Modern careers can take many different directions and, as we pass through 2024, it seems that the very concept of what a career is, has markedly shifted from the perception of previous generations. Where the common assumption used to be that career development was linear and success defined by how far you climbed up company ladder – it is now much more common for people to have multiple jobs across differing career paths during their lifetime.
As a matter-of-fact, I had this very conversation with a contact over the weekend. They started their working life in industry, moved into teaching, and they are now training to join the clergy. They had been successful in each of those careers but just had an appetite to explore and experience different challenges in their working life.
Where, previously, people may have had a primary career, with external interests taken as hobbies in their spare time, these days it is far more common to take these interests and develop them into a second or third career – the term ‘side-hustle’ has grown to infringe upon standard employment.
All this means that career development has become synonymous with learning new skills, the two have never been more important. Quite often, these new skills will not be directly linked to your professional life, but will be broader and more holistic, thus allowing you to pivot into new career directions.
Professional qualifications are still very important and often vital in launching careers, but how you then continue to develop your skills may continue through a professional body or other less traditional channels. Some skills will continue to need formal training, an MBA or System Accreditations, while others will be softer and less easy to define, like networking or sales skills.
Development could be through formal routes, gaining a new qualification for example, or more informal, through perhaps coaching or mentoring.
Career progression will today more than ever be a matrix and not linear; it could involve a secondment or even a completely different path. Being open-minded to where opportunities will come from and embracing them when they present themselves can often lead to an enriching career path far beyond just following that linear route.
National Career Development Month allows employers and employees to explore all these routes and it helps to shine-a-light on how people can truly develop and progress.
Of course, it is still worth remembering that your career development opportunities are ongoing and not just limited to one month a year!
