Not Your Father’s Career: Career Management for the 21st Century

Not Your Father’s Career

Career Management for the 21st Century

By Marti Benjamin

When I was 16, I landed a part-time position in the credit department of the Sears department store in my hometown.  Over a late-night snack at the kitchen table, my father told me how pleased he was that a big company that would provide job security for the rest of my life had hired me.  He saw the next 50 years of my life unfolding in that same department store until I reached retirement age and could exit, pension in hand.  For his generation, that was successful career management.

The days of lifetime employment are gone for most of today’s workers and professionals.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average length of time in a position is now three years and the average worker changes career fields completely at least three times in his or her lifetime.  Some experts estimate that young workers entering the labor force today will have five or six distinctly different careers during their work life. 

Career lattices have replaced career ladders.  Rather than a linear progression from entry level to management, today’s careerists are moving sideways and even backward in order to gain the skills and experience needed to achieve their career goals. 

New Realities of the Workforce

My father never expected his work life to provide personal fulfillment and satisfaction but my adult children and I do.  He felt life began after 5:00 pm; we see work as consuming too much of our life for it to be anything less than gratifying.

Many employers now recognize that an 80-hour work-week does not produce the best results. Meanwhile, fewer workers are willing to sacrifice a balanced life—time for family, recreation, intellectual interests, hobbies, community service and personal growth—for the hope of promotion and business success. 

I say, good for them; our communities will be better for their commitment to life-work balance!

21st Century Career Strategy

In this ever-shifting world of work, how do you prepare for careers that haven’t been invented yet?   The constant factors in career management are your core strengths and motivations:  what do you do better than others doing the same work?  Which of your personal qualities are most beneficial in the work place? 

Several objective assessment instruments, such as the Career Factors Inventory, the Motivational Appraisal of Personal Potential (MAPP) and the Strengths Finder® profile are widely available to help you identify your unique talents.  As new careers emerge, a solid understanding of your strengths, preferences and motivations provides the basis for choosing which will be a good fit. Your best career strategy will be nothing like the one that worked for my father. It will include all of the following (and more!):

Learning. Twenty-first century career management demands a commitment to lifelong learning.  As new technologies are developed and old processes streamlined, the ability to learn becomes a competitive edge.  Understand how you learn and the environment best suited to you, and make sure you stay engaged.

Curiosity. Develop a strong curiosity about trends and developments in your career field.  The Internet makes it easy to acquire information, but make sure you are using objective sources (not opinions and assumptions) and search multiple sites with different points of view to develop a comprehensive picture.  Consider how trends in technology, population growth, emerging industries and social issues will impact your field in the short-term (3-5 years) and the longer term.

Skill-based Jobs. In his book, Re-Imagine! Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age, management guru Tom Peters describes a world where workers engage in sequential projects in which they learn skills that will further their careers while simultaneously creating value for their employers.  These teams come together to produce a specific outcome; they share common goals, bring different skills, rely on collaboration and reduce the time required to complete the work.  The team then disbands and new teams are configured for the next project.  

Responsibility. Andy Grove, widely known as the CEO of Intel Corporation, told his employees that they, not the company, were responsible for their careers.  While Intel provided tuition reimbursement and paid sabbaticals, Grove stood firm in his conviction that career management was an individual, not a corporate, responsibility and that promotions and significant projects would go to those actively engaged in developing their careers.

Emotional Intelligence. In the world of project work and personal responsibility for career management, everyone needs relationship skills.  Much more than just staying connected on LinkedIn or Facebook or handing out business cards at networking events, emotional intelligence competencies include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management; these skills drive career success in today’s fast-paced and highly inter-dependent business world. 

Support Team. The lifelong process of career management depends upon a strong career support team.  You need at least three different kinds of expertise on your team: friends and family to provide encouragement, mentors for understanding the culture of the company and the requirements of the industry, and a Career Coach or Counselor for assessments, career plans and objective feedback.

Consider these questions as you develop your 21st Century career management strategy:

• What am I learning now that increases my value to a company or market?
• What am I investing in my career success?