Career management tenors in 21st century

There can be no denying the fact that the present era is extremely challenging and various career management procedures applicable fifty years back have been rendered irrelevant. Intense competition and lack of employment opportunities tend to make an individual demotivated. That is why, you cannot afford to have knee-jerk reactions to your career issues. Your career has to be managed well and planned for.

        People may have had unmistakable career paths in the period some years back. While the economic slowdown continues and hence, few career paths cannot be walked upon. The outcome is that employers are reluctant to take responsibility of career progression of their employees. If you contribute to organisational growth, you are viewed as efficient and indispensable, but if anything goes wrong, there will be nobody to hold your hand. You are thus accountable to yourself and the responsibility to look for another alliance partner is yours.

Though at the cost of reiteration, it is significant to state that the 21st century lays increased responsibility on an individual to mange his or her career and the prospects that go with it. That calls for greater answerability and liability. The fact is that the very nature of employments and job profiles has changed; such alterations have been brought about by scientific advancements and a perception of the world having become a global village. There is no job that is retainable for life in the 21st century occupation panorama.

But one attribute has not changed. Careers, like some other life effects, are fluctuating, unpredictable and flexible. They have a demonstrated ability to alter themselves in consonance with individualistic conditions.  Furthermore, all careers need to be periodically assessed to make certain that all schemes and objectives are in harmony with progress achieved in professional and private planes.

           Current difficult times have sent appropriate signals to everybody that even the most forceful and healthy career arrangements are subject to upset. Therefore, it is inescapable to uphold and sustain one’s viewpoint and outlook. Additionally, options to get on track in the eventuality of an interruption or interference also need to be identified in advance.

      There would be many who would have had other burning concerns that perhaps relegated career management to a lower position. They would have not found it difficult to manage their careers because the focus of attention lay somewhere else. But those who were not passive in their approach and did not leave their career management to luck or others, stand in good stead today, particularly when the global economy has started witnessing an upsurge.

The writing on the wall is thus clear – never leave your career management to others; you will always face the hazards of being abandoned or being left out of the loop. In the light of the foregoing, you must spare time for some career appraisal. There are individual career objectives and ambitions on one side and private and job-related principles on the other. The need is to see whether both of them are in harmony or not. A career appraisal would help in the comprehension of what is moving and what is static. It would also help in gauging your proficiency, weak spots, opportunities at your disposal and impediments that you may experience. This will help you sieve the good from the bad; you will thus be able to find out where precisely where you stand.

        When you reflect upon different prospects, you must query yourself on issues that are on rails and issues that are not. In addition, you must also find out matters and influences that have been thwarting your career growth, including the level at which they have been fixed. While trying to initiate midterm corrections, there is no harm in identifying people and setups who can help you achieve your career objectives.

All processes initiated for career management today demand a high degree of determination and steadfastness. This is largely on account of the flux that prevails at all workplaces and job requirement. Commercial and risk management procedures place on employees an increased liability. Such liabilities can be reduced if you have a flexible approach and harbour a feeling of answerability. It is only then that your career will come to be better managed!