Christopher Bishop

Now Go Create

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the pace of change at work, worried about AI or just not sure where your own career goes next? This episode of Now Go Create might be the creative inspiration you need. Claire is joined by Christopher Bishop, a self-styled “Chief Reinvention Officer,” ex-touring rock musician turned IBM exec, and now author of the new book Improvising Careers: Succeed at Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet.

Christopher’s optimism is infectious. He shares personal stories from his nine wildly different careers (band on the road, TV jingle writer and IBM strategy role) and how curiosity, creativity and a love of technology powered every transition. More importantly, he explains why, in a world where the majority of jobs haven’t been invented yet, reinvention will become a normal part of people’s working life.

Highlights:

• Why the norm will be to have 8-10 jobs before you hit 40 and why that’s a good thing
• The “future career toolkit” you can use right now
• How to flex your creativity muscle (even if you don’t think you’re “creative”) and upskill for the unknown
• What a nanopharmacist, lunar tour guide, or AI ethics consultant might do... and why jobs like “AI trainer” are popping up daily
• How Christopher went from playing bass on stage with Chuck Berry to shaping IBM’s corporate strategy
• Practical tips for students, career-changers, and anyone thinking: “What should I be learning next?”
• Why it’s completely normal to feel unsettled and why the trick is to “chase the maelstrom,” not run from it
• The importance of frameworks and tiny habits when reinventing yourself
• What to do when the world feels nonlinear, ambiguous, or intimidatingly fast and where creative thinking fits in

Christopher and Claire also road-test his toolkit live, uncovering how your favourite movies, comedy shows, and even game shows can spark clues to your next career move. No matter where you are on your work journey, from Gen Z students to seasoned professionals this episode will help you become intrigued and excited about the future of work.

Let Claire become your creative agony aunt, please share a creative dilemma or challenge you’d like her to tackle on the show. Please email [email protected] to share your ideas and dilemmas.

About Claire Bridges

Claire Bridges is Chief Spark and Founder of leading creative training consultancy Now Go Create, whose philosophy is that everyone can be creative.

Claire worked as Managing Director and Creative Director working with global brands including Starbucks, Kellogg’s, Unilever, P&G and Danone in her previous PR career. Upskilling individuals, teams and organisations with practical creativity tools is Claire’s mission.

She’s one of only 250 people globally to hold an MSc in Creativity, Leadership & Innovation, and authored an Amazon best-selling creative handbook In Your Creative Element based on her academic studies.

Claire and her hand-picked team of experts have worked on thousands of creative projects and trained over 40,000 people around the world since starting Now Go Create in 2011.

Join our weekly email for free resources and worksheets to go with the podcast.

Connect with Claire:

Website: https://nowgocreate.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nowgocreate/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NowGoCreate

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/claire-bridges-b6205b14

About Christopher Bishop:

Christopher Bishop is a TEDx speaker, ex-IBMer, former touring rock musician, deep tech MC, future workplace consultant, quantum podcast host, and a firm believer in the power of innovative technologies to drive exciting careers.

He is the author of the groundbreaking new book Improvising Careers: Succeed at Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet, the career roadmap for the 21st century.

Chris has delivered Future Career lectures at top institutions in the US, including NYU Stern, Columbia, Georgetown, Duke, as well as in the UK at the London School of Economics, King’s College, Royal Holloway, Bayes Business School, and The Institute of Physics.

Chris’s sessions provide audiences with a socio-historical perspective on jobs and skills as well as insight into the business and career implications of bleeding-edge technologies, including quantum information science, artificial intelligence, cryptoassets, blockchain, fintech, augmented/virtual reality, genomic editing, and robotics.

Connect with Christopher:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherbishop123/

Buy Christopher’s book: Improvising Careers: Succeed at Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet https://amzn.eu/d/bAsgCka

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk