What's In A Career?

Career is more of an umbrella term than a definitive concept. Your career is comprised of many moments in time that ultimately shape who you assert yourself to be - in a professional context.

For example, you can be working in customer service for over 10 years and then suddenly try your hand at something different, like coding. Fast forward to three years later and you find yourself working at a startup, teaching people how to use the product you are selling. You might describe yourself as a technical sales executive however, your title may not capture your career in all it entirety.

Most of us will have many different “careers” in our life time. We often use the term ‘career’ and ‘jobs’ interchangeably and therefore cause more confusion over the concept when we are put on the spot to describe our career.

A better approach is to look at the kinds of skills you’ve been using at each of your occupations. How can you define yourself by the plethora of skills that you possess? These skills need not be limited to a company or an occupation but if we choose to market ourselves by our skills, we find that our transferrable skills are the ones that truly define our career. Those that are quick to market their transferable skills will find it easier to move from one industry to another and consequently will place more importance on our skills and abilities than our defined occupational class.

So what is your career? What kinds of skills and abilities have you been putting to work in all of your occupations? Perhaps you are still exploring and learning and with each year passing by, you are adding more and more to your roster of skills. Perhaps you are carving out a niche, a profession that is yet to be marketed as a job.

Whatever the answer may be, it’s never too late to take stock of your transferrable skills and realign your perspective - for your career is simply a matter of how you market your professional portfolio of skills.