Career Segmentation (Part Two)

Last month we introduced Career Segmentation. Click here for the full article or see the summary chart below. This month we look at how the model can be applied, both by individuals and organisations.

				Keep learning up to date & ahead of the curve
Age Range	Descriptor	Career Stance	Learning  Stance
4-18	The seeker	Exploring, disinterested	Building the fundamentals
18-25	The student protégé	Provisional choices, experiments, discovery	Specialising, deepening
25-28	The young gun	Decisions,  demonstration of potential & ‘can do’	Leverage all knowledge -sponge
28-35	The bet placer	Risk taking	Connections & contextualisation
35-45	The rain maker	Experience  building and credible track record	Scale & complexity focused
45-60	The safe habour	Reputation building and extending networks	Judgement focused
60+	The counsel	Consolidation & portfolio management	Avoiding age stereotyping
				Maintain energy levels

Individuals

The critical thing for individuals to manage is the two very strong career rhythms that run simultaneously. The first is what we call ‘The Price To Pay’. We all understand that to succeed in any role there are certain minimum conditions/standards that have to be met. This is well understood by most people. Understanding the second requirement is less commonly understood - ‘The Price To Stay’.

As the requirements of the job shift, the organisations’ requirements of you will also change. What helped you win the role will not necessarily work in helping you keep the role. The ‘Price To Stay’ moves over time which is where Career Segmentation thinking is required.

Depending on what stage of your career you’re at will depend on how best to respond. As individuals we will always correlate the career phase with our life stage. A Young Gun generally being more prepared (and able) to live anywhere and make personal sacrifices for their career than say The Safe Harbour, who needs to be able to offer different benefits as part of their ‘Price To Stay’ strategy. 

It’s an economic fact that the most expensive (whole cost) people to employ are long service, middle managers, which is why cost hawks see them as attractive to exit. Constantly adding to the value you bring to the role helps militate this threat, and aligning your strategies with the correct Career Segment will reinforce your personal value proposition even more.

Organisations

Sensitive, nuanced and conscious management of people informed by Career Segmentation helps align expectations and so increases engagement. If an organisation supports someone in staying au courant combined with the individual playing their part, everyone wins. And if a person still loses their job through no fault of their own they are more likely to be and feel more employable – the key ingredient is finding another job.

When employers and employees are together, able to have an informed, open and authentic dialogue about career management and employability, everyone benefits.

Structured training hold in-company Career planning workshops. To find out more contact:

Claudine McClean
T: 01789 734300
E: claudinem@structuredtraining.com

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