Millennials killed careers

Day 15/90 — We need to re-define the term ‘career’.

When I listen to my mom talk to her friends, they talk about people’s careers — how people have a great career, how their children are on the path to a great career, how someone is very career-focused. My friends and I don’t talk about that. We don’t have careers. We have jobs. Some of us have passions.

I’m a 27-year old CMO and I don’t think careers are a thing anymore. I don’t want one. Do you?

career / kəˈrɪə /

noun

an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life and with opportunities for progress.

Example: “he seemed destined for a career as an engineer like his father”

Break your career.

Traditionally, a career was built in one profession. You would study i.e. engineering, intern in the field, start working as an engineer, and slowly, but surely, climb the career ladder to a senior position, collecting pay-checks on the way.

I studied engineering and interned in the field. Then I started taking gigs as a writer. Then I went to business school and interned for the government. Then I studied a Master’s in marketing. Then I worked in marketing. Then I started my own business as a writer. Now I work in marketing and as a writer. My engineering background accelerates the work I do every day. The combination of my three learned professions is what makes me successful.

The way I work today and the success I have today are only possible because I never had a career. I didn’t focus on a linear path. I didn’t jump the (career-)ladder. I view my career more as a set of monkey bars — I can move to the left or the right.

Careers are outdated because they can’t keep up with today’s demand for change.

Of the people I graduated from my Master’s with, only few actually work in the field of marketing. The ones working outside of the field we trained for are just as successful.

We live in a world where you don’t need to have a career to be successful. You can make all the wrong decisions, learn stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with the profession you started out with, and still end up in the best job you ever had. I encourage you to do so. Who cares what your degree says — if you’re passionate about something else, want to learn something else, want to try different things, do it. Then find ways to make them useful for the work you want to do.

Most companies are already looking for people who can do stuff outside of their job description. What today is often referred to as a merit, will become more and more key. Why?

We live in a rapidly changing world. Today’s companies can only be successful if they’re agile, innovative, and adaptable.

Things change. Things break. How do businesses make sure they have the right people that can adapt? By having people who can do more than one thing. By having people who are open to jiggling across monkey bars. A straight career doesn’t show this. A diverse one does.

What do millennials have to do with it?

We grew up in a world that is changing faster than ever. We’ve learned to adapt to new technologies as we grow. We’re also more purpose-driven than any generation before us. Of course we love breaking traditional concepts — such as the concept of a career.

If we wake-up one morning and realize we need more purpose in our work, or that we don’t feel fulfilled with the type of work we’re doing, we’re more likely to switch profession than the generations before us. Why? Because we can. Because the switch in itself is so valuable in today’s professional world that it gives us a safety net of opportunities.

It wasn’t like that 30 years ago. We’re lucky to be working in 2018. If you’re struggling with the question “am I in the right career?” stop right now and do something. Try out whatever else interests you. Go for it. There are endless work opportunities out there. Break your career.

Here’s my ultimate break your career checklist. If you answer most of these with no, I think you’d do good in trying to aim for some change in your professional life.

1. Have I learned something new at work during the past 3 months?
2. Do I feel like my work is meaningful?
3. Am I excited about my tasks at work?
4. Am I interested in topics related to my work during my free time?
5. Am I proud of the work I do?
6. Do I find the people I work with inspiring?
7. Do I look up to people in my field?

Today’s career

Today’s careers need a new definition. They can’t be about the time spent in a single profession anymore. They must be about the diversity of tasks, the innovative perspectives someone brings in, the amount of time spent learning new things. A career must be as adaptable to the speed of innovation as any business. Let’s change our definition of career and make it 2018-ready.

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This is day 15 of 90 days that I will be sharing something I’ve learned here in this publication. Don’t miss it.