Embrace the benefits of a non-linear career

Throughout our lifetimes, most of us will spend an average of 90,000 hours working. That may sound like a lot of time to reach our professional goals and become experts in our field, but nowadays careers aren't so linear. Instead, they’re becoming increasingly squiggly. 

Times have changed, and it's no longer typical to work for just one organization until retirement, to then be rewarded with a gold watch and a generous pension. So, in a rapidly evolving professional world, how do we make the most of those 90,000 hours?

This piece will explore the excitement and potential behind a squiggly career, and show how embracing non-linearity and agility is key to success in the new job market. 

Let's discover

how to integrate your values into your work;

the real obstacle to confidence; and 

how much money actually buys happiness.

Compared to previous generations, we have more freedom to decide how our careers play out.

Careers used to progress according to internal corporate structures and promotions, but this approach is becoming increasingly outdated. Now, more than ever, it’s up to us to decide where we want to be, what we want to do, when we want to do it, with whom we want to do it, and, perhaps most importantly, why we want to do it. 

Besides glaring spelling mistakes on your resume, job-hopping used to be a surefire way to get a hiring manager to disregard your application. Nowadays, it’s not only more common, but increasingly seen as a positive facet in an applicant. After all, multiple starts in your career indicate an unwillingness to settle for anything less than the best. Trying different routes suggests adaptability and open-mindedness, and it usually means you’ve picked up new skills and perspectives along the way.

Automation is also constantly transforming and replacing professions. According to a study by management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, as many as 375 million people might have to change their career fields in the next ten years. Rather than having proficiency in a specific area, work is now more centered around projects and relevant skills. Learning to adapt to new technologies and industries will ensure that you have opportunities well into the future. Your career will always be a work in progress, so it’s a good idea to give lifelong learning a permanent time slot in your daily routine.

These changes are leading to more flexibility in how we work, which can positively impact both employees and companies. A YouGov study found that implementing flexible working hours increased employee productivity by 72 percent. For some, this new freedom means they can work from home, a café, or even a tropical island. 

But having more flexibility presents its own challenges. Too much remote working can lead to loneliness, due to the sheer lack of human interaction. Many people also find it difficult to unplug and keep their work life and downtime separate. 

Navigating your big-picture plans without a road map can be a daunting task, so start small. Identify practical changes you can make to begin squiggling your way through a rewarding career.

Identify your strengths, and focus your energy on developing what you’re already good at.

Would you prefer to be a jack of all trades, or a specialist in your field? It’s tempting to try to be good at everything, but this approach is increasingly impractical. No matter how skilled we become at some things, we’ll always struggle with others. Rather than spreading ourselves too thin, we should focus on developing – and truly mastering – our strengths.

Of course, not all strengths are created equally. We have natural talents – things we do well innately – and then we have learned talents, which we pick up in life or on the job. Ultimately, our strengths are a combination of talent, experience, attitude, and behavior. 

According to a study by analytics company Gallup, employees who lean on their strengths at work are six times more engaged in their jobs than their colleagues whose tasks don’t align with their natural proclivities. They’re also more productive. It is recommended that spending 80 percent of your time enhancing your strengths leaves 20 percent to identify and tackle the weaknesses that get in the way of your performance.

It’s typically easier for us to call out our weaknesses than to think up our own strengths on the spot. But in every weakness there’s an opposing strength. Perhaps, for example, you’re not as detail-oriented as you’d like to be – maybe this also means you’re a visionary who thrives in environments that require big-picture thinking. Try jotting down what you consider to be your greatest weaknesses. Now, find their counterpart strengths. Any surprises? 

“Super strengths” are qualities your colleagues and family associate with you when you’re not in the room. You’re not just good at them; you’re really good at them. Super strengths should be used frequently and visibly. Don’t keep them a secret! Your coworkers and even LinkedIn connections should know what you do best. 

Think back to how often you’ve used your super strengths over the past week. If your current job doesn’t routinely harness them, you could try to tweak your work approach or ask your boss how to better incorporate them into your assignments. Otherwise, it might be time to start looking for greener pastures.

Recognize and integrate your values into your daily work.

Imagine you’ve just started a new job, and the pay is better than you dared to hope. You get a snazzy company car and free lunches, and everyone is friendly and competent. But something is missing – something essential. The work itself just isn’t meaningful or interesting to you. Can a few nice perks really compensate for 90,000 hours of meaningless toil?

By the time we’re in our mid-twenties, we’re equipped with three to five core values that start informing our behavior – as well as how we experience happiness. These values, which shape our motivations and judgment both at work and at home, are cultivated in three main phases in life.

The first period is the imprint phase, which begins at birth and continues until we’re about seven years old. Our parents, as well as others we spend time with, provide our first taste of right and wrong. For the most part, we don’t challenge what we see and hear; we soak it up like a sponge. 

The second period is the copy-cat phase, also known as the modeling period. From ages eight to thirteen, we start acting in various different ways, copying the behavior of people we look up to. We imitate teachers, other kids at school, or older siblings. 

