Why Companies Need to Re-think Their Approach to Careers

I am a Generation Xer, and worked in the telecommunications industry as it was going through massive shifts, consolidation and growth. In fact, in a span of just under three years, I had seven bosses and nine different roles – all while sitting at the same desk and working with virtually the same group of people.

Amidst all this transition, I recognized that I had the unique opportunity to broadly sample most of the marketing disciplines in my organization, from event marketing to managing collateral, advertising to channel marketing.

Eventually it seemed like a good idea to find an organization that was going through less transition. As I prepared my resume and shared it with my father, he advised me that unless I had seven or more years with a single organization, I looked like a “job hopper.”

Fast forward 14 years and five companies later, including a stint of self-employment. When I interviewed for my current role, it was my diversity of experience and ability to apply my broad skill set to multiple industries and a wide variety of roles that made me an appealing candidate. Post industrial revolution, companies succeeded by creating a sustained competitive advantage. They understood what they had to do to be successful in the market, and created development paths to give employees the training and experience needed to be successful in their roles and in the organization. Companies were like trusted families, and employees responded by giving up their autonomy for a sense of security and were rewarded financially all the way through retirement.

Then the market became more dynamic and less predictable due to the increased use of technology and product lifecycles began to shrink. Costs were increasing and companies were often forced to hire people for specific, new skills to keep pace with market changes. In this environment, employees began to be treated as costs, and as a result, companies stripped the rich benefits, training and even pensions from their employment packages. Individuals began to cycle through jobs at a more rapid pace, and the sense of loyalty and trust that had once existed became much more tenuous and strained.

It was into this dynamic work environment that many Gen Xers began to rise in the ranks – we heard stories of the largess that companies lavished on their employees, but were always just a little too late to take advantage of the training, and thoughtful mentoring, expectations of the “work for life” environment. Once again I turned to my father; unable to identify internal mentors, I often relied on him for advice and counsel as I navigated my career.

Today, markets are even more dynamic and less predictable. Organizations struggle to achieve and retain transient competitive value knowing that they could be replaced by an internet start-up out of a garage. Individuals with in-demand skills are sought after by employers while workers with lower specialization tend to be ever more interchangeable. In-demand employees have recognized the need to seek out opportunities to expand their portfolios – and they’ve been forced to do it on their own – by leveraging online resources for development and pursuing opportunities for growth, often by moving from company to company.

What used to be viewed as job hopping in my father’s day is now an indication, when done in a purposeful way, that the individual has taken charge of his or her own career. The shift from “career for life” to “career for me” has been empowered by access to online resources and given urgency by the lack of opportunities for formal training and learning in many organizations. With few exceptions, individuals with in-demand skills embrace the “career for me” mindset and it is causing a market disruption unlike any we’ve seen to date.

Organizations need to recognize this as a wake-up call to redefine their role in helping individuals build their careers. Employees shouldn’t have to leave to gain the experiences they need for career growth; instead, organizations should enable individuals to move laterally to add capabilities. While companies can no longer control careers, they need to play a significant role in enabling individual careers if they hope to retain the talent they need for success in the future.