Constructing your career: Tools from the career theory toolbox for work and life

My day job allows me to have interesting conversations with people at various stages in their career. I had coffee the other day with a senior executive who is in the process of setting up business for himself. He shared how after he left his last c-suite role, he spent a month mapping out what he liked, what he was good at, and what could make him money. He settled on something that was at the cross section of the three areas and is now finding success in the market in that area.

He is a great example of someone who is taking action in constructing his career. Examples like my friend above are important to keep in mind, as reading my two recent posts on careers can lead to a somewhat fatalistic view of our work lives. In one post I noted how we can inherit our career based on our genetic disposition and environment. I then posted about how our careers can seem to follow predetermined career stages.

While I outlined positive ways to frame each situation, there can still be a sense that we are subject to the whims of forces outside of our control. As aptly articulated by another friend of mine on my last post:

“We buttress ourselves with aspirations and dreams, forgetting completely the things outside our control. Not all people born in a given year will reach a happy retirement after a long, well planned productive career.”

The toolkit

We can feel at the whims of forces out of our control in both work and life. Yet we do have the ability to affect change within the constraints of inherited situations, life cycles, and external factors. Three perspectives on careers highlight specific tools we can use to be more in control of not only our career, but most any personal change process.

Tool #1: Adaptability

Career construction theory says that our careers can be seen as something to be constructed. Our self-image acts as the architectural blueprint around which we frame our career. The construction perspective allows us to define meaning in our career as something we build, as compared to something that happens to us.

The metaphor also allows for uncertainty. Anyone who has been part of a building project knows that things do not always go according to plan. The career construction premise highlights four characteristics of adaptive individuals:

Concern: concern about their future as a worker
Control: Increased personal control over their future
Curiosity: Curiosity shown in the exploration of future scenarios
Confidence: Strengthened confidence to pursue their aspiration

Tool #2: Reflection

With social learning theory, the premise is that our careers are based on learned behaviour. We repeat activities that result in positive experiences and avoid those that result in negative experiences. The behaviours support our generalisations about ourselves (“I’m good at this and not good at that”) and the world around us (“I will have limited opportunities there because I’m such and such”).

The opportunity is to continuously challenge our generalisations about ourselves and the world around us. This has the added benefit of making us more resilient when things don’t go according to plan. Three characteristics that have proven to help us in this process are:

Self-reflection
Open-mindedness
Creativity

Tools #3 and #4: Belief and Expectations

Social cognitive career theory is based on a model stating that our interests lead to goals, goals lead to actions, and actions lead to performance. In almost all theories that link beliefs to action (such as these), our success in achieving what we set out to do is determined by our belief that we can affect the change we are trying to achieve.

This is defined in two characteristic of:

Self efficacy: This is a person’s judgement on their abilities to carry out particular actions or activities, that they are competent to carry out a job.
Outcome expectations: We must also have expectations that we will achieve our target outcomes. For example, we may believe we are capable, but we will struggle if we feel hindered by external factors such as a tight job market.

Examples of using the tools

One of the reasons I pursued studies in social sciences is because I wanted to understand why people do what they do and how to help people achieve success within the organisations in which they work.

Using the models above, research has discovered things such as:

Community is critical
Surround yourself with a positive community to boost your self-efficacy and outcome expectations. A study of rural Chinese farmers found social supports were critical to building self-efficacy and helping people be prepared for the rapid urbanisation in the region.
Learning and role models help
If things seem down, seek out help, knowledge and positive role models. In a study of disadvantaged South African youth, their self-belief was impacted by their disadvantaged context, particularly by the lack of appropriate resources including formalized career counselling interventions, libraries, and positive role modelling.
Belief comes before interest
If you are losing interest, perhaps it is because you are losing belief in your abilities. In a study of faculty members across five universities in Turkey, participants who had more of a belief in their abilities were more likely to be interested in new activities, specifically in using new technology.

Construction skills for individuals and managers

For the individual

Each individual can apply these outcomes to take control of their working path through life. Questions we can ask ourselves include:

Am I developing adaptability by being concerned about my future, being intentional about what I control, being curious about multiple opportunities, and moving forward with confidence?
Am I learning through self-reflection, being open-minded about new ideas, and putting myself in new opportunities to develop creativity?
Do I believe I can do what I am setting out to do and will the outcomes match my expectations?

These should not be questions we ask in isolation. Career development is a shared activity between the organisation and the individual. If career development is left up to the individual, the organisation is relinquishing their role in the journey.

For the manager

Alternatively, the more valuable the organisation helps make their employee in the market, the more valuable the employee will be for the organisation. Organisations that cultivate a culture of developing their staff can also be more attractive for new candidates.

Examples of ways managers can apply the theory above into practical conversation and action include:

Encourage adaptability in the role by co-constructing their career with them. How can they grow within the organisation, and how can the organisation grow to suit their career path?
Build in mechanisms for reflection such as individual assessments at project post-reviews. How are their actions reinforcing or detracting from their career goals?
Build self-belief and establish their outcome expectations through positive constructive feedback. In every conversation you have, are you building up or tearing down? As the saying goes, people remember not so much what you said but how you made them feel.

A good way to start taking action may be to construct a response in the comments below, but only if you believe you will achieve your expected outcomes.

Image credit: David Poole http://www.flickr.com/photos/dipster1/1403240351/