The final period is the rebel phase. It starts in our teenage years when we become more influenced by friends, the media, and friends of the media. We then have to iron out the friction between what we used to believe and what we now think is right. 

Our values are a double-edged sword that can work for or against us. For example, if you value honesty, you could help out a colleague with some constructive feedback. But you might also unwittingly upset someone by telling them the bitter truth at the wrong time. Becoming aware of how this works can help you more clearly articulate your feelings and understand others’ values. This makes it easier to connect with people and work with them productively.

Just as defining your values will provide a deeper understanding of yourself, actively living those values will also benefit those around you.

Confidence can be learned, and improved, through practice.

We’ve all had moments – or even longer periods – of self-doubt. The good news is that common fears like stage fright and self-consciousness don’t have to be life sentences. With the right kind of training, you can minimize your insecurities and the effects they have on your day-to-day performance.

Some individuals are naturally confident, but everyone has fears that stifle potential. We can develop our confidence by understanding our unique confidence gremlins and learning to rein them in. Your colleague’s confidence gremlin might be your super strength. Or maybe you both have the same gremlins – but experience them differently.

How do your gremlins hold you back? Which specific situations prompt your gremlins to rear their ugly heads? One way to curb your gremlins is to challenge them. If you have a fear of public speaking, ask yourself why that’s the case. Identifying the reasons behind your gremlins can help generate practical actions to limit their impact. 

Now for the fun part: each time you test one of your gremlins, treat yourself! Let’s say you have a nerve-wracking presentation to give in front of everyone at the office. There is a lot of pressure to make it perfect, and worst of all, there is no microphone. When you finish, buy yourself something nice – something as tangible as possible, like a chocolate croissant. And if things didn’t go as planned, ask why. Was this action a bit too ambitious? Or do you think it was the right amount of challenge and you could succeed if you gave it another shot? 

Confidence doesn’t just come from within; it also comes from your support network. You can visualize your sources of support by drawing a support solar system. What kinds of confidence do different people in your life provide, and with what frequency? To whom do you give support in return? 

In every support solar system there should be three types of people. The person who “gets it” appreciates the obstacles you face. The person who “asks the hard questions” challenges and motivates you. And the person who has “been there” has the hindsight and wisdom to advise you. 

Confidence boosters can also help you stay coolheaded in high-stakes situations. You sound more confident when you finish your sentences, refrain from indecisive words like “could” or “should,” and listen to others before speaking. Your body language conveys self-assurance when you assume a more powerful, rather than closed, posture. Presentations improve with time, so practice out loud and often – in front of a steamy mirror, or with friends or colleagues. Ask for feedback, and offer yours in return.

Practicing your confidence and nurturing a healthy support network are key at every stage of a squiggly career.

Networking is an exchange of help, and offering to support others can lead to valuable relationships.

It’s 11:23 p.m. on day twelve of your job search. You’ve dusted off your LinkedIn profile, and now you’re scrolling through your connections. You see some colleagues from that job you had ten years ago, a classmate from your group psychology project in sophomore year of college, and a recruiter offering an entry-level position in Montana. 

How did it come to this? Well, it turns out that networks are more like gardens than cobwebs, and you have to maintain them to ensure they survive and thrive. 

The quality of your network connections will always be more important than the quantity. The anthropologist and psychologist Robin Dunbar claims that we have a limited number of each friend type. According to his research, we can have a maximum of 150 casual friends. For close friends, that number is 50. For confidantes and supporters, it’s 15. And we can have just 5 best friends.

Your network should be centered around what you want to learn. You don’t need to be an extrovert to create and nurture mutually beneficial relationships. Instead of speed networking, identify people in your network who can help you with particular needs or issues. Rather than vaguely asking someone to mentor you, be specific in your requests. For example, you could contact someone working in your desired field or position, and ask her how she got there. What skills and experience would you need to do her job? 

Make sure your network is diverse. McKinsey & Company surveyed 1,000 companies in twelve different countries. The study determined that organizations in the top quartile of gender diversity have a 21 percent greater chance of reaching “above average profitability” than the bottom quartile. This number jumps to 33 percent when they’re in the top quartile of ethnic diversity.

Think about why you were hired. Did you arrive as a consumer, benefiting from the value already available in the network? Do you have skills or ideas to contribute? Are you there to connect people? Knowing your role in a network will help you work out why you’re there in the first place.

Focus on exploring future possibilities rather than on following linear plans.

In this day and age, we’re likely to change careers five times over the course of our working lives. The classic life track of “education-work-retirement” is rapidly going extinct. So how do we plan our careers for a future that might not exist?

Imagining possible futures for your career requires a certain creativity, as does taking responsibility for your own future. What other jobs or professions could you see yourself taking on? Consider a few different types of possibilities to get the ball rolling. 

Your obvious possibility is the next logical step from where you are right now. If you keep doing what you’re doing, where will you end up? Your pivot possibility is a new position that would use your skill set and super strengths in a fresh way. Your ambitious possibility is something you’ve always considered but have decided against for some reason. Usually it involves overcoming a hurdle such as a lack of experience or education. Finally, your dream possibility is the work you’d choose to do if you had nothing holding you back. It could be your current work, but it could also be something completely new. Perhaps you’re an accountant who wants to be a pilot. Anything is possible! 

