Former Google career coach, Jenny Blake, states that a corporate ladder no longer exists for career-aspiring individuals to climb. In fact, it has been replaced by the metaphor of career as an iPhone.
Consider today's economy wherein employees do not ascend the corporal steps of the metaphorical ladder but move laterally from one field to the next, one position to another, in search for the proper fit with his or her job. This is the rationale behind Blake's statement.
Blake was the co-founder of Google's career mentoring program. After leaving the company, she set up a coaching firm and continues to help both young and mid-career professionals with their jobs through her published books.
In her book, Pivot, she advises all to think of career as a smartphone and no longer as climbing that ladder, because in the changing structure of the current business environment, one's success depends on gathering or downloading desired skills or apps either from inside or outside the company. A person with a unique skillset is more likely to be hired than a person with a lack of it.
Blake adds that "Any job you take will give you 'apps' that will help improve time management, communication, money management." This means that for recent graduates, do not fret about your first occupation since any job is still going to help you in your career path and in gaining these so-called apps.
Moreover, skills do not necessarily have to be relevant to the job in question. They can range from learning a new language or joining a fan club, since these activities essentially help a person's personal growth, sense of fulfillment, and satisfaction.
Along the way, one will eventually find that the gained abilities help individuals to be creative in demanding fields, to produce more impact, and to work through promotions or upgrades. This is what her method called Pivoting is all about.
Learn more about Pivoting through Jenny Blake's book "Pivot: The Only Move that Matters is your Next One"
