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Career Development International Plodders, pragmatists, visionaries and opportunists: career patterns and employability Marilyn Clarke Article information: To cite this document: Marilyn Clarke, (2009),"Plodders, pragmatists, visionaries and opportunists: career patterns and employability", Career Development International, Vol. 14 Iss 1 pp. 8 - 28 Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13620430910933556 Downloaded on: 05 February 2015, At: 11:00 (PT) References: this document contains references to 79 other documents. To copy this document: [email protected] The fulltext of this document has been downloaded 2779 times since 2009* Users who downloaded this article also downloaded: Marilyn Clarke, (2008),"Understanding and managing employability in changing career contexts", Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 32 Iss 4 pp. 258-284 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03090590810871379 Marilyn Clarke, Margaret Patrickson, (2008),"The new covenant of employability", Employee Relations, Vol. 30 Iss 2 pp. 121-141 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01425450810843320 Jon P. Briscoe, Lisa M. Finkelstein, (2009),"The “new career” and organizational commitment: Do boundaryless and protean attitudes make a difference?", Career Development International, Vol. 14 Iss 3 pp. 242-260 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13620430910966424 Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by 506043 [] For Authors If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.com Emerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. *Related content and download information correct at time of download. Downloaded by UNIVERSITY OF EAST LONDON At 11:00 05 February 2015 (PT)

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Page 1: Plodders, Pragmatists, Visionaries and Opportunists

Career Development InternationalPlodders, pragmatists, visionaries and opportunists: career patterns and employabilityMarilyn Clarke

Article information:To cite this document:Marilyn Clarke, (2009),"Plodders, pragmatists, visionaries and opportunists: career patterns andemployability", Career Development International, Vol. 14 Iss 1 pp. 8 - 28Permanent link to this document:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13620430910933556

Downloaded on: 05 February 2015, At: 11:00 (PT)References: this document contains references to 79 other documents.To copy this document: [email protected] fulltext of this document has been downloaded 2779 times since 2009*

Users who downloaded this article also downloaded:Marilyn Clarke, (2008),"Understanding and managing employability in changing career contexts", Journal ofEuropean Industrial Training, Vol. 32 Iss 4 pp. 258-284 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03090590810871379Marilyn Clarke, Margaret Patrickson, (2008),"The new covenant of employability", Employee Relations, Vol.30 Iss 2 pp. 121-141 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/01425450810843320Jon P. Briscoe, Lisa M. Finkelstein, (2009),"The “new career” and organizational commitment: Doboundaryless and protean attitudes make a difference?", Career Development International, Vol. 14 Iss 3pp. 242-260 http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/13620430910966424

Access to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by 506043 []

For AuthorsIf you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald forAuthors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelinesare available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.

About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The companymanages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well asproviding an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.

Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committeeon Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archivepreservation.

*Related content and download information correct at time of download.

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Plodders, pragmatists,visionaries and opportunists:

career patterns and employabilityMarilyn Clarke

Business School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore individual approaches to career and employabilitythrough the career stories of a group of mid-level to senior managers in career transition. Careerpatterns are identified and then compared with traditional, boundaryless and protean models of career.The study aims to consider the extent to which individuals in this group had adopted behaviourssupportive of future employability as opposed to behaviours more in line with traditional careers.

Design/methodology/approach – The research adopted an interpretive and qualitative approach.In-depth interviews were conducted with people currently going through a career transition program.The interviews were recorded and then transcribed, coded and analysed using NVivo, a qualitativeresearch software tool.

Findings – Career patterns appeared to be shifting away from traditional careers and more towardsprotean and boundaryless models. There was evidence of increased responsibility for careerself-management and of behaviours supportive of ongoing employability. Self-perceived employabilitycould be linked to degree of job mobility and having a future career orientation.

Research limitations/implications – Despite the small sample size and the subjective nature ofself-reported career histories the study provides insights into the relationship between career patternsand employability. Both organisations and individuals need to work towards developing attitudes andbehaviours supportive of employability such as flexibility, adaptability and a future career orientation.

Practical implications – Individual level career management will need to focus more on thedevelopment of attitudes and behaviours appropriate to contemporary employment relationships thanon the development of formal career plans. At an organizational level support can be provided byencouraging flexibility through activities such as job rotation, short-term projects and opportunitiesfor both internal and external networking.

Originality/value – The study provides empirical evidence of how careers are being managedwithin contemporary employment relationships.

Keywords Careers, Career development, Employment

Paper type Research paper

IntroductionPerspectives on careers have changed. The traditional organisational career, once seenas the norm, is now regarded by many as more relevant to the last century (Inkson andArthur, 2001; Baruch, 2004a; Kuijpers and Scheerens, 2006). Models, such as theboundaryless career (Arthur and Rousseau, 1996), protean career (Hall, 1996b),portfolio career (Handy, 1994), post-corporate career (Peiperl and Baruch, 1997) andintelligent career (DeFillippi and Arthur, 1994) have been presented as models for afuture in which careers are more likely to be characterised by flexible employmentcontracts, multiple employers, lateral job moves and multiple career changes. Anunderlying theme of these models is that, increasingly, an individual’s job security

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/1362-0436.htm

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Received 13 April 2008Revised 8 July 2008Accepted 28 September2008

Career Development InternationalVol. 14 No. 1, 2009pp. 8-28q Emerald Group Publishing Limited1362-0436DOI 10.1108/13620430910933556

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“will be anchored not in a particular organisation but in their own portable skills andemployability” (Mallon, 1998, p. 363). Thus individuals are encouraged to embracecareer self-management (Clarke and Patrickson, 2008; Sturges et al., 2008) and to seemeasures of career success in terms of psychological success at an individual level, (forexample personal accomplishment or feelings of pride and achievement) rather thanmore objective measures such as progression through the organisation hierarchy withits associated status markers (Hall, 1996a; Arthur et al., 2005).

