Like many people, we spent part of Labor Day at a cookout. And somehow, over the ribs and corn and drinks we got to talking about careers and how we all wound up where we did. As the conversation went on, I noticed that the way we chose our careers split along generational lines.

Oldest first. Some of our number were in their seventies. They were born into the depression and came out on the other side of World War II wanting a certain amount of security. Two of the fellows in that age group quite literally picked what to do based on reading government studies of the most lucrative careers.

Both became engineers. Neither was interested in their particular kind of engineering when they started though both became experts and did well.

The other 70 plus year old had been an ophthalmologist. He decided to be a doctor, making his mother happy, and then picked his specialty based on the idea that he wouldn’t be called out in the middle of the night.

What stuck me about those three men is that they all simply walked away from their professions when they retired. They cancelled subscriptions to their professional publications and got on with, as one of them put it, “the life I earned.”

Tom and I were after self-fulfillment in some form. He loved sales and was good at it. Eventually he wound up growing a company and selling it off so he could go back and do it all again. I started out in the corporate world, found out that I wasn’t good at it, and wound up with a career where people would pay me to be interested in lots of things.

Our children see things differently. One is creating his career in construction. He got a degree in construction management. When he got out of school he got a job with a construction firm. He’s made three moves so far, one involuntary, and he’s still in the field. He loves it and the people he works with.

Another product of that generation didn’t know what she wanted to do. But she took a job because she needed to support her husband while he was in school. It was in customer service and she discovered that she was good at it. She loves her co-workers and helping others.

For the oldest among us on Labor Day, there was a strong practical focus: how can I make a good and steady living. Hence, there were two lives, the one in the chosen career and the one afterward.

For my generation it was all about self-fulfillment. For the youngest among us there was a different kind of practical focus. One picked a career based on interest. The other wound up in a career where she makes good money doing work she loves. Loving the work and the people you work with seems like the mantra.

This is hardly a scientific survey. It’s one Labor Day cookout with one limited selection of people from three generations. But there’s something that seems right about it. How are you making your career choices?

I grew up in a time when people were expected to have career plans. As I recall, mine had a goals that was something like: “Be the President of a major multi-national corporation by age 40.”

Heck, I was young. I not only didn’t recognize limits, I didn’t recognize that there were limits.

On the first day of high school at the venerated Bronx High School of Science, many of us shared our plans with each other. I only know of one person who actually lived out the plan he had then. The rest of us wound up doing it differently.

One fellow tried two or three careers, doing graduate work for each one. Then he stumbled onto real estate law because he had an apartment house to manage. People who planned to be scientists discovered that they loved teaching and made a career of that.

It wasn’t that we aimed for things that were unreasonable or unachievable, even though that was true in some cases, like my own. A little time in a corporation convinced me that while I was smart, talented, and a hard worker, I simply didn’t have the temperament for corporate life.

For most of the other people I knew, it wasn’t that they changed career goals because they couldn’t achieve the ones that they set. Most of them changed because they found something they were good at and liked better.

Some successful people didn’t write out a detailed plan. They had what I call a “non-plan.” They knew generally what they wanted to do, set about doing it, and then followed the path where it led them. One woman I dated said she wanted to be a writer, and so she is today for one of America’s most respected publications.

In the beginning, the problem is often that we simply don’t know enough about ourselves and the world to make wise choices. We don’t know what some of the choices are.

And we don’t understand that some career patterns don’t lend themselves to careful mapping. Check out the material on this site about four different Career Paths to see what some of the options are.

Plan as much as you need to, but keep yourself open to the opportunities that will come knocking. Sometimes they’ll come knocking with the sense that you’re bored or unhappy where you are. That will probably happen several times in your career.

Determine what Career Path is right for you. Identify your strengths. Then a mix of a little planning and some scanning for opportunity is the way to go.

How many people are in your company? How many are just like you?

No matter how big the number is when you answer that first question, the answer to the second one is always the same. Zero. The answer would be the same if asked you how many people in the world are like you.

You’re unique. Your life and career will be unique. The big question for you is, “How can I create the life and career that are perfect for me?”

Don’t expect much help from your HR department. Most HR departments are “one size fits all.” Some are little more flexible. They’re “two sizes fit all.” One size includes “high potentials.” The other is for everyone else.

The good news is that some companies are starting to recognize that “one size fits all” career development is a bad idea. A few of them were covered in a recent Human Resource Executive Online article titled: “Flight of the High Performers.”

Don’t let the title fool you. The core of this article is about companies who are finding ways to let everybody take charge of some of their own career development.

At Dow Chemical, a program called My Profile allows all employees to share their experiences and aspirations with the company. At Wachovia, a program called hGrid gives IT employees a way to connect with interesting projects. At Hewlett Packard, a program called “People Promise” is designed to help individuals find options for their career development.

This is good news if you work one of these companies. If you don’t, you’re still stuck with “one size fits all” career development, unless you do something about it.

In most companies’ the “one size” is for people who want to move up in management. If that’s not you, check out the different Career Paths we’ve identified so you can start customizing your own path.

Even if you do work at a progressive company with more than one career option, you may not work there forever. In the end, the life and career you have are your responsibility.

At Momentor, we’re building a site where you can find the resources and mentors you need to make sure you live the life and career that’s perfect for you and you alone.

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.

To recap this series, we’ve explored:

• Part 1: Get on YOUR Path to Success explored the importance of understanding who you are can contribute to a feeling of personal success.
• Part 2: The Manager path.
• Part 3: The Specialist path.
• Part 4: The Entrepreneur path.
• Part 5: The Generalist / Project Manager path.

