Particularly for those who are about to graduate, ask yourself this question: Have you ever felt that limiting your career to one 9-5 job won’t be enough to fulfill all your passions or make enough money? If you answered “yes,” I recommend picking up a copy of “Get a Life, Not a Job: Do What You Love and Let Your Talents Work for You” by Paula Caligiuri, PhD.
Caligiuri turns the traditional career model on its head. By tapping into your passions to pursue multiple careers at the same time, she says you can create a flexible, future-friendly life that will withstand the ebb and flow of financial change while providing unprecedented satisfaction. Who doesn’t want that?
Heather Huhman: Can you explain the concept of “career acts”?
Paula Caligiuri: I believe people should have multiple sources of income – or career acts – based on the things they truly love to do or enjoy. Ideally, you should think about managing your career in the same way you’d manage your investment portfolio – diversify.
If you receive all of your income from one source – the classic 40 hour per week employer – you should make sure it is secure and be sure you are doing something you enjoy. Most people need greater diversification for commensurate satisfaction and financial security.
HH: Are you suggesting that people should work more than one job?
PC: For some, yes. For others, no. Ideally, I’d love to see more people pursue entrepreneurial ventures in their spare time – a high risk, high reward strategy to use the investment analogy. Of course, I don’t want people to work multiple jobs they dislike. If you already enjoy what you are doing for one employer, be sure you are in a strategically critical and unique role. Great performance reviews are no longer sufficient for job security.
The idea of career acts is that people leverage their talents to start generating additional income doing things they truly love.
HH: What is an example of combining several career acts?
PC: Grayson Leverenz left a top marketing job to combine her passions into a career. She runs her own business called “MBA in the USA,” to help international students adjust to attending school in the U.S. She is also working at a yoga studio and advises business people on how to live and work in different cultures.
HH: What are a few practical steps someone can take to create a career with multiple career acts?
PC: Self-awareness is a big – but not often easy – first step. What do you enjoy? How do you like to work? What are your talents? You’d be amazed at how many people cannot answer these questions.
The next step is identifying what your ideal career would be. Then, once you know the goal, work on the plan for getting there. For example, what additional skills do you need? How do you break in? In some cases, for example, targeted volunteerism really helps people gain skills and break into an industry.
HH: In your book, you say many people are following outdated career advice. Can you tell us what those outdated precepts are? What precepts have replaced them?
PC: Our parents and advisors will usually urge us to “go work for a big name company.” Big companies can be great employers, but everyone needs to know that most companies now have a far more strategic approach to managing their human talent. To contain costs, they need to differentially invest in key people who are in wealth-creating roles. It is great if you are doing what you enjoy in a big company – just try to get yourself into a critical role so you can also enjoy greater job security.
For more career advice, visit my blog at HeatherHuhman.com.
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