Over the last decade two models have dominated thinking and research within thecareers literature; the protean career (Hall, 1996b; Mirvis and Hall, 1996; Baruch, 2004b;Briscoe et al., 2006) and the boundaryless career (Arthur and Rousseau, 1996; Briscoeand Hall, 2006; Sullivan and Arthur, 2006). Both models link career success to a flexibleand adaptive approach to career in which the emphasis is on maintainingemployability through inter-organisational moves, life-long learning, a transactionalpsychological contract and career self-management (Inkson, 2006). While the idea ofprotean or boundaryless careers is appealing in terms of matching the career needs ofindividuals with the workforce needs of organisations, it is still unclear to what extentindividuals are adapting to contemporary employment relationships or how they aremanaging careers for future employability.

The aim of this article is to explore individual approaches to career andemployability by reflecting on the career stories of a group of mid-level to seniormanagers in career transition. The study considers the extent to which individuals inthis group had adopted behaviours supportive of future employability, such as lifelonglearning, flexibility, and career planning, as opposed to behaviours more in line withtraditional careers, such as a short-term focus on current job requirements and thedevelopment of organisation or industry specific skills. Different career patterns areidentified through individual career stories and then compared with traditional,boundaryless and protean models of career.

Careers – old and newAn early definition of career describes it as “a succession of related jobs, arranged in ahierarchy of prestige, through which persons move in an ordered, predictablesequence” (Wilensky, 1960, p. 554). The traditional career was seen as taking placewithin the confines of organisational boundaries (Hind, 2005). Metaphors for careerprogression included terms such as “climbing the ladder”, “working your way throughthe ranks” or “moving up the hierarchy”; career success was evidenced by increasingstatus, responsibility and monetary rewards (McDonald et al., 2005). The psychologicalcontract underpinning the employment relationship was premised on a reciprocalrelationship characterised by commitment, loyalty and trust (Morrison and Robinson,1997). Individuals who offered hard work and loyalty could anticipate that they wouldbe rewarded with an organisationally managed career which included training,development, promotion and long-term job security (Baruch and Hind, 1999; Baruch,2003).

The question currently under debate is whether or not the traditional career stillexists, and if so, to what extent? Some contend that the traditional career is alive andwell, and that organisational careers are still a preferred option for those who areseeking stability and structure (Guest and McKenzie-Davey, 1996; Collin, 1998; Jacoby,1999; Ackah and Heaton, 2004). They argue that careers are undergoing “certain shiftsand transitions” (Baruch, 2006, p. 127) rather than a complete restructuring of

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traditional career paths, and that although there is a much greater emphasis on takingpersonal responsibility for career development traditional career paths are still offeredin certain organisations and sectors such as the public sector (McDonald et al., 2005).There is also debate as to whether individuals are wanting careers which offerindependence more than employment security (Clarke and Patrickson, 2008), careerself-management (Maguire, 2002; Sturges et al., 2002), and the new transactionalpsychological contract instead of the old relational psychological contract (Baruch,2006).

Regardless of this debate, much of the current careers literature is premised on thebelief that traditional careers are giving way to new patterns of career that reflect theuncertain environments in which both organisations and individuals now operate (e.g.Pringle and Mallon, 2003; Arthur et al., 2005; Baruch, 2006). Contemporary careers aremore likely to include periods of work and non-work, lateral, spiral and verticalprogression, and intra-organisational as well as inter-organisational career shifts. As aconsequence individuals can no longer rely on the organisation for career management,or anticipate life-time employment in the one job, the one organisation or the oneindustry. Essentially, the concept of job security has been replaced by the concept ofemployability (Baruch, 2004a).

Thijssen et al. (2008, p. 167) define employability very broadly as “the possibility tosurvive in the internal or external labor market” but what this means in practiceremains a contentious issue. For example, employability can be seen as a“psycho-social construct” embodying individual characteristics that facilitateadaptive behaviours necessary to remain employable (Fugate et al., 2004, p. 16). Itcan also be seen in terms of labour market context, either internal or external (Forrierand Sels, 2003), or as an employment outcome in which possessing and demonstratingemployability related characteristics leads to actual employment (Hillage and Pollard,1998). Berntson et al. (2006, p. 9) see employability as an individual perception which“reflects the perceived possibility of acquiring (new) employment” whereas McQuaid(2006) suggests that employability is highly dependent on personal circumstances andan individual’s capacity for job flexibility and mobility. van Dam (2004) stresses theimportance of “employability orientation”, or an employee’s response to organisationalinterventions designed to maintain individual employability and organisationalflexibility. In a similar vein, van der Heijden and Thijssen (2003) link employabilitywith HRD interventions designed to promote and maintain skill development,flexibility and adaptability to change. How employability should be managed has alsoengendered debate. Ideally employability should be a joint responsibility betweenemployer and employee with organisations offering a range of developmental activitiesand processes designed to prepare employees for their next job (Waterman et al., 1994;Benson, 2003; O’Donoghue and Maguire, 2005). However, to a large extent it wouldseem that responsibility for employability has now been transferred from theorganisation to the employee (Van Buren, 2003; McQuaid and Lindsay, 2005). Fugateet al. (2004, p. 15) claim that, rather than a joint responsibility, “the onus is onemployees to acquire knowledge, skills and abilities, and other characteristics (KSAOs)valued by current and prospective employers” in order to maintain employability inboth current and future employment contexts. Against this background career models,such as the protean and boundaryless career, provide new ways of defining career andnew approaches to career management.

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The protean careerHall and colleagues (Hall, 1996a, 1996b; Hall and Mirvis, 1996; Hall and Moss, 1998)proposed the protean career as a viable and attractive alternative to the traditionalcareer. Named after the Greek god Proteus, the protean career is one in whichindividuals are willing and able to rapidly reshape and reform themselves in responseto changing environmental circumstances (Inkson, 2006). While the traditional careertakes place within organisational boundaries, the protean career is enacted acrossmultiple organisations. It is characterised by “a values-driven attitude” (individualvalues rather than organisational values), and “a self-directed attitude towards careermanagement” (Briscoe et al., 2006, p. 31). The person who adopts a protean orientationtowards career will welcome the chance to explore new possibilities and will seekpsychological success through lateral or spiral career moves. He or she will continuallyseek opportunities to learn new things and will see career as a series of learning cycles(Hall and Mirvis, 1996). Two meta-competencies have been identified as underpinninga successful protean career; “adaptability and identity (or self-awareness)” (Hall, 2004,p. 6). Hall (2004) argues that a true protean careerist will develop both of thesemeta-competencies which facilitate self-evaluation followed by adaptive responses.This adaptability helps the individual to survive and prosper within turbulentenvironments while still maintaining personal values.

