The Traditional Career Path Will Disappear

by Dr. Michael Kanniston on ERE Exchange on May 28, 2009, 5:39 am ET

In the July/August print publication Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership, I'm spelling out my "10 predictions for the coming year."

If you're a recruiting leader who subscribes, you'll get those 10 in
the postal mail. For now, here's one: the traditional career path and
all its assumptions (such as that the MBA is the ticket to success, and
it's the only path to the top) will be gone.

We're already seeing signs that many long-held assumptions about
what success looks like are now open to interpretation. Forced to get
creative, companies are now reviewing the long-term effects of
traditional staffing models. Buying talent from competitors fills jobs
quickly, but those people don't always stay. Fighting for a top MBA
grad at the best school may give your company bragging rights, but does
the expense associated with managing them (and their expectations)
yield a good return on the investment?

While some managers used to be convinced that there was no talent
within their own companies, many are now taking a closer look at internal candidates
when filling key jobs. Career paths are now often about moving
sideways, not always up. As each and every hiring decision is placed
under greater scrutiny, hiring managers will become more flexible in
finding ways to get work done.

What would once have been an open job that would have involved an
in-person pitch from a retained search firm, a parade of candidates, a
consensus-driven decision, a nasty attempt to address a counteroffer,
and an expensive relocation, might now simply involve a qualified
long-term employee working remotely.

Faced with the reality that their jobs might be eliminated despite
good performance, employees will be more open to lateral moves and
developmental assignments. And companies, desperate to fill key roles,
will be willing to give them those opportunities.

This
article is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended
to offer specific legal advice. You should consult your legal counsel
regarding any threatened or pending litigation.

1. 
   

   
   Phil Haynes
   May 28, 2009 at 11:04 am
   

   
   

   Mike,
   
   Completely agree with you and it's about time! Once reserved for GE,
   IBM and some big banks, recognizing the human capital you already have
   and deploying them internally is a very hot subject these days.
   
   What's needed is a much more scientific way of assessing skills and
   gaps, filling them and then deploying developed talent internally.
   Today, much if it is done via "manager recommendation" which is nothing
   more than cronyism and the good old boy network. Companies who apply a
   strategic, technical way of identifying internal talent, developing it
   and moving it will end up with a much more engaged workforce when the
   recession halts and recruiting (i.e., attrition) begins.