If you haven’t noticed… NOTHING is going according to plan. So, why should your career only follow the path everyone says will work?
No two stories are the same! Your career path should fit your personality, your lifestyle, your priorities and what you want. Of course, you will need to live and pay bills, so let’s not get too far down the “follow your dreams” without a plan.
But … what do I mean by linear? Having a career that starts off in the mail-room to manager, to director and eventually retiring all from the same company…or a similar one…
… doesn’t exist! and if it does, it’s dying … and quickly…
Having a multi-pronged approach to your career is an ABSOLUTE must!
Most people still believe that “job hopping” is a problem. But the truth is, most companies expect you to job hop. Things are moving fast, there is a need for more innovative thoughts, experiences and ideas.
So think about it…
…you may not be growing as much in your current role in the way that would adjust to change in a fast paced market environment. How do you get innovative thoughts, experiences and ideas to become more marketable?
Here’s what you can do…
- Focus on transferable and relevant skills
- Break up the positions you are interested into the mandatory must have skills and experiences
- Practice challenging the norms, and see things from different angles and perspectives
- Increase your awareness to different cultures, industries, and social trends
- Have varied motivations. Money isn’t everything, so the key is to balance social impact (doing good), your self development with your career motivations.
- Create diverse networks. Build connections in different sectors, industries and geographic locations. It helps with perspective and learning more about trends.
- Embrace change. Be flexible. The hardest part of switching to a non-linear career path is worrying about what other people will think.
Not everyone will be on board, but they don’t have to. To change careers and take a nonlinear approach means you need to be “OK” with not being at the same desk, location, for extended periods of time. Or even working with one of “the big 4s”.
The key when embracing a non-linear career is to focus on what skills and experiences you want to achieve, and work on them. The title doesn’t matter as much.
Employers value your ability to apply your critical thinking based on your diverse experiences and skills. Organizations are changing and not in the traditional way they used to.