The boundaryless careerAccording to Arthur and Rousseau (1996, p. 6), the boundaryless career ischaracterised by “independence from, rather than dependence on, traditionalorganisational career arrangements”. In pursuing a boundaryless career the focusshifts from climbing the corporate ladder to a career that is enacted via a series oflateral, vertical and spiral moves (Currie et al., 2006). These moves provideopportunities for learning and development thus increasing the likelihood that skillsand work experiences will remain current and marketable and that the individual’semployability will be enhanced. As with the protean career, the boundaryless careerrequires the capacity for flexibility, adaptability and self-assessment in order tosuccessfully navigate career transitions. The “locus of responsibility” is transferredfrom the organisation to the “career actor” (Arthur, 1994, p. 304).

The boundaryless career has been described as one in which the individual movesfrom job to job, or from organisation to organisation thus transcending physicalboundaries (Arthur and Rousseau, 1996; DeFillippi and Arthur, 1996; Gunz et al., 2000).More recently there has also been an increased focus on boundarylessness in terms ofboth physical mobility, or “actual movement between jobs, firms, occupations andcountries” and psychological mobility, or “the capacity to move as seen through themind of the career actor” (Sullivan and Arthur, 2006, p. 21). Psychologicalboundarylessness may manifest itself as the belief that it would be relatively easyto move across organisations, or that extra-organisational networks have createdworking relationships that support current or future employment. Incorporation ofpsychological boundarylessness takes into account the fact that “a person couldembrace a boundaryless mindset, yet rely on one organisation to develop and foster hisor her career” (Briscoe et al., 2006, p. 32). That is, physically individuals may remainwithin a single organisation but perceive their career to be boundaryless if there aremany career opportunities yet to be explored, or if the organisation has encouraged

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horizontal career moves as well as vertical moves, or if the individual is supported bystrong internal and external networks.

MethodThe research used a qualitative methodology. This approach, in which data wasgathered through semi-structured interviews, was considered the best means ofexploring career histories while encouraging individual voice in the sense-makingprocess (Weick, 1995). Interviews have been shown to be an effective tool inresearching careers, providing a rich source of data as individuals reflect on careerchoices and decisions, and the implications and outcomes of those choices (Arthur et al.,1999; Cohen and Mallon, 2001; Sullivan and Mainiero, 2007). In this study personalcareer histories offered insights from which to inductively generate new ideas abouthow individuals view their careers and employability as well as comparing actualcareers with theoretical models (Sekaran, 2000).

The study was conducted in a private outplacement firm located in a largeAustralian city. The organisation specialised in the outplacement of mid-level to seniormanagers whose redundancy package had included between three and six months ofoutplacement support. By targeting clients from this organisation the study providedan opportunity to explore careers at a critical point, that is, during a period of careertransition (Hall and Chandler, 2005). Arnold (1997, p. 594) suggests that “transitionsexpose the fragility of subjective careers”, thus forcing people to rethink their careerstories, to re-evaluate their career success and to re-assess their current employability.It was anticipated that people in mid-level to senior management would haveinteresting stories to tell about their work history and the way in which their careershad evolved over time, particularly given that managerial careers have beensignificantly affected by the loss of traditional hierarchical career paths and by theshift in responsibility for career from the organisation to the individual (Adamson et al.,1998). The researcher was also interested to know how managers, who are normallyexpected to provide career support and direction to their subordinates, had managedtheir own careers within a rapidly changing career context.

Various sampling techniques were used to identify a suitable group of peoplebeginning with a relatively passive approach. Initially an information brochure wasplaced at the reception desk in the hope that clients would volunteer to participate in aninterview, however, this resulted in very low response rates so after several weeksreception staff were asked if they would approach clients directly when they came fortheir weekly consultant’s meeting. At this point the sampling became more purposefulin an attempt to find an adequate number of people to interview as well as ensuring arelatively balanced sample in terms of age, gender, organisation type, professionalbackground and level of seniority (Neuman, 2006). Although this raises the issue ofbias, particularly in terms of the organisation perhaps “selecting” participants with amore positive outlook on the outplacement process, purposeful sampling is regarded asappropriate to qualitative research in which the aim is to identify “information-richcases for study in depth” (Patton, 1990, p. 169). In this instance the resultant sampleincluded people from a diverse range of backgrounds with varied employmentexperiences and at different stages in their careers but all in the process of careertransition. The sample group comprised seven women and thirteen men aged between30 and 60 years of age. Previous employment had been across a range of industriesincluding banking and finance, pharmaceutical goods, or service industries, and in

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both public and private sectors. Their redundancy had resulted from mergers,restructuring or completion of fixed term contracts.

Interviews commenced with a sample of ten people. The interviews, which lastedbetween 60 and 90 minutes, were conducted in a meeting room provided by theoutplacement firm. Using a semi-structured interview guide they began with adiscussion of career history to date and then explored how careers had been managed,perceptions of how careers had changed over time, perceptions of what it means to beemployable and how individuals rated their current employability. The interviewswere digitally recorded and then transcribed into Microsoft Word to allow for apreliminary analysis of the data. This analysis involved reading through thetranscripts to gain an overall feel for the data followed by coding of responsesaccording to topics that reflected the primary focus of the research, that is, the extent towhich individuals had adopted behaviours supportive of career self-management andfuture employability as opposed to behaviours more in line with traditional careers.

