Monthly Archives: November 2010

Avoid the Arbitrary — Move with Purpose

Posted on by Bill Ryan

Nothing that you do should ever be arbitrary. That is what I was told in professional resume writer training. When writing a resume, every word, every bit of positioning, every design element must have an intentional reason — a purpose behind its use. Think about the value in completing a process, in which everything you do, every step you take is premeditated and not wayward. 

Do you think this methodology is reserved just for highly programmed code writers or artists? Perhaps, but there is a lesson in approaching pursuits both small and large with deliberation and with mindfulness. When searching for a new job or planning and following through with a career development decision, being random or inconsistent decreases your chances of achieving your goal. Getting what you really want and need from your work requires focus and sound decision making. 

Easily said and understood, right? Yet, the reality seems to be that most of us feel like we are chronically afflicted with attention deficit disorder when it comes to putting into action one of life’s most important undertakings — achieving a career of meaning. 

It becomes easier to approach career development systematically when you have a framework of best practices within which to operate. Professional people have all they can do to stay current and productive with their fields of expertise, plus all the activity life in general throws at them. Expecting that career management will come naturally or be fully understood with just conventional wisdom is not reasonable. 

Acquiring the necessary resources to comprehend the career process is desirable if you want control over the direction of your life. The good news is that the study of career development is not particle physics. You can prepare yourself or get a professional consultant to help. But either way, devising a customized plan that yields a career which optimizes life should be deliberate, purposeful, and not arbitrary. 

The issue arises, however, that just because we have the needed information to plan a career development direction, moving forward effectively is something else. Decision making, the base skill required, is a complex concept. How we orient ourselves to the world and its inhabitants and how we take in information both factor greatly in how we make decisions. 

It is helpful to reflect and to observe the way in which we make important choices. Just as there is no one optimal personality, there is no one best way to choose. But refining our skill in decision making is paramount if we are going to act strategically and not randomly. 

When helping clients think strategically about career related options, I like to get a sense of their desired outcomes. It is useful to know what kind of ball one is keeping their eye on. Achieving outcomes that lead to fulfillment, satisfaction, stimulation, and contentment can form the basis for individual strategic planning. 

Giving personal shape and meaning to these objectives is the first step in acting purposefully. Whether the goal is to simply extract pay and benefits from an employer or whether it is to satisfy intrinsic motivators, having a clear idea of what you want from your work is key. 

Sure, there is plenty to be said for the role serendipity and good luck play in how our lives go. But acting deliberately and shunning poorly thought out and arbitrary decisions can go a long way in helping us to live lives of full measure. 

Be In Charge of Your Career

Posted on by Bill Ryan

One thing that I have noticed during conversations about work with people aged fifty and over is how employer-centric they are. By that I mean that their assessment of how the job is going is driven to a large degree by how they see themselves being treated by their employer. 

I see that their reality, which has been deeply reinforced over decades, is that employees are fundamentally dependent upon whatever benevolence is provided to them by the employer. Operating under this assumption can turn work into a game of trying to please the boss, which is fine if you and the boss have a closely aligned mission and vision — but really, how often does that happen? 

In contrast, I see the younger generation of workers establishing a different viewpoint. They seem less tethered to their employers than their parents’ generation. There is an attitude that expects more of a symbiotic relationship — that is the employee provides value to the employer in exchange for compensation and respect. 

By which is meant respect for the employee’s career goals, their desire to achieve career-life fit, and for the quality of workmanship provided. The old employee/employer approach of, “shut up and do what you’re told”, is not likely to fly much longer. 

This relationship change implies that more of a negotiated deal needs to be reached between workers and management. As companies move toward building project-based and on-demand workforces, then it should be noted that many of the skill and knowledge providers companies need are increasingly developing an independent contractor approach. 

A pan-industry career skill among employers and employees is becoming the ability to negotiate a work arrangement that satisfies both parties as something closer to co-equals functioning with mutual respect. For the vast majority of still working Boomers, this is not the way we have operated, largely because we hoped for long-term employment with its long-term stability and security. (For the record, I am 57 years old). 

Younger workers are realizing this paradigm is changing. The art of continuous deal making, and a much more resilient and changeable work life, is becoming the new normal. 

Although less predictable, perhaps than in the past, this trend has some benefits for career development. The principal one being that individual workers will grow to be more independent minded and less reliant on single employers for employment security. As if we did not need reminders of the risk of employer dependency, the current Recession reminds us that the only one we can trust with anything approaching work security should be ourselves. 

Other advantages include an individual’s need to constantly define and communicate their value to others, honing negotiation skills, expanding industry networks, keeping a finger on the pulse of industry trends and opportunities, and staying sharp and contemporary with best practices while avoiding complacency and inertia.    

Extended employment with a single or limited number of employers has certainly provided compensatory benefits that have retained workers and to some degree engendered loyalty. Shifting that burden to individual workers can create anxieties, uncertainties, and challenges which can be unsettling and risky. Mitigating this downside while capitalizing and taking advantage of the upside can result in a career in which you feel more in the driver’s seat.