To wrap up, we’d like to challenge you to think about which path you identify most with. Maybe its one, maybe its a combination of a few. The important thing is that you understand where you are and where you want to go. If they aren’t aligned, the theory could give you some interesting insight into where to go next with your career.

Now is a great time to do a quick self-check regarding which of the aforementioned career paths seem to best describe your career preference in the future based on your own interests, values, motives and skills. And the real question is whether or not there is something else you could be doing that would make you happier?

Stay tuned for next week when we’ll begin to explore another aspect of careering known as you Career Stage.

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This is part 5 of our multi-part series on the importance of figuring out your career path perspective. Click here to review part 4.The fourth, and final, path we will explore in depth is…

GENERALIST :
This career path preference is best characterized by those who gradually change jobs and career over time but utilize the foundation of previously acquired skills, knowledge and abilities. These generalists generally move either laterally or upwards increasing their breadth of knowledge and experience along the way. Individuals who follow this career path tend to prefer new challenges and assignments that will enable them to grow and develop professionally. This career path preference is particularly well suited for project and program management assignments within organizations.

Anchors and Motives:
Typical career anchors and motives of these individuals include professional growth and personal development, learning, coaching, developing others, and innovation.

Appropriate organizational rewards:
Appropriate organizational rewards for these individuals might include cross training, job rotation, project management, tuition and educational reimbursement and coaching and mentorship assignments.

Next Steps:

Being that this our last career path, we’ll wrap up this series in our next post. This will include an exercise to help assess which of the four you are most like.

To Be Continued…

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This is part 4 of our multi-part series on the importance of figuring out your career path perspective. Click here to review part 3.The third path we will explore in depth is…

ENTREPRENEUR:

This career path preference is best characterized by those interested in rapid job, career, and occupational changes over short periods of time. These individuals enjoy working on diverse projects, tasks, assignments, and business ventures with measurable and visible outcomes.

Anchors and Motives:
Typical career anchors and motives of these individuals include: entrepreneurship, achievement, autonomy, variety, risk, challenge, change, freedom from organizational constraints, flexibility, creativity and diversity.

Appropriate organizational rewards:
Appropriate organizational rewards for these individuals might include flexible schedules, short-term projects, independent contracts, consulting assignments, start-up operations, job sharing, and bonuses.

To Be Continued…

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This is part 3 of our multi-part series on the importance of figuring out your career path perspective. Click here to review part 2.The second path we will explore in depth is…

SPECIALIST/INDEPENDENT CONTRIBUTOR:

This career path preference is best characterized by those interested in remaining in one career field or profession for much of their working life. Along the way, specialists are able to highly refine their technical knowledge, skills and abilities. Specialists are less interested in moving up as they are in becoming the expert and having autonomy to do things their way.

Anchors and Motives:
Typical career anchors and motives of these individuals include technical and functional competence, expertise, skill mastery, service to others, independence, affiliation and security.

Appropriate organizational rewards:
Appropriate organizational rewards for these individuals might include: job enrichment, continuing education, membership in professional associations, recognition, motivational programs, organizational benefits, sabbaticals, tenure and job security.

To Be Continued…

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This is part 2 of our multi-part series on the importance of figuring out your career path perspective. Click here to review part 1.

The first path we will explore in depth is…

Path #1 - MANAGERIAL:

This career path preference is best characterized by those interested in continually moving vertically up the organizational ladder into traditional supervisory and managerial positions with increasing spans of control, responsibility, power, and authority.

Anchors and Motives: 
Typical career anchors and motives of these individuals include power, influence, leadership, control, task accomplishment, status, managerial competence, and directing others.

Appropriate organizational rewards:
Those of us who prefer the managerial will typically feel rewarded by: upward mobility, promotion, special perks, titles, and organizational symbols of success (e.g., profit sharing incentive plans, company car, stock options, financial planning, expense account, club memberships, etc.).

To Be Continued…

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A few weeks back I conducted a leadership workshop for about 200 leaders of at a large University medical center. At just about every break the most popular question to me was, “how do you lead talent who don’t really want to be led?”

I’m sure the question was “code” for leaders struggling to unlock the “what’s in it for me” key that will engage their followers. Unfortunately for leaders and followers alike, we are all pre-wired with a set of interests, values and motives. ”Wishing” to simply wake up and start loving what you do will NOT translate into a spontaneous feeling of career satisfaction and overall happiness.

If only we all truly understood how our personal interests, values and motives were wired - and could put it into a simple language that would allow our bosses to understand how to engage us - we could unlock some of the mystery surrounding effective leadership (and followership).

Based on our research, we’ve discovered four major “Career Paths” that we all can fall into at any given time.  They are:

• Managerial
• Specialist/Independent Contributor
• Entrpreneurial
• Generalist.

People who are happy within each career path will be motivated by very different jobs, responsibilities and activities.

We will visit each one of these career paths further in future articles, but it’s important to recognize that understanding where you stand within these groups will help you to determine what kinds of jobs will keep you energized month after month… Or even why you’re unhappy with what you’re currently doing! Couple this with knowing how to identify where others stand will help you find mentors to get you where you want to be. 

For example, if I knew I wanted to be a manager in a Fortune 500 company one day then seeking a mentor that is anchored in the values of an entrepreneur will probably be a lose-lose proposition. The concept may seem simple, not it’s not much different than the highly successful sales person (a tried and true specialist) who gets promoted to Sales Manager (a managerial position) and fails miserably. It’s a very similar situation that happens all the time!

To Be Continued…

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