Coding and analysis of the data was facilitated by the use of NVivo (QSR, 1997), asoftware program in which data is coded and indexed by emergent themes and keywords under coding nodes. This type of software is particularly useful where largeamounts of qualitative data have been collected. Once the data has been coded it is arelatively simple process to cross reference themes and explore patterns in thetranscripts by analysing node data or comparing data in different nodes (Richards,2005). For example, by coding key words or phrases in relation to career management,(such as “networking”, “career planning”, “career development”), as well as phrasesdescribing career stories and career decisions at critical points in time, categories andcombinations of categories began to emerge from the data. At this stage some patternswere evident but it was felt that a larger sample would provide a more detailed pictureand thus facilitate more useful research findings. Purposeful sampling was again usedto identify another ten people to be interviewed. After twenty interviews it appearedthat no new themes were emerging and thus the researcher decided that it was notnecessary to recruit further participants. This data was then transcribed and coded.Although all the coding was undertaken by the researcher each transcript was codedtwice to check for reliability and consistency and to ensure that no significant issueshad been overlooked in the initial coding (Richards, 2005).

Research findingsFour distinct career patterns emerged from the data; the traditional individual career,the traditional organisational career, the boundaryless career and the protean career.These patterns reflected the extent to which individuals had adopted behavioursassociated with career self-management and employability (King, 2004; Rothwell andArnold, 2007). Career self-management was measured in terms of career planning, orthe setting of clearly defined career goals and plans (Sturges et al., 2002; Briscoe andHall, 2006; Barnett and Bradley, 2007); job mobility, was assessed as the individual’swillingness, capacity and flexibility to move across jobs and organisations (Kosseket al., 1998; Briscoe et al., 2006; Kuijpers and Scheerens, 2006; Feldman and Ng, 2007);and career orientation, as either an internal focus (current job, current organisation) oran external, future career focus (Sturges et al., 2008; van Veldhoven and Dorenbosch,2008). In the following section these career patterns are demonstrated through the workhistories of individuals who typified these key behaviours (see Table I).

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PloddersThe four plodders had pursued a traditional career in which they had anticipated jobsecurity as long as they worked hard and remained loyal to the company. There waslittle indication that their careers had been planned or that they had considered whereeach step would lead in the future. Their focus was very much on short-term individualoutcomes. Personal development was linked to their profession or their currentposition.

Alison (early 50s)[1] completed an undergraduate degree and then worked inindustry for two years before being asked back to the university as a tutor. For 11 yearsshe worked in both academic and administrative roles until she was replaced in herteaching role by a postgraduate student:

I think I paid far too much attention to my job rather than the political environment and Ifailed to complete a PhD. So when a PhD student came along and needed a job, even thoughthey didn’t have any experience in a particular area they were given that position.

Dissatisfied with her ongoing administrative position she began to look around for anew job. Through industry contacts she was offered a job in an organisation in the foodindustry where she remained for the next 16 years. Over this period she was active inher professional association which offered training in areas such as presentation skills,time management and performance coaching. She had also undertaken a large numberof industry related training courses to ensure that she remained up to date with herindustry. She believed that she had made significant contributions to the day-to-dayoperations as well as the future directions of the organisation, however, when advisedthat she was to be made redundant it had not been a surprise:

For me that was pretty much the writing on the wall. Jobs in my area are very few and farbetween so I suspected that if an opportunity came around I would be made redundant.

In addition, she recognised that she lacked political savvy and the capacity to influencemanagers at a higher level. While colleagues networked and actively participated inpolitics she had remained focused on her immediate job which she felt had caused herto be overlooked for promotion. She had also failed to re-direct her career despite thefact that her long-term prospects were becoming increasingly limited. In the lastsixteen years she had applied for two jobs but had been unsuccessful for one and hadwithdrawn from the other because her husband did not want to leave his job andrelocate overseas.

Adam (mid-30s) had joined the public sector after completing an Honours degree.For the next 11 years he had worked across various government departments in projectbased work. To a large extent his public sector career had evolved as a result of thegovernment policies of the day. That is, on several occasions policy changes had led tothe closure or downgrading of projects or functions in which he had been involved thus

Plodders Pragmatists Visionaries Opportunists

Career self-management Unplanned Semi-planned Planned Semi-plannedJob mobility Stable Stable Flexible FlexibleCareer orientation Present Present Future FutureEmployability (self-perceived) Low Low High High

Table I.Career patterns andemployability

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forcing him to look for an alternative position. Over this period he had completed anMBA as well as undertaking various short courses associated with his current project.Following his marriage he had relocated interstate where he found a position as apublic policy manager in a private sector organisation. After four months his contractwas terminated as a result of interpersonal conflicts with his manager.

As he reflected on his career he noted the lack of planning and his failure to thinkabout how today’s decisions might affect tomorrow’s career options:

I think one of my greatest criticisms of my own career is that it probably wasn’t as wellmanaged as I should have made it. I think that there was probably a point a few years ago Icould have gone down one path and I chose not to. . .and it was just because I was saying, ohlook, I’m bored with this place, there’s an opportunity, let’s go there, and I didn’t necessarilythink where that step might take me in the next five years.

Having moved out of the public sector he now realised that he had failed to develop thetype and level of skills that would make him attractive to a private sector employer:

The general nature of my history doesn’t necessarily lend itself to the more specific skill setsthat are in demand by employers who are employing at a level that I might like to enter theprivate workforce at.

In particular, he lacked managerial experience which he now realised was expected forthe salary level that he was seeking. He also realised that he had not developed goodnetworks and so was struggling to know where to look for a job and how to tap into the“hidden” employment market. Throughout the interview he continually reflected onthe way in which his career had evolved with comments such as:

I think that my CV, well I could have been more thoughtful about the development of mycareer up till now.

PragmatistsThe four pragmatists had actively pursued traditional careers within an organisationalframework because they believed the organisation could offer security and stability aswell as variety and professional development. Career decisions had been made in thelight of opportunities within the organisation, which had allowed for both horizontaland vertical career moves.

