Career Management

How things have changed during the past quarter century!

It used to be common practice for people to join an organization fresh out of school and spend their entire worklife with one or two companies. You started at the bottom and worked your way up by performing well in your current job and by gaining the experience needed to move up a notch at the time.

You had to wait your turn, but your turn would come if you were a superior performer once your boss moved up or retired or if you had a sponsor.

In these earlier times, we saw our career progress hierarchically: non-management, supervisor, manager, director, general manager, vice president, and president. We grew with our companies; we put our time "in grade". This is the way the military did it and still does. Few would be on the fast track, most would be on the slower track. You wait your turn in line.

Times have changed. People no longer stay with one or two companies their entire career; they move more frequently, often to new locations. We are more mobile and more impatient. We are more loyal to our profession than our employers. Why? Because our employers have become less loyal to us, and because they have become more unstable in a more complex global economy.

So how do you manage your career in such a setting? The more unpredictable the environment around us, the more difficult it is. But people still succeed, they still progress up the line or across the line.

Our focus has shifted, by necessity, from the hierarchical view of career progress to a more circular one. You must work on growing your knowledge, enlarging your skill set, and expanding your capabilities. You must try to open up more choices, up and sideways. You have to find mentors and coaches who can guide you in your development, and maybe, even open up a door or two. You will need to gain traction in a rather slippery environment. You must differentiate yourself, and you have to invest in your brand.

You now need to focus less on job titles and more on job content. You find your sweet spot where your capabilities match your organization's requirements, and capitalize on your passion. You strive to do what you love, and love what you do.
You harness your motivation, your ambition toward being the best you can be in whatever field you choose to work.

It used to be that status and perks came with the job title. Now they can also come to those who are in high demand. Pay is not a significant differentiator anymore. Highly skilled professionals earn more than most vice presidents in banks, for example. Scientists often earn much more than managers.

It has been said that we spend more time at work than we do at home (awake)or in any other activity. My suggestion is simple. I have said it already. But, let me repeat it if you missed it: DO WHAT YOU LOVE, AND LOVE WHAT YOU DO.

Commit yourself to lifelong learning! In a fast changing world you cannot afford to stay still because you will soon fall behind, and you become obsolete. What worked yesterday might not work tomorrow.

The landscape is full of successful companies' carcasses who failed to adapt and change with the times.

Enjoy the journey along the learning curve; it will help your career.