What actually is a career?

The original meaning of career was 'to move headlong at high speed' as in, the cart careered down the road. Some days I'm sure your career still feels like that.

My favourite definition of career is by Michael Arthur and his colleagues:

"The unfolding sequence of a person's work experiences over time"

Lets break this down a bit.

First, unfolding, which describes the fluid nature of how careers are created. There is less orderly planning than we think as we respond to events and opportunities that come our way. Earlier definitions of career used 'evolving' but contemporary writers realised that this suggested a structured, logical flow which didn't represent the reality of a modern environment.

Second, work experiences. The term career emerged from the Chicago Shool of Sociology in the 1930s and had a broad meaning, for example, the career of deliquents. Today, career has a vocational flavour to do with work related activities, regardless of whether they are paid or not.

Third, over time. Our career is not static. It unfolds over time as we move through different stages. Often, our career appears fragmented looking forward, yet distinct patterns are noticable when we look back over our experiences.

Everyone has one career. We may have many jobs with multiple employers, go through different stages, and travel across geographic and occupational boundaries. But all these experiences coalesce into one career. Enjoy it!

Reference
Arthur, M.B., Hall, D.T., & Lawrence, B.S. (1989). Handbook of Career Theory. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Career lessons from the flood

The worst floods in Australia’s history, have been nothing short of devastating. Parts of South East Queensland looks like a war zone with rubbish strewn everywhere and the stench of the flood overpowering.


Two things stood out for me as this tragedy unfolded.


First, your life is not your possessions. I was helping my sister-in-law clean out her second-level storage unit that was flooded. The entire storage facility in Rocklea was wiped out and hundreds of people were slowly cleaning out their possessions and an enormous pile of rubbish was building on the sidewalk. I overheard one person say to another in front of the discarded stuff: “look at all those peoples lives, just thrown away”. But those were not people’s lives – it was just their possessions, some prized, some not. People were alive. That’s the most important thing.


Second, you can’t underestimate the importance of community in your life. The spirit of help was everywhere. Strangers were appearing to help people they didn’t know. In fact, so many people wanted to help that donation centres were soon full and volunteers had to be turned away. We do not live our lives in isolation and the people around us, in part, make us who we are.


Descartes pronounced “I think, therefore, I am”. But perhaps the Hindu principle of sattvic is more accurate: “You are, therefore, I am”.


In a similar vein, your working life – your career – will be most successful if you engage and support those people around you. Make 2011 the year of your career community.