Defining Career Continuity

When this blog started out the posts were a lot more frequent (Apologies), as was my reliance on the dictionary.

Don't worry, this isn't another one of those articles about how things were better in the past (How the sun shone longer, confectionery was virtually free and there was no street crime, etc, etc.) but I do look back sometimes and think how much the dictionary helped.

Getting to grips with the words we all use to describe our relationship with work, our careers, what motivates us and so on, was a real eye opener because it turns out that plenty of these words have more than one meaning.

As a result - you guessed it - these important words could mean one thing to you and something completely different to the person next to you.

In anyone's book that can lead to trouble communicating.

(New English Dictionary - not the most precise definition in this case)

As the dictionary definitions came thick and fast - OK, in truth there was only really a handful - it became apparent that some of these words had meanings that took on a new relevance and importance within the world of work and careers.

Explorations into our individual relationship with work brought changes so the language people needed to express themselves had to change too.

It's been a while but these changes in work, and in the language used to describe it, have caused me to re-open the dictionary and offer a new word and a new definition today. That word and that subject is, 'Continuity'.

The idea of continuity in careers is definitely changing. Continuity in the past (you might prefer the word stability, or theme, or consistency, or something completely different but I like continuity) was mainly spoken of in terms of employment. "How many years have you been in continuous employment?" is a question you might recognise from questionnaires and forms.

Now and in the future, 'career continuity' can also mean something different. It has taken on a new meaning that goes beyond employment and refers to an individual person and the life-span of their career too.

As you can see below, I have borrowed from the style of a dictionary - Yes, Dictionaries do have style! - to try to expose a little more of this new 'career' dimension behind the word 'continuity'.

Take a look and see what you think...

continuity

noun ( pl. continuities)

1 the unbroken and consistent existence or operation of something over a period of time : you can find a new continuity behind your career choices

• a state of stability and the absence of disruption : your career experiences demonstrate a continuity that goes beyond employment.

• (often continuity between/with) a connection or line of development with no sharp breaks : learning more about your individual relationship with work will help you discover a new sense of career continuity

2 the maintenance of continuous action and self-consistent detail throughout your career

• the linking of career items with a common theme and through all forms of communication (spoken, written, electronic, etc.)

ORIGIN late Middle English : from Old French continuite, from Latin continuitas, from continuare ‘continue,’ from continuus (see continuous).

I'll admit that the above definition only really makes sense if you can experience the difference between a lack of career continuity and possession of it. [or in the absence of possession, an understanding of career continuity at least.]

Without a sense of continuity, there is a good chance that your career can feel lost at times (e.g. if you are out of work for long periods).

With a sense of continuity that stays relevant to your career whether you are in work, out of work or facing anything else, you can never feel lost in the same way.

In other words, the feelings of being lost (or finding yourself in a place where recovery is impossible) aren't as destructive. In fact, if you can find a solid sense of career continuity, a great deal of power is taken away from difficult career situations and given back to you. The main threads and thrusts of your career remain in your hands.

I hope you don't mind this little trip down memory lane with the dictionary. I'd be very keen to hear your opinions on the subject of career continuity, including what your own definition of career continuity might look like!

All the best for now,

Paul

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Here are some more dictionary definitions that have appeared on work/life fusion in previous posts:

Values

Talents

Goals

Vocation

Manifesto

Resolve

Perspective

Where would I like to be in 5 years time?

Ask yourself this question

There's no trick to it

No right or wrong answer

Take your time

Where would I like to be in 5 years time?

Easy answers can't work in the long-run

Someone else's answer won't work for you either

You can't be 'technically correct' on this one

[Santa Cruz - see more at Saundra's Flickr Photostream here]

Where would I like to be in 5 years time?

You're not alone when you think about this question. It's by far the most searched and most visited on this blog.

I hope you do choose to stay with this question a little longer. The only person who can benefit is you.

Refresh it, Re-phrase it, Renew your attitude towards it. Do whatever you feel necessary but do take the time to ask yourself once again:

Where would I like to be in 5 years time?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Learn how your answer to this question can evolve over time at exploreyourcareer.com

Where do you want to be in 5 years time?

