SUCCESFUL CAREER PATH 1

A Wise Choice to get a Successful Career Path

Oscar Giovanny Quispe Guanoluisa

Centennial College

College Communications 2 / COMM170-402

Professor Manijeh Masoodi

November 21, 2021

SUCCESFUL CAREER PATH 2

A Wise Choice to get a Successful Career Path

Introduction

The straight-line career path as a ladder that the world inherited from the last century greatly

limits the evolution of companies and workers eager to learn challenging things. Therefore, Tthe radical

idea of a squiggly career will foster new abilities for new job positions in situations like a pandemic. A

squiggly career with many options for growth and learning is a challenge to define one's own success and

explore other hidden skills. The idea of an alternative path to the ideal career path as a straight linelinear

one in the narrative presentedwritten by Ellis & Tupper in the talk "The best career path isn't always a

straight line" (2021) showsdescribes substantial professional and life experiences. These professional and

life experiences can convince people who feel limited in an organization to decide on a path of constant

learning and increasing resilience. for the current age of society.

By researching other studies and presentations on the 'best' professional trajectories people can

notice that the Ellis and Tupper talk has valid prospects on the possible advantages of a squiggly career.

But in the same way, it has defects in terms of generalizing the disadvantages of the typical model of a

professional career. The Ellis and Tupper narrative is relevant and significant in the current days due to

the massive need to reinvent themselves within the professional path. The arguments of the presentation

state different points of view to contrast two models of career path. This comparison lets the audience

understand how people could benefit from a not straight career path and the possible difficulties of

becoming a successful professional within a squiggly career.

Summary

In the Ted Talk lecture "The best career path isn't always a straight line," Helen Tupper and Sarah

Ellis (2021) address the issue of how society should replace the model straight-line path to success with a

meandering career with constant learning and growth. The exhibitors present the subject based on their

experiences lived within the creation of their professional path. They describe how they started on the

road to success by following straight-line professional growth as all companies establish. The story begins

from their university stage, going through the time when they work like most people, the stage where
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there were things that did not square them about their professional careers, and finally the moment when

they realized that a career can be built in different ways with branches that come off it. In each situation

that they tealk aboutll in the conference, they give important details as they changed their success ideas.

The ideas from promotions and salary increase were dazzling until they hadve a clear idea of how to

redefine the conceptidea of learning at workwork learning. And in this way, to break the straight line of

growth and have irregular careers with more learning options to develop a changing successful career

path.

Response

Ellis and Tupper demonstrate the veracity and relevance of the subject of their exhibition by

detailing their own experiences lived in its different stages until reaching the moment of changing the

idea about the best career path. The relevance of the topic with current concerns allows the audience to be

very interested to hear more even though they do not give a concrete concept that it is a squiggly race.

When reviewing other sources about a winding career path, a very clarifying defintionone was found.

According to Compass Maven (2017), a squiggly career path is one with many directions to move in

,which and not all of them are obvious., Aand sometimes there are shortcuts and other times peopleyou

must take a long way. With such a clearer definition such as the Compass Maven setsgives us in