It is, by now, a familiar assertion that millennial professionals are keen to rapidly move roles and gain new experience. As well as being relatively uncommitted to a particular employer or their current set of work tasks, such employees are also regarded as being more forthright in demanding greater responsibility and managerial status. They want to move up the career track faster, and they don’t necessarily want to do this following a traditional, linear course.
Generalising about an entire group of people is always risky, but for those employees where this rings true, a good deal of employers might view this different – perhaps less patient – approach as something of a threat. It is true that employees with a much reduced intention to hold any job for life will present different challenges in terms of employee engagement.
Employers might feel they must try harder to hold the attention of employees more readily distracted by other opportunities, perhaps sacrificing proven traditions of advancement and development for the sake of keeping talent on side and away from the grasp of their competition.
It also raises the issue of a muddier level of trust that comes with the suspicion that employees will leave after a comparatively short period. Questionable loyalty raises the concern that investments in training or extensive onboarding processes might ultimately be a poor and short-term outlay that will leave them without the talent they need.
At the same time, it is important to recognise that a more unfiltered version of career ambition is far from wholly negative. Such a drive to achieve certainly means that employees will work exceptionally hard while they mine every bit of fresh experience from a role. If every career stop is a crucial and necessary point on their career journey, there is an incredible motivation to make every opportunity a success.
In their eagerness for fresh experience and skills, they will also potentially bring creativity and a livelier innovative approach to particular tasks than employers more keen to play up to a company’s internal politics. There are very few companies and organisations that would suffer from an occasional “fresh pair of eyes” asking tough questions of established processes and approaches.
So “different” doesn’t necessarily mean “bad”. For the employees looking to drive up the career ladder as quickly and impressively as possible, however, it is still important to strive to be honest, both with a present employer and, crucially, with themselves.
For an organisation, it is better if an employee is clear and direct about their particular career aspirations and expectations. Forewarning, for example, about itchy feet or a desire to take on greater responsibility, ultimately benefits both parties – either through working together to find opportunities to meet those changing needs, or at least to plan for an eventuality where an employee “hits the buffers” of their present role. Both sides gain greater clarity of the other’s intentions, which should hopefully mean a longer and more productive relationship.
Then for the employee themselves, honesty is important to provide a check on admirable but perhaps unfettered ambition. Professionals of all stripes and experience should always try to balance their own self-confidence with an honest awareness of their present limitations. This is not to stymie the achievement of their goals, but rather helps to properly focus their future efforts in gaining both practical experience and in seeking out new development opportunities.
Asking questions such as “am I truly equipped to lead a team?” or “does my current experience qualify me for this technical role?” should not be thought of as needless nervousness that prohibits advancement. Honest self-awareness makes a professional far better equipped to actually hold the experience needed to always be the natural and obvious choice when their chosen career advance comes along.
Ahmad Badr is the chief executive of Abu Dhabi University Knowledge Group
business@thenational.ae
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