What to aim for when you write your CV/Resume

This question came up recently and it's a good one:

What are you aiming for when you write your CV?

Here's one potential answer:

"I'm aiming to write my CV, dummy!"

A fair answer. It's technically correct too but it's also not the whole story. (Perhaps summed up best by the comedian who once said, "Technically correct. The worst kind of correct.")

I have asked this question a lot recently: What are you aiming for when you write your CV? (Although I do avoid asking it at parties. It's a bit of a mood killer)

[Communication - see more at Saundra's Flickr Photostream here]

If we ponder it a little more for the moment, perhaps the most common answer to this question is: "To get myself a job."

Technically correct once again. When you sit down to write your CV or Resume, the reason you do it is to get your next job or because you need a new job.

But here's where you can turn technically correct into the best kind of correct. An answer that is best for you and your career.

What about: "To get myself a job that I want."

We all know the difference between work and the work we enjoy doing. If we're searching anyway, why not look for a job that we want?

So here's one last question if you are writing your CV or Resume right now:

What are you aiming for?

All the best for now,

Paul

Chance and your career

What's the difference between taking your chances and taking a chance?

✪ We need to take our chances to move our careers forward

✪ To take a chance with your career is too great a risk

Are chance and opportunity related?

✪ To take our chances is to seize opportunities

✪ To take a chance is more opportunistic

[Taking his chances? - see more at Saundra's Flickr Photostream here]

Why explore this together?

✪ For our careers to be successful we need to know the difference

✪ Opportunity can be managed but chance also plays a role

So what's your opinion?

All the best,

Paul

The Learner's Progress - Past, Present & Future

I'm posting over on the Joyful Jubilant Learning blog today.

Here's a direct link to the article: The Learner’s Progress – Past, Present & Future

In other news, look out for a new post on work/life fusion next week where I interview the author of the new book, There's More to Life Than the Corner Office. If you can't wait, check out the book's website here.

Have a great weekend wherever you are!

All the best,

Paul

A Hole in Your Career?

Have you ever done a good job but no-one told you so at the time?

Sometimes our work is good but no-one tells us and that can leave a hole.

Is a hole a good place for more digging?

Here’s one example: Two colleagues worked in the same office for years. Marley helped Scrooge all of the time: Scrooge never thanked him once. Years later when Marley was leaving the company, Scrooge quietly cornered him and said, “It was a pleasure working with you. I’ll never forget how much you helped me. It won't be the same without you.”

Although it changed Marley’s view of Scrooge forever that moment filled a big hole in Marley’s career understanding as well. He always knew that he had done good work for Scrooge but he never completely believed it until he got Scrooge's feedback.

Marley also learned something important about the holes in his career. He now understood that they wouldn't go away if he ignored them. From then on Marley challenged himself to act differently whenever he found a hole. First, he resolved to climb in and dig around. Second, he would start to fill it in. Never again would Marley ignore or walk away from a hole in his career.

[Thought - see more at Saundra's Flickr Photostream here]

Your Experience:

✪ What’s the longest you have waited for positive feedback?

✪ When you got it, what did it challenge or confirm?

✪ How did you feel or act differently after getting it?

My Experience:

Marley taught me to be a lot braver about my career. That doesn't mean I now act carelessly. If anything, Marley's experience showed me how to act positively whatever the situation, however big the hole! My only regret is I never met and talked with Marley years ago.

Our Experience:

✪ Where are the holes in our careers?

Comment here and let's see what else we can find!

All the best for now,

Paul

Managing Career Change II

If you stopped by last October, you might recall reading about Prem.

Prem wanted to break into a new industry but he was finding it difficult. He was battling the perception that his experiences had no relevance outside his old work.

✪ Could Prem change these perceptions?

✪ Could he prove his experiences were valid in this new field?

✪ Could he get anyone to give him a break?

