Career Success - What Is It and How Do We Attain It?

Written by: Crystal O'Brien, Esq.

In "What Do Proactive People Do? A Longitudinal Model Linking Proactive Personality and Career Success," Scott Seibert and others discuss the impact of proactive behavior on employee satisfaction with personal career success.  The authors argue that in a "boundaryless" career environment where work experiences can span many different employers, work arrangements and types of skills, individuals are responsible for managing their own careers, and individual behavior plays an increasingly important role in success/satisfaction. 

Thus, for many, the key to career success can often lie with the individual.  
 
Career success is believed to combine some variant of skill, motivation, determination, and personality to create that combine to result in personal  fulfillment and financial reward.  Truly, individuals are the masters of their own career success and satisfaction.
 
So what to do if you don't feel personally satisfied with your career?  Before you decide to walk away from your current employment, consider the following:

• How does what I am currently engaged in fit within my career goals?
• What are my career goals?
• What is the purpose of my current career objective?
• How does my current employment fit within my plan for making an impact on my family and community?  
• What are my personal strengths, talents, and skills? And how can I contribute those to my workplace and/or community? 
• How does my employment improve and refine my strengths, talents, and skills?

Finally, in the words of Ayn Rand, "The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity." With that, we say forge ahead towards personal satisfaction and success and understand that every career experience breeds an opportunity for personal growth. 

For more on this topic consider principles of career success.