Susan’s grandfather, Tom, got out of college, right after World War II. He was hired by a large company.  Over the years he rose through the ranks from Trainee to Manager to Plant Manager and, eventually to Vice President of Operations. After thirty years, he retired.

Her father’s story was a little different. He went with a big company after graduation. In mid-career, he went back to school for an MBA. In the course of his career he’s made several job changes. When he retired, he went to work for a nonprofit.

Things changed a lot between those two generations, but Susan’s career will be very different from the careers of either her father or grandfather. Her grandfather followed the classic GI career strategy, working for one company his whole working life and retiring to life he wanted.

By the time Susan’s father was in the middle of his career, companies had already begun downsizing and rightsizing. They concentrated on quarterly earnings instead of long term profitability. The result was that loyalty to employees became a thing of the past in most companies.

Susan’s father didn’t feel guilty about changing companies. He saw the need to continue his education. He’ll use the funds in his portable pension to do what he wants in his retirement. He chooses to retire to a second career that’s more emotionally rewarding.

Susan’s career will differ from both her father’s and grandfather’s. Here are some of the things that will characterize careers in the first half of the 21st Century.

Employability security will be more important than job security. It will be important for you to develop and maintain your skills so that there’s always a place for you, not matter what your current employer does.

Many alternative career paths will replace the upward career paths that used to be the only option. Climbing the corporate ladder won’t be the only option open to you.

Susan will be looking for a fit with the organization she works for and not so much with one specific job. Savvy companies increasingly will be looking to fit jobs to employees, instead of the other way around.

Where her father and grandfather put career success first, Susan wants to make sure that all the parts of her life, including work and family, fit together well.

Susan’s grandfather got his degree and never went back to school. Her father went back for an advanced degree. Susan will be working in a world where continuous learning and relearning will be required.

Her father and grandfather both stayed employed full time and retired at the end their careers. Susan expects to mix in some part time work and sabbaticals. She may not ever “retire” the way her father and grandfather did.

For her father, and even more so for her grandfather, even top performers had to “wait their turn” to get promoted. In Susan’s world, promotions and other rewards are more likely to be performance based.

Susan will live out her career in the 21st Century. She can expect a faster moving, more information-based world. She’s more likely to be rewarded based on merit and she’ll have lots more career options, but she won’t be able to count on loyalty from her employer.

In the world that lies ahead, neither you nor Susan can depend on your employer to handle your career planning and management. It’s up to you.

We’re designing Momentor to help you choose the Career Path that’s right for you. We’ll offer you resources, including mentors who help identify your Career Stage and meet the challenges it presents.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 16th, 2008 at 5:13 pm and is filed under Career Paths, Career Stages. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.