When Prem and I first spoke, he was already feeling like his choices were running out. To give us both the lift we needed, first we focused on the good news: at least Prem had choices!

We followed this up by establishing a shared belief in the fact that Prem's choices were actually the biggest single factor influencing his career success. Prem's intention to move his career into a new industry was his choice and his chief motivating factor after all.

[Louvre Voyeur - - see more at Saundra's Flickr Photostream here]

Managing Your Career

✪ Are you in a situation like Prem?

✪ Have you successfully switched from one industry to another?

✪ How did you get your big career break?

✪ What does managing our careers give us in common?

Comment is welcome & free!

All the best for now,

Paul

Related posts:

✪ Prem's story: Short & Long-term career planning

✪ Managing career change

✪ Career choice

Career Heroes

A client asked me yesterday [in my professional capacity as a career coach], “Have you ever struggled with career decisions or had moments of crisis or doubt?”. I replied, “All of the time.”

That was when he laughed.

Actually, we both laughed because it reminded us of past ‘experts’ who showed no weakness in themselves. Those super-men and wonder-women [with brightly coloured capes and underpants worn outside of their tights] who made us feel a little embarrassed for needing their help.

It really is a super-power that super-heroes can make us feel self-conscious when it's them who dress so badly :)

[Bay Bridge Sunset - see more at Saundra's Flickr Photostream here]

A career coach admitting to career issues might sound like a fundamental flaw. Like a seasick sailor, a cowboy with a horse-allergy or an entomologist scared by creepy-crawlies. Sometimes, our career-heroes appear to have a flawless history but appearances can hide a great deal. Sometimes neat packaging is nothing more than that.

In my client’s position, I’d want the truth because it would help me to use better judgement and make better decisions. Much of my work together with this client focused on doubts and testing beliefs. Our relevant personal and professional experiences on both sides could only help.

So what's your opinion?

✪ Of all the pleasure boats in the harbour you might still choose the one with the sickly looking Captain. [He is telling you the sea might be rough. If you decide the trip is still worth it, grab a sick-bag and get on board!]

✪ She might have bloodshot eyes and a runny nose but would you ride home the cattle with anyone else?

✪ Your comments [particularly if you are a successful entomologist with arachnophobia] are welcome!

All the best for now,

Paul

Me, We

“Me, We.” might just be the world’s shortest poem.

The story of its origins are legend but most attribute this poem to Muhammad Ali. Testimony as to when and where he said it varies but there is agreement it was spoken at a public event and that it was Ali’s response to a question regarding the shortest poem or verse in history.

Muhammad Ali was a boxer but he was also a great wit with a live, febrile mind and a poet with a compelling, powerful voice. The evidence may vary but the legend fits. It doesn’t take much imagination to hear Ali speaking these words and saying them with meaning.

[Apparently that is "laser" engraving. Does Buck Rogers work for Steve Jobs?]

This poem has followed me around since I first read it. It came up again last week in a question about the way most of us think about our careers. The question was:

“Can our individual career thinking be changed from Me to We?”

The questioner's premise was that our careers are never isolated, they are in fact always connected. Your career joins you to your work, your employer, your colleagues, your intentions, your life outside of work, the list goes on.

So if there are hundreds of touch-points, convergences and connections between ourselves, our careers and the outside world, why do we default to 'Me' when we think about careers?

Is there necessity around 'Me' thinking in careers or is it just history and habit?

Thinking about your career was traditionally a lonesome activity. The number of people going to their boss to admit 'thoughts about leaving' is growing but is still a minority. We take career advice from third parties (our friends, relatives, HR & career professionals even) but this advice is too often based around individualistic thinking alone: “What should I do?”, "What do I want?", "Where is my career going", etc.

It is still essential to resolve individual career questions but the Me to We shift behind career management is inevitable and has already begun. Your career may be yours but for it to be successful, for you to experience your career in full, for your career to deliver genuine satisfaction and fulfilment, it must be understood holistically too.

Although it wasn't always so clear, work/life balance is Me, work/life fusion is We.