Lee (late 40s) had worked in a bank for almost thirty years before being maderedundant. He had progressed through a very structured organisational career:

I’m an organisation type of person I suppose. I left school in 1977 at the end of year eleven. Iwent out proactively by myself, managed to get a job with the bank and that was it for thenext 291

2 years.

He had gained experience in all aspects of banking, gradually moving up through theorganisational hierarchy to managerial positions. He had never undertaken any formaltertiary education but had regularly participated in company sponsored training anddevelopment programs. When reflecting on how careers had changed over his workinglife he noted that in the early days the bank had looked after individual careerdevelopment through training, mentoring and internal promotions. His personal careerstrategy had involved:

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. . . waiting until some opportunity arose and then you moved into that position bydemonstrating how good you were in your current position.

However, over time he had realised that by adopting a more proactive approach tocareer management he could “engineer” his next career move. For example, at onepoint he had used his networking skills to move from an administrative position to aquasi-legal role, a role which he found very challenging and rewarding. The range ofopportunities available in such a large organisation had enabled him to pursue a variedand interesting career until downsizing and restructuring had begun to limit futureoptions. His decision to accept redundancy had been based primarily on the fact that inorder to remain with the bank he would have had to accept a position at a lower leveland lower salary than his current job.

John (early 50s) joined an insurance company after completing an undergraduatedegree. He had expected to remain with the organisation until he retired but afterthirty-two years he had been made redundant. Although he had only worked for oneemployer, his career had included a wide variety of positions in both Australia andNew Zealand, each job lasting no more than three to four years. Shortages in hisprofession meant that he had been well looked after. His career had evolved within asecure and comfortable organisational environment:

There was always work; I never had to apply for any of the roles when I was asked to dosomething else. They looked after me well. It was quite easy, if you did a good job therewasn’t any hassle.

He had regularly participated in organisationally sponsored training and developmentworkshops. He had been actively involved in his professional association to ensure thathe kept up-to-date with market changes. He had also completed postgraduatequalifications in Management and Marketing. Over the years he had sometimesconsidered moving to another organisation but had always decided that he was betteroff where he was:

Occasionally something would sound interesting, you’d go off to an interview, but nothingever appealed enough for me to leave.

In hindsight he realised that perspectives on careers had changed in recent years:

Nowadays there’s far more talk about your career being your overall career but notnecessarily in the same company. So you might go elsewhere to get experience and so on but(for me) as long as you had experience with (the company) on your CV it was fine.

Both Lee and John recognised that even though their careers had been interesting andvaried, their lack of mobility would be seen as a negative by potential employers thushampering future employability.

VisionariesThree people described their career to date as something that had been carefullyplanned and executed. There had been a conscious attempt to make career choices thatwould build a long-term career trajectory rather than making short-term job choices.They had been willing to change jobs within or across organisations and to physicallyrelocate to take up a new and challenging career opportunity.

Mike, (aged in his early 50s), had completed a business degree before moving intoaccounting and finance roles in industry. He remained in these roles for the first ten

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years of his career but with a clear goal of branching out into general managementwhen he had gained sufficient experience. The next twenty years were spent inmanagement roles of ever increasing complexity in large international companieswhere he eventually attained a general manager position. Although he had onlyworked for four different companies he had changed roles or organisations every threeto four years or when he felt bored with his current role. He had built up extensivenetworks and gained experience on company boards. He had updated qualificationsthrough regular management development programs and was currently completing anMBA. He described his approach to career in the following terms:

It was important for me that the roles that I had, they were progressive in terms of addingboth depth and breadth of general management experience. And there were some roles that Ideclined because I thought they were going the wrong way. I’ve always taken a lot of pride inmy career and taken a lot of pride in thinking about, well, what’s the next step in my career.

At this point in his career he had opted for redundancy rather than take on a newcontract with his previous organisation believing that he needed to make the transitionto his “last big role” before age became a barrier. Having achieved many of his careergoals he was now looking for a new challenge that would allow him to combine hisinterests in community development and professional development:

What I’m looking for now is something different to what I’ve done before. I mean, I just don’twant to go back and do pretty much the same stuff that I’ve done before with a differentemployer. I just want to do something a bit different.

Alistair (aged in his early 40s) had also worked for four organisations. After leavingschool he had held finance and accounting roles in the banking industry before shiftingto multinational companies in the manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and snack foodsindustries. He had completed a business degree and professional accountingqualifications part-time while working full-time. He had worked in organisationsacross Australia and the USA, his most recent position with a multinational companyin the USA. For family and lifestyle reasons he had now decided to return to Australia.Reflecting on his career he noted that in all the multinational companies in which hehad been involved there had been a strong emphasis on individual responsibility forcareers:

I found that in multinationals they will provide training programs. When they say “its yourresponsibility”, it’s like you really own your own career, we’ll do it together, there’s programsin place and there’s performance appraisals, career discussions but it’s your responsibility toown it and help find which way you want to go.

Alistair recognised that ongoing employability was dependent on maintaining his“brand”:

It was always made quite clear that the career development is up to you and the only way youearn the right to succeed again comes back to being a brand and to deliver the goods.

He had made clear career choices in order to prepare for future roles and futureactivities and to retain control over his own career. His most recent employer hadoffered him a position in Asia which he had rejected because he did not believe that itwould take him down the path that he wanted to go.

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OpportunistsOpportunists comprised the dominant group in this study. The nine people who couldbe categorised in this way displayed a protean approach to career. Their interviewswere frequently punctuated by the words “opportunity” and “change”. They hadpursued varied career paths within a range of jobs and organisations, seeing eachmove as a chance to learn new things and gain different experiences.

After leaving school Tom (mid 50s) had enrolled in a commerce diploma which gavehim entry into the accounting profession:

I started basically as a clerk and built up my skills through moving around with companiesand also at times moving between companies.

