Affirming Your Career Inspirations Backed by Research

Dec 10

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When I got my first job offer, I felt a sense of accomplishment, pride, and a mix of worry and tension. It was a dream come true, but as time passed, I realized that success meant more than just landing a good job.

Recently, I came across a study that looked at how individuals in early career stages perceive and subsequently experience success in their careers, focusing on factors such as individual performance, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and organizational commitment.

As I read the study, I couldn't help but think of my own early career experiences.

The study: career success and the role of organizational support

The study found that the top three impressions of students' career success were deriving enjoyment from their jobs, receiving financial rewards for their hard work, and experiencing a sense of fulfillment and purpose in their work.

Reference: Jackson, D., Richardson, J., Michelson, G. & Munir, R. (2023) Perceptions and experiences of career success among aspiring and early career accountants and the role of organisational support.

Honestly, I don't believe I understood what success looked like for me during my student years. The higher pay, the better. Once you are in the system, work hard to climb on the career ladder. Somehow and at some point, you will achieve and advance, for better or worse.

But I resonate with these findings. Although it's strange to associate "fun" with "work," finding joy and satisfaction has been critical to my sense of success. I needed to feel delighted by the work that I was doing and to believe that I was making a meaningful difference in the world or within the people I collaborated with.

With a few years being thrown into the corporate landscape, what changed?

The study polled early career professionals who started working in the industry for a few years. The top 2 trends for early career professionals remained constant: receiving financial rewards and deriving enjoyment from their jobs, but the priorities were swapped.

Surprisingly, "Professional fulfillment," which held high importance for students, found itself at the bottom of the list. The new top 3rd in the hierarchy became "Advancement," representing both internal promotions and the ability to access external job opportunities through the cultivation of reputation and skill development.

As an individual develops skills, builds reputations, and establishes personal brands at work, the natural progression leads to thinking about the next steps. As I've discovered, reputation is everything. It was the key to unlocking new opportunities, both within and outside of the company, and even across professions. So, the shift makes sense.

Now, what do seasoned professionals want?

The study also looked into how well organizations helped early-career professionals succeed in their careers. It showed that training and the opportunity to gain experience are more important than other factors.

Takeaways

Passion and Payment

As the study put it, pursuing a career aligned with one's passion and providing meaningful challenges is a key indicator of career success, regardless of career stage. So, career "calling" is a thing, a phenomenon that can outweigh the pursuit of financial gain. This notion might be especially relevant for Ph.D. holders, driven by their aspirations for higher ambitions and mission- and curiosity-driven motivation.

"A major finding is that both cohorts, regardless of career stage, perceived the ability to pursue a career that they were passionate about and where they could experience a sense of challenge were key markers of career success."

But I'm not implying that financial benefits are irrelevant. Instead, it shouldn't be an either-or scenario. The goal should be to combine passionate work AND a well-paid profession. Let us, employers and employees, think and talk about normalizing the standard, so we open a window into the possibility of achieving it.

Work-Life Balance Myth

Surprisingly, the theme of work-life balance ranked lower in the theme, especially for individuals who have been in the corporate world for a while. The study also implies that the perceived importance of work-life balance might not align completely with what has been suggested in earlier research or literature. Perhaps the differences are influenced by industries, as the study focused on accounting professionals instead of scientists. Perhaps there are cultural factors to consider across countries.

I still couldn't help but wonder, as I have been pondering, if there's no such balance exists and the balance statement is false. Because balance can look different depending on the stage of life. Some days you focus on work more, while others you prioritize yourself with solid boundaries with work (and even kids.) It's great to keep the balance in mind as a guide, but relying on a job to give you a perfect work-life balance would be misleading and disappointing.

Mentorship, or Maybe Sponsorship?

The study suggests that providing diverse training and experiential opportunities is seen as beneficial, including mentoring and coaching with an emphasis on personalized guidance. It also highlights enabling early-career professionals to practice and gain experience in various business areas.

A word of caution, mentoring and coaching requires intense time and energy commitment from both parties in the mentor-mentee relationship. Second, having mentors and coaches doesn't imply opportunities for exposure to different facets of the business.

As someone entrenched in the corporate landscape, the recommendations echoed a different narrative—we should start challenging the default emphasis on mentor-mentee relationships as the primary solution for individual advancement. Shift the paradigm: Stop merely mentoring your talents. Start giving opportunities and advocating for them.

Everyone is different and wants differently. As you entrench yourself in the workplace, it's likely that you are evaluating what holds important and personal for you, given the evolution of your thoughts and life experiences. This research tells us that it's perfectly normal for your perceptions to change over time.

Reference:

Jackson, D., Richardson, J., Michelson, G. & Munir, R. (2023) Perceptions and experiences of career success among aspiring and early career accountants and the role of organisational support. Accounting & Finance, 63, 229–245. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.13029

Chiung-Wei Huang