'90's career management: whose job is it anyway?

Nation's Restaurant News, April 17, 1995 by Rolly Allen

The bad news is that in 1994 and early 1995 we saw the continuation of career-interrupting managerial layoffs across American industry as companies re-engineered, adjusting to competition, technology and market changes.

The good news is that jobs are being filled with new gusto, search firms are busy, employment advertising is up and the business expansion continues. So what does all this mean for career management? And how can this seemingly contradictory stuff be happening simultaneously? Isn't there supposed to be logic and order to this whole area of career management? And is anyone out there worried about what happens to me?

Well, if you have concluded that your employer is not spending lots of time worrying about your career, you are probably right. Premier employers know they must think about this subject and develop the talent that they will need to meet strategic growth goals. But, unfortunately, the vast majority of employers figure if they need it, they can buy it.

So with the fact that limited human resource planning is actually occurring, so also goes the possibility of someone else ordering your career. Yes, both the job market and potentially your career are serendipitous.

Your employer is obviously interested in how you are doing your job, and there is much focus on pay for performance' but the chances are your boss isn't too worried about your career -- his or her own maybe, but not likely yours. There are exceptions, but employers generally, because of what is happening in most markets, have a very necessary and appropriate short-term focus. If you don't serve a restaurant customer well, you lose that customer. A customer lost is gained by a competitor, and jobs are lost when customer patterns change and restaurants close.

So what does all this mean for the management of your career?

First, it means you must perform your present job exceptionally well. No one will give you an opportunity to move on or up unless there is the promise, based on past results, that you can do more and better tomorrow and in the future.

Second, you must develop yourself. You must build new skills, learn something new every day, grow, stretch and take risks. Your employer may help, by providing career-enhancing training or experience, but you must take responsibility for your personal growth and development.

Third, you must improve your network. You must be connected to the people in your industry and career area -- the "movers and the shakers" who can help you. Effective networking is reciprocal. You must give to get, whether it is information, advice or empathy. And yes, you should get to know a good "headhunter."

Fourth, you have to know what it is you want. A wise man, an ex-boss actually, told me that if you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there.

And fifth you must think of yourself as a product. All the elements of the product must be logical in terms of its intended use. Your resume is your sales circular. It should reflect you, and the experiences you gain should tie to where you ultimately want to get.

So whose job is career management after all? For a while in the post-world War II decades, companies inspired career-oriented thinking. "Come spend your next 30 years with us, and we will take care of you. Let us tell you about our retirement program." Today senior executives move freely from company to company, building teams. The term "hired gun" comes to mind. You frequently read about "turnaround specialists." Good resumes include diverse experiences in different cultures. Employers expend great effort to develop "position specifications." Companies want people to fill specific organizational holes. Few employers hire for that future need. Not much organizational time is spent developing career ladders, tracks or plans.

Well, the conclusion is that you have to worry about your career, build your skills and broaden your experience. Your career will be what you are capable of doing and planning; it will be the help you get, risks you take, tradeoffs you make and yes, luck.

Sometimes life is what happens while you're making other plans. But if you don't plan and actively manage your career, it is likely your career will happen rather than be the result of the application of your talent to the problem posed to you when you were a child. What do you want to be when you grow up?