Recently I’ve noticed a number of blogs and sites oriented to choosing your career. Without exception, the format is a traditional list of vocational choices: banking, marketing, finance, medical or even your dream career. Though this process made sense in the 20th century, in the new normal--the 21st century economy of chaos, volatility and uncertainty, that traditional model will not stand up to serious scrutiny.
There are a number of reasons, some well-researched, why the traditional model of career choice lacks validity.
Traditional career advice is linked to personality testing and is based on the belief that who we are is defined or explained by an “inner core” or a “true self.” Traditional psych tells us that we’ve formed a relatively stable personality structure with specific attitudes, preferences and values. If you’ve been through a college career testing program you know the tests are largely about your “preferences.” And, as the theory goes, they’ll help you determine a good career fit. Whether you’re introverted or extroverted, analytical or intuitive, like structure or a more chaotic environment, knowing your true self will help you avoid a dead-end pursuit of fame and fortune.
Still another flavor of career advice stems from development theory which says that people go through a series of age-related phases. Progress increases with each developmental stage causing us to shift priorities, “eventually attending to values and interests we had previously ignored.” As you get older, theoretically, you realize that many of your career choices were the result of your parents’—or teachers, spouses or friends’ recommendations. Eventually, as you mature, you become your own person—if you pay close attention to your development.
As Herminia Ibarra writes, the real weakness of both these theories is that they are built on a static view of the person. Your task, the advisor tells you, is to dig down into your core, find out who you are and follow your passion. To be blunt, the real truth of the matter can best be explained this way: digging down is peeling away the layers you’ve accumulated. But when you peel away enough layers, it’s like peeling away the layers of an onion. When you get to the bottom there’s nothing there. Aaaargh!
The fact of the matter is a very different understanding of identity and it tells us that we are not one true self, but a lot of selves. Furthermore, those selves exist in the past and the present, but we can barely forecast what they’ll look like in the future. In other words, as Hazel Markus of Stanford tells us, there’s a whole cast of characters in our hearts and minds.
So here’s the big question: if we are a whole cast of characters, how can we even begin to make a career choices? The good news is that new research has shown us ways to get at career choice that can give us far more job security and a better future, even in a highly chaotic and unpredictable world.
Stay tuned. I’ll work on the answer to that question in detail tomorrow.
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I’m really curious about the questions this blog has surfaced. I'd appreciate your comments.