Of course there is much more to learn (your opinion is welcomed for a start!) but - going back to Ali's poem - sometimes we need a simple and memorable expression to get us started. Besides, it wouldn't be the first time in history a poet has figured something out first.

Have a great weekend wherever you are!

All the best

Paul

On Preparation & Your Career

My good friend Saundra has been supplying images on work/life fusion for a little while now.

Usually, I write a blog post then we choose an image together. This time around Saundra's image came before the post.

I always found Saundra's work inspiring, I suppose today is proof! :)

[Lone Surfer - see more at Saundra's Flickr Photostream here]

What do you see when you look at this picture?

I looked at the surfer first. Is he plucking up the courage to jump in or is he looking on the sea after a good day at the office?

Then I looked at the sea. There are waves but on the whole the sea looks pretty calm. And that's when the Saundra-inspired-light-bulb appeared above my head...

A surfer can't make the waves. He just has to prepare and be there at the beach when the conditions are right. Hours of practice learning to ride, reading the weather, finding the best beaches and the best breaks; these are the things that make a surfer ready for the day he's at the beach and the waves are there for him.

The parallels with our careers are endless. Career management can only prepare us for the right conditions, the right set of circumstances, the right opportunities.

Sometimes, even when you have done everything right, you will still have to wait.

But the time will come when you have done everything right and the conditions are perfect too. That's when the surfer gets the waves he wants. That's when you get the break in your career you have worked so hard for.

So that's what I saw in this picture. Do you see something different?

All the best for now,

Paul

Alvin's Story - Career Perspective

Is Alvin alone facing this challenge?

Recently, Alvin became frustrated with his career because it felt to him like a series of false starts. To see if he could break out of this pattern, Alvin took the opportunity to look at his career as a whole.

So what did he find out?

Across all of his different work and jobs [and changes that ranged from the uniform he wore to the industry sectors he worked in] Alvin could find out what his experiences had in common. Studying his career as a whole, he could see what joined his experiences together and explore what was important to him, what his strengths were and what he found motivational.

[Hadleigh Castle in Essex. A wonderful example of open plan design]

In Alvin’s case, his work with people proved to be the biggest unifying factor. Usually when we say someone is a ‘people person’ we mean they are good with relationships. Good at solving problems or helping people out with issues or tricky situations. We might also mean they help other people to see the value in things they would otherwise overlook. In Alvin’s case this is all true but it’s only half of the story because he is also a gifted leader. People respect Alvin [They just can’t help it!]. They respect his experience and his opinion. They respect the care he takes answering questions and resolving their issues so patiently and positively.

From the traditional viewpoint Alvin always had of his career nothing of this leadership potential was visible to him. This was compounded by regular moves and changes which didn’t allow Alvin to understand the impact he had on people or see the improvements he left behind. Junior job titles and 'nitty-gritty' roles also meant that Alvin’s achievements were too easily swallowed up by a chain of command here or a non-meritocratic management structure there.

Alvin couldn’t see his determination, diligence, perseverance and intellectual rigour or the difference they made to people over time. He didn’t know that his humility and unyielding effort with people - especially those who would otherwise be left behind - was a hallmark of great leadership and of a leader with great future potential.

Before you start thinking this post should also be addressed to the Nobel Peace Prize people, you should also know that Alvin has a long way to go before his strengths and potential can be fully realised. Like most of us, Alvin isn't quite perfect!

Alvin has only just started to gather this insight for himself but for the first time, it gives him the opportunity to look forward and mould himself into the professional and the person he wants to be. For the first time in ages he has the motivation to gain the experiences and acquire the new skills that will broaden his leadership appeal and allow him to create new advantages for more people in the future.

The most important single thing however is this. Alvin’s career no longer needs to be started over or begun again because Alvin now knows his career is well and truly underway.

As for Alvin's future, in this impartial observer’s opinion anyway, it couldn’t be any brighter! :)

So, Do you think Alvin is alone? What might we all have in common with him? It would be great to hear your opinion!

All the best for now,

Paul