His career had been extremely diverse. Over a thirty-six year period he had worked fornine different companies in a range of industries that included construction,manufacturing and banking. He had held positions in accounting, finance, consulting,and project management. He had worked in Australia, Asia and across the SouthPacific. In describing his career he commented:

My career, it’s been a bit chameleon like; I’ve re- invented myself a couple of times.

He regarded himself as a “product” whose skills would be marketable as long as he hadsomething of value to offer an employer. To remain marketable he had sought tocontinually take on new challenges, to update his expertise and to adopt a flexibleattitude. He had upgraded his qualifications (including completing an MBA) as well asundertaking in-house training and development programs. In terms of career planninghe had consciously looked for ways to expand his skills portfolio by learning about onearea or industry and then moving on to another:

I worked for a mix of companies, spent quite a bit of time, about five or six years in theconstruction industry and then right, I know that industry, I’ve got to learn other thing. So Igot into manufacturing to understand the manufacturing industry from an accounting pointof view and also the importing etcetera attached with that.

He noted that while some potential employers regarded his employment history as“unstable” others recognised that he had built up broad knowledge and expertise indivergent industries. His general approach to career had been one of change which hesummarised as, by changing you keep flexible.

Sarah (late 30s) began her working life in her final year of school. Her threepart-time jobs included her own small window cleaning business which had helpedfund her university studies. Having completed a commerce and marketing degree shejoined a large bank in their graduate program. Her decision to take this path was basedon the fact that at that stage she was unsure which direction to go with her career:

I think the main reason for doing the graduate program is I just didn’t really know what Iwanted to do, I had no sense of working in a commercial environment, I had no sense of whatarea of marketing I wanted to focus on.

She saw the graduate program as providing the opportunity to gain experience inmany areas within the organisation and hopefully enable her to discover her strengthsand main interests. On completion of the graduate program she moved into the arearesponsible for organisational change, working on projects that included changingbusiness processes and changing organisational culture. At this point she realised that

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many of the changes within the bank were being driven by technology but that she hadlacked knowledge or experience in this area. To overcome this deficit she asked to staywith one particular project which involved the implementation of technology throughuser interface design so that she could strengthen her expertise and gain a broaderunderstanding of the relationship between people and technology.

After seven years with the bank her next career move was again driven by therealisation that she lacked knowledge of the operational side of technology and whatthat fundamentally meant to business on a day-to-day basis. Her new job providedbroad exposure to a range of operational functions as she moved from businessanalyst, to project manager to business change manager. However, after another sevenyears an organisational restructure led to her position becoming redundant. Followinga short holiday she had recently begun working three days a week as a consultantwhile preparing to move to Canada where her partner had moved with his job.Samantha described her career as unplanned, yet she had constantly sought to makethe most of opportunities to learn new things, to gain further experiences and developnew skills. Her move to Canada was another opportunity to do something she hadnever done before:

I’ve never had that, I never worked overseas, never had that sort of different perspective onthings, and it just seemed like an appropriate time to do it, because I don’t really have anycommitments and I’m really looking at well, how can my life be quite different.

DiscussionGiven that organisations are operating in increasingly unstable environments, to whatextent have individuals responded to these changes by becoming more proactive withregard to career management and employability? In this study results were mixed.There was some evidence that at an individual level people had responded to changingcareer contexts and had recognised the need to be self-aware and adaptable, to plan,and to take control of their own careers. Yet, it was also clear that the traditional,organisationally bounded career was alive and well. Both the plodders and thepragmatists had continued to pursue traditional careers despite signs that this style ofcareer was becoming less secure and less viable. Both groups believed that traditionalcareers offered valid career pathways, varied job opportunities, personal developmentand career progression but their approach to career management differed markedly.

The plodders had seen their careers from a very narrow, short-term, individualperspective. Their careers were characterised by relative stability even though theirwork history may have spanned several organisations in different, but related,occupational categories. There was little evidence of planning, networking, or politicalawareness. Although they had participated in on-going training and development theyhad tended to focus on the short term or on their current industry and profession ratherthan looking for developmental opportunities that might prepare them for the future(Baruch, 2004b). Career moves had been forced on them, rather than initiated by them.Their careers had been characterised by limited physical mobility as well as lowpsychological mobility (Sullivan and Arthur, 2006). Overall, there was little evidence ofbehaviours supportive of ongoing employability such as adaptability and careeridentity, or of the creative use of human and social capital (McArdle et al., 2007).

Alison’s physical mobility had been constrained by her partner’s preference not torelocate even though an international posting would have greatly enhanced her career

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development. Her psychological mobility had been constrained by the tendency tofocus on her job and her profession rather than exploring wider career options. Shenow believed that she would eventually find another job but was not confident that itwould be at the same level as her previous position or that it would be a full-time,permanent position. On several occasions Adam’s position on a project team haddisappeared as a result of political or policy changes but as new roles had alwaysemerged he had never felt the need to explore jobs outside the public sector. He hadenjoyed the comfort zone of the familiar. When he did move to the private sector it hadbeen because his partner had taken a job in another city, not because he was pursuing acareer plan. He was now struggling to know what type of job to look for or what type oforganisation would best suit his qualifications and experience. On reflection bothAlison and Adam realised that their lack of career planning and low level of jobmobility now impacted on their future employability in the external labour market.

The pragmatists’ careers had also been enacted in large organisations but they hadtaken a broader organisational perspective which involved making the best use ofopportunities to progress in their organisation. Their careers had been relatively stablebut there was evidence of some degree of planning. They had identified closely withtheir organisation and their industry. They had enjoyed their work and therelationships that they had developed with peers and external stakeholders. Over timethey had built up significant expertise which contributed to feelings of satisfaction andachievement. From time-to-time they may have considered moving to anotherorganisation but had chosen to stay because their current employer had offered jobsecurity as well as task variety and opportunities for growth, indicating a currentrather than future career orientation. Despite their lack of job mobility people in thisgroup described their career in terms that reflected characteristics of boundaryless orprotean careers. For example, John had worked for the same organisation for 32 yearsbut in that time he had moved from job to job, department to department and countryto country. Although his career may have been physically bounded within a singleorganisation he spoke about his career history in words more indicative of apsychologically boundaryless career (Sullivan and Arthur, 2006). However, theexperience of career transition had made the pragmatists realise that by focusing on aninternal organisational career they had failed to maintain their employability in theexternal labour market and that their options for the future were now quite limited.