With all of these possibilities, why you go to work remains just as – if not more – important as what you do at work. Your whys have a more intimate connection to your values, and they express the impact you wish to have on the world. For example, Google might say their what is “to create an amazing search engine that everyone uses.” But their why would be “to make data more accessible and better organized.”

With all of the uncertainty that accompanies a  career, deciding what is most important to you – and why – will help serve as your career compass along the way.

Curiosity, feedback, and grit are increasingly sought-after workplace skills.

Sometimes it feels like the world is changing faster than we can keep up. This is especially true when we switch jobs every few years. With each new position, we encounter requests for new skills and different styles of working. How can we make sure we’re ready for our next opportunity when it’s ready for us?

Stay curious to avoid tunnel vision – if you only pay attention to your own work, you’ll remain ignorant of new trends and opportunities. According to research by Francesca Gino, a Harvard Business School professor, companies that encourage their employees to be more curious have lower rates of conflict and more inventive approaches to difficult problem-solving tasks. 

So how can you stay curious? The possibilities are endless. Subscribe to a magazine on a topic you know nothing about. Discover new podcasts. Talk to strangers or new acquaintances. You get the idea. 

Another thing you can do to maintain your marketability is improve your feedback techniques, both on the giving and receiving end. Many people are cautious about seeking out feedback because of past traumatic criticism. Feedback has the power to uplift and lead the way to positive constructive changes, but it can also hurt your confidence. 

Having a  career means that you might not have the opportunity to exchange feedback with your team members face-to-face on a regular basis, so it’s important to make it a part of your meetings when you do see, or hear, each other. When giving feedback, try using the “what went well/even better if” technique. In other words, first tell your colleague something positive, like “Your presentation was really effective, and you managed to keep everyone engaged the entire time.” Then, give your suggestions for improvement, like “It would be even better if you gave more concrete examples to back up your claims.” 

Finally, natural talent isn’t everything. In fact, grit – that is, the amount of effort you put into something – turns out to be a better gauge of success. There are four main ways to cultivate your grit. 

First, recognize what fascinates you, and explore it. Second, use deliberate practice every day to continue advancing your skills. This is the act of deciding what skill to improve, how to improve it, and then training it extensively. Third, identify a greater purpose for your goals to communicate what you wish to contribute to your organization, industry, or the world in general. Fourth, adopt a growth mindset. Simply having an attitude geared toward constantly growing and developing your mind and skills relies on your grit as fuel. 

By exploring your curiosities, practicing feedback, and training your grit, you can ensure a smooth career transition when the time comes.

Objectively examining your job options will help steer you toward the best path.

Is the grass really always greener on the other side? With every job there comes a moment of uncertainty, in which you’ll wonder, “Should I stay here or go somewhere else?” In a  career, this question will come up repeatedly – and there may not always be a simple yes or no.

If you’re happy at your position and you’re still learning a lot and often, think twice about leaving your current role. To find out if a new position would be right for you, ask yourself which new possibilities it has to offer. Will the role use your super strengths and help you live your values, or are you more attracted by the salary? A study by psychologist Daniel Kahneman and economist Angus Deaton demonstrated that salaries after a certain point – about $75,000 – stop influencing levels of well-being.

Perhaps your organization doesn’t invest in further training for its employees. A study by IBM showed that people are twelve times more likely to quit their jobs if they are not growing their skills and experience. While some companies just don’t have the budget for it, others don’t see the point in spending the extra money on something with indirect benefits. 

The good news is you have a few options. You can find grants or awards to financially support your learning, or even design your own course of independent study based on what – and how – you want to learn. By becoming a learning advocate, you can also make change from within your organization. This is a great way to involve other people and hear their input on articles, issues, and events.

Side projects can also provide valuable experience and offer an outlet to explore something you’re interested in. It could be a passion project, or maybe it’s a problem-solving project that fills a gap in the market. Forty-two percent of startups blame insufficient demand for their service or product as the reason for their failure – which is why it’s essential to test your idea before getting to work. 

So next time you feel stuck at a job, try to pinpoint why that is, explore your options, and then come up with a plan to keep your squiggly career squiggling along.

As squiggly careers become more and more common, they also offer us new opportunities to control the direction of our working lives. We can train ourselves to identify and employ our strengths, build mutually beneficial networks, boost our confidence, integrate our values, and practice giving and receiving constructive feedback. Through these actions, an indirect career path will become less frightening – and open the door to a more exciting, fulfilling future. 

Actionable advice:

Document your successes each week.

Keep track of your successes for a week or two by jotting one down every day. Alternatively, try reflecting on each day in terms of “steps forward” and “steps back.” A success is a step forward, and something that doesn’t go exactly as planned is a step back. After a couple weeks, take a look at your list. If there are more steps forward than back, great! If not, see what you can learn by analyzing the steps back. 

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