The 7 Drivers of Career Change

The days of joining a firm and working there for twenty five or thirty years before you get the gold watch and gracefully retire are obviously long gone. So, expect massive and change througout your career. If change is going to happen and you understamd the key drivers of career change, you will enable you to use one of the key components of peak performance: anticipation. There are seven things that we can consider - let’s go through them now.

1. Change in your ability to add value | As you progress through your career, you will hopefully develop skills and acquire valuable experience, and therefore the ability to add more value year-on-year. If you have skills that are in demand at a price that the labour market can meet, you will, in turn, be in demand. However, if you become too expensive for the perceived value that you bring, then employers will find other ways to get their business needs met. This might be employing younger and less expensive people, outsourcing to other parts of the world and, of course, the increasing use of automation.
2. Change in your stage in life | Just this morning, I had a LinkedIn message from someone who is looking to retire in a couple of years and wants to find some non-executive board positions. The stage of life you are in will certainly drive change. At the outset of your career, you may lack skills and indeed, gaining them is a key focus. By the same token, there will be a point where you are in absolute prime. You are at the top of your game and you have all the energy, knowledge and personal power to be as effective as you ever will be. And of course, nothing is forever, so there will be a point where you want to ease off the throttle and have a different life balance.
3. Change in technology | As technology advances so does the opportunity to apply it to the workplace. We have yet to see the much heralded driverless trucks on our motorways, but there is no doubt that AI and automation are increasingly driving change in people’s careers.
4. Changes in the regulatory environment | We only have to look at the impact of MiFID II and Brexit to see that many people’s careers have changed immeasurably as a result of shifts in the regulatory environment. 
5. Change in Culture | At a more micro level, the change in the culture of a department or a team will have a dramatic effect. This might be reflected in renewed clarity and drive from the leadership team, enabling the business to improve and as a result, there are opportunities for more pay and promotions. On the other hand, should a toxic environment develop, life becomes miserable for those who tolerate it and good people leave for better places.
6. Change in the economy or market | All boats rise with the tide, so almost everyone can benefit from the good times. However, if the market turns, leadership teams will start to plan for a leaner organisation and prepare to make people redundant. This second scenario will certainly have a profound effect on the career of large groups of people who may find it difficult to get back into the field that they once worked in.
7. Change in your clients’ lives | If your job involves interacting with clients with whom you develop deep relationships, to an extent, your career hinges on what happens in their lives. I am old enough to remember a time when many institutional clients moved to Hedge Funds when they were first launched. The sales men and women were often able to benefit from that change in the lives of their clients.

So, there we have it. We live in a highly dynamic environment. Knowing that change is going to happen and understanding the drivers will help you anticipate what might be coming in your direction so that you can position yourself in the most advantageous way. I may well have missed something, so please do add any thoughts that you might have in the comments below. If you are preparing for a career change, do get in touch here for a free Coaching Call to discuss the possible directions your career could go in.