In keeping with the contemporary careers literature, the visionaries andopportunists had demonstrated flexible and adaptable behaviours towards careersand employability (Baruch, 2004a). There was evidence of responsiveness toenvironmental changes, of physical and psychological boundarylessness, of reshapingto meet changing environments, and a life-long learning approach to work and career(Hall and Moss, 1998; Arthur et al., 2005). The visionaries had pursued careers thatwere planned and flexible and which reflected characteristics of the boundarylesscareer. In some instances their careers had largely evolved within a few organisationsyet they expressed a strong sense of both physical and psychologicalboundarylessness (Inkson, 2006; Sullivan and Arthur, 2006). They were actively incontrol of their careers which involved planning for the next career move, thinkingwhere that move might lead in the longer term and whether or not that would fit withtheir overall career plans. At times they had declined a seemingly good offer becausethey did not believe that it would take them to where they wanted to go in the future, anindication of a strong future career orientation. They were confident in moving across,

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as well as within, organisations and in taking lateral, as well as vertical, career shifts.Mike had always planned a senior position in general management. He had taken jobsthat contributed to his ongoing development and that provided foundations for hisnext career move. He had displayed high levels of physical and psychological mobilityand as a consequence was now very confident in his own employability in the externallabour market (King et al., 2005).

The opportunists had taken a semi-planned and flexible approach to careers. Theircareers had included many twists and turns as they embraced opportunities to developnew skills, acquire new knowledge and gain experience in different organisations andindustries. Their careers were protean in nature, reflecting both a capacity and awillingness to rapidly reshape and reform themselves in response to their currentcircumstances (Hall and Moss, 1998; Hall, 2004). They displayed a life-long learningattitude towards their careers, highly developed self-assessment skills and anawareness of what was happening in the internal and external environment (Hall andMirvis, 1996). Their careers had been values driven and self-directed (Briscoe et al.,2006). They demonstrated a high level of job mobility (in both internal and externallabour markets) and a strong future career orientation. For example, Sarah had lookedfor opportunities to expand her skills portfolio by taking on new projects, acceptinglateral career moves and pursuing personal interests. She had strong work-relatedvalues in terms of only wanting to pursue jobs that would provide satisfaction,challenge and opportunities for growth.

Using career assetsIn addition to career planning and career flexibility, career patterns reflected howpeople made use of their career assets (DeFillippi and Arthur, 1996). Inkson and Arthur(2001) describe career assets as “three ways of knowing”. Knowing why refers to the“sense of purpose, motivation and identification with our work that we bring to ourcareers”. Knowing how includes “the skills, expertise, tacit and explicit knowledge”accumulated over time, while knowing whom describes “the attachments,relationships, reputation, sources of information and mutual obligations that wegather as we pursue our careers” (Inkson and Arthur, 2001, p. 51).

The plodders demonstrated a strong sense of knowing how and knowing why buthad poorly developed skills in the area of knowing whom. Thinking about their careersto date, they realised that lack of political networking had hampered their careerprogress and had meant that they tended to be overlooked for internal promotions infavour of colleagues who were able to make the “right” connections. Although they hadgood professional knowledge, skills and experience they were unsure of theiremployability in the external labour market due to their limited personal networks.The pragmatists, who identified closely with their organisation and their profession,were strong on knowing why. They also had high level organisational skills andexpertise (knowing how) and good internal networks (knowing whom) but theirexternal networks were generally weak. Having worked for many years in the sameorganisation they recognised that they were now labelled by potential employers as“institutionalised” which was likely to limit their future employment prospects.

The visionaries were characterised by a strong sense of knowing why. They weremotivated to succeed and had a clear sense of purpose about their career choices.However, they also demonstrated the capacity for knowing how and knowing whom.Their approach to career had ensured that they had built up very marketable career

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assets that supported a high level of employability. They were confident that they wouldbe able to make yet another transition relatively easily. The opportunists had focused onknowing how but unlike those pursuing traditional careers they had looked for ways toenhance their generic skills portfolio for current as well as future employability. Thisapproach to career was evident in their capacity for change and their desire forcontinuous learning and development. They not only understood how the employmentmarket operated but were aware of what they could offer a potential employer.

Responses to changeThis sample comprised people whose careers had spanned the turbulent decades of the1980s and 1990s when many organisations had undergone significant structuralchange in response to environmental pressures (Reitman and Schneer, 2003; Feldmanand Ng, 2007). The experience of career transition, as well as the self-assessmentactivities that they had undertaken as part of the outplacement process, had led to are-evaluation of their careers to date and a re-assessment of their perceivedemployability. In reflecting on their career histories, many commented on thefundamental changes that had occurred in the nature of careers and careermanagement over time. They were well aware that career success, once associated withloyalty, hard work, and organizationally specific skills and experience, was nowassociated more closely with a proactive approach to career management (whichincluded a high degree of self-awareness), the capacity and willingness to be flexible(physically or psychologically), and responsiveness to change (in both the internal andexternal labour markets). Some noted that while organisations continued to offer adegree of support for careers there had been a marked shift towards careerself-management (Quigley and Tymon, 2006).

