If you stop and think about it career planning is a lot like weather prediction. We start off thinking we're going to stay with one particular job (or the day starts out sunny) but then we discover that we have to move to follow a spouse (the clouds are moving in) and the location we're moving to doesn't have any jobs in our field (thunderstorm warning). And, just like the weather, the further into the future we try to predict our career plans, the less clear and certain they are.
Is anyone really working at the job they expected to ten years ago? Even if you're in the career field you expected to be in, did you know you would be working for your current employer ten years ago? If you're a college student, are you majoring in what you thought you would major in when you first enrolled?
That's why I like chaos theory as a metaphor for career planning. While the word "chaos" conjures up images of an out-of-control roller coaster ride, the truth is chaos theory says there ultimately is order. We just can't always see it from where we stand. We look at their own career path with its sudden changes or unexpected occurrences and agree that, yes, perhaps it is about chaos. But if you also look over your past jobs and careers you can often see a pattern emerge: themes and threads appear. You can use those themes and patterns to propel yourself to your next experience.
Jobs dried up in your field?
Don't know what you want to do?
Can't identify a career goal?
Traditional linear career theories would tell you it's panic time. They all start with "set a goal." "Follow these five steps to a job." Yeah right.
Chaos theory says "chill."
It's OK not to have a goal, because that in itself is a goal: your goal is to find your career goal. Chaos theory tells us to identify what we know, figure out what we don't know, and start learning. Chaos theory says the world is too complex to ever know all the variables that are going to affect your career plans, so start seeking experiences. Look for opportunities to grow, learn, and start to watch for the patterns. What are the themes in your career so far? What are the talents you have consistently used in all your jobs regardless of your job title? What threads tend to run through your life? Because those threads and themes will help catapult you to your next job or career.
So how does chaos theory help with career planning?
- It's a complex process. So look for patterns, look for connections, look for meaning. What do you enjoy? Where do you get your energy? What has been the source of your success so far?
- Accept that you don't control all the variables. Things are going to emerge. (There's a bumper sticker that states that less eloquently: S... Happens.) The economy has just emerged, big time. Layoffs emerge. Control what you can.
- Life isn't always linear. In fact, quite often it's nonlinear. Things don't happen in a specific order or on schedule. The "5 steps to a job" don't always work. Sometimes jobs come along at the most unexpected places and times. You can work on different steps of the job search at the same time.
One of the most fun parts of chaos theory is the butterfly effect. Stay tuned for more on this in the next posting.
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