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Organizations are undergoing a metamorphosis today. Whether one speaks of "downsizing, "rightsizing," "flattening," becoming a "learning organization," or simply of a "transformation" into something as yet unknown, no one would deny that profound changes are occurring worldwide. These changes in the occupational environment have implications for career development in the future. Will there even be such a concept as an "organizational career," or will careers become a more fragmented set of jobs held together far more by what I
have labeled the "internal career?" The internal career involves a subjective sense of where one is going in one's work life, as contrasted with the "external career," the formal stages and roles defined by organizational policies and societal concepts of what an individual can expect in the occupational structure.' In studying careers longitudinally, it became evident that most people form a strong self-concept, a "career anchor," that holds their internal career
together even as they experience dramatic changes in their external career. But will the concept of career anchor still be applicable in this rapidly changing world? What are the implications for career development as we look at several future scenarios of how the world might evolve further in the 21st Century.2
Career Anchors: Some Speculations on their Evolution
A person's career anchor is his or her self-concept, consisting of 1) self-perceived talents and abilities, 2) basic values, and, most important, 3) the evolved sense of motives and needs as they pertain to the career. Career anchors evolve only as one gains occupational and life experience. However, once the self-concept has been formed, it functions as a stabilizing force, an anchor, and can be thought of as the values and motives that the person will not give up if forced to make a choice. Most of us are not aware of our career anchors until we are forced to make choices pertaining to self-development, family, or career. Yet it is important to become aware of them so that we can choose wisely when choices have to be made.
My original research in the mid-1970's showed that most people's self-concepts revolved around five categories reflecting basic values, motives, and needs: 1) Autonomy/independence; 2) Security/stability; 3) Technical-functional competence; 4) General Managerial Competence; and 5) Entrepreneurial...