Choice of career pattern did not appear to be directly linked to age or gender,although as expected older people were more likely to have experienced long-termemployment with one organization while younger people had changed jobs andorganizations more frequently. Those who now perceived themselves as having a highlevel of current employability indicated that throughout their careers they had beenaware of, and responsive to, what was happening in their environment. They hadmaintained a future career orientation with a focus on upgrading skills, networking,looking for opportunities and rejecting career moves that might lead to a dead end.They had embraced physical flexibility by moving across, or within, jobs, projects andorganisations which, as King et al. (2005, p. 986) suggest, “facilitates regular updating,because it increases the range of skills and knowledge acquired”. Thus bothintra-organisational and inter-organisational career moves may stimulatepsychological flexibility by encouraging skill updates, life-long learning and a moreresilient response to change (van der Heijden, 2001). From an external viewpointcareers may appear to be relatively stable (enacted within a single organisation) yet becharacterised by behaviours such as a willingness to learn new things, to take on newprojects or to adapt to new systems and processes, behaviours normally associatedwith flexible career patterns. Those who perceived they had a high level ofemployability had also demonstrated a willingness to engage in some form of careerplanning, either long term strategic or shorter term, but with view to building andusing career assets. Those with a more boundaryless mind-set had made strategiccareer decisions that involved lateral as well as vertical job shifts and regularself-assessment. The protean careerists had been less strategic but had seized

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opportunities to prepare themselves for the next step in their career thus continuallyenhancing their career assets. By contrast, those who had pursued relatively stabletraditional careers perceived their current employability to be quite low. Theyacknowledged that they had either not noticed the ways in which careers werechanging, or had noticed, but not responded appropriately. They had continued towork hard, to maintain the skills required for their current job and to build internalnetworks yet had failed to prepare for future employability.

Conclusion and implicationsPatterns of career and employment have changed and, no doubt, will continue tochange in response to organizational factors and individual choices (De Vos andDewettinck, 2008). In this dynamic environment the challenge for researchers is tocontinually re-examine existing career models and then to evaluate their usefulness inthe light of actual career behaviours (Arthur et al., 2005). Reflecting on the ways inwhich different career patterns influence individual outcomes, such as the likelihood ofbecoming employed or remaining employed in current labour markets, enhances ourunderstanding of how best to manage careers for ongoing employability.

The findings of this exploratory study indicate that despite significant changes toorganizational and career structures some individuals have remained locked in atraditional career mindset in which the focus is on current roles and maintenance ofexisting skills rather than preparing for an uncertain future through ongoingself-assessment, environmental scanning and skill development. At the same time,there is evidence that others are pursuing boundaryless or protean career paths, whilefor some people career consists of an interweaving of all three models. That is, in thisstudy some had followed quite traditional careers, working for a single organizationuntil they had been made redundant, yet they had demonstrated a psychologicallyboundaryless attitude and a proactive, adaptive approach to change. When assessingperceived employability the critical issues did not seem to be whether careers had beenunplanned, semi-planned or planned but the extent to which individuals had exhibitedboth job mobility and a future career orientation. Those with experience across a rangeof roles and organizations, as well as a focus on developing themselves for the future,were more confident in their employability and more optimistic about the future. Thisfinding is significant for older workers. Research suggests that there is generally anegative relationship between age and employability and that “the degree ofemployability indeed decreases with the age of the employee, especially where thetransition to a new job field, or to a higher job is concerned” (van der Heijden, 2002, p.58). While there is significant evidence that age stereotypes impact on employmentoptions for older workers, in this study there were indications that the effects of agecould be moderated by prior career patterns. In terms of career success, it would seemthat the critical issue was not which model was adopted, but whether or not individualsadopted behaviours and mind-sets generally associated with boundaryless or proteancareers in which the individual accepts responsibility for career management, seeksopportunities for personal and career development, and is willing to continually adaptand change. Mind-sets and behaviours, such as lifelong learning, flexibility,adaptability, self-awareness, networking and career planning, help build careerassets and thus support ongoing employability and long-term career success. Theyalso offer a good fit with the shift towards more transactional employmentrelationships.

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To some extent these findings are limited by the fact that self-reported careerhistories are by nature highly subjective and thus may not accurately measureobjective career success. Self-perceived employability is also highly subjective. In thisstudy individuals tended to base their current employability on previous labour marketexperiences which may not provide a realistic evaluation given volatility in the labourmarket as well as the impact of individual factors such as increasing age and degree ofskill maintenance. Self-perceived employability is also dependent on how individualsevaluate characteristics such as adaptability, flexibility and life-long learning, andwhether or not they are able to realistically self-assess. However, self perception isimportant because it indicates that individuals are engaging in the self-assessmentprocesses required to evaluate current employability and manage employability for thefuture (Kossek et al., 1998; Rothwell and Arnold, 2007).

The findings may also be limited by the size of the sample and the focus onmanagerial level employees. Nevertheless, this study provides useful insights into howpeople view their career histories and their career choices and decisions at a significantpoint in their lives (Gibson, 2004). These times of reflection are important in the studyof careers as they have the potential to stimulate a more critical evaluation of bothobjective and subjective career success, particularly when job loss is accompanied byformal career transition processes. It was evident that the experience of job loss hadprompted a re-thinking of how career had been managed to date and how this nowimpacted on their employability. An extension of the research to incorporate people atdifferent levels or in different professions would indicate whether these approaches tocareer management are generally applicable or only applicable to those at a manageriallevel.

As career patterns continue to evolve the ability to adapt and change will be criticalto individual career success as well as to organizational performance. Careermanagement at an individual level will need to focus more on the development ofattitudes and behaviours supportive of employability, such as job mobility and a futurecareer orientation, than on formal career planning. At an organizational level the shiftto an employability mindset can be supported by providing opportunities for careerenhancing activities such as job rotations, short-term projects and internal and externalnetworking. Career management and employability may now be considered primarilyan individual responsibility yet organisations have much to gain by encouraging moreflexible attitudes and behaviours and helping prepare their employees for the future.

Note

1. Interviewees have been given pseudonyms to protect their anonymity.

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About the authorMarilyn Clarke is a Senior Lecturer in the Business School at the University of Adelaide whereshe teaches Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management. Prior to commencingan academic career she worked in Business Planning, Marketing and HRM for a large Australianorganization. Her research interests include the individual experience of job loss, particularly inthe context of voluntary redundancy, changing patterns of careers, career transitions andemployability. She is currently involved in a study of career pathways for the aged care industrywhich will explore ways to make aged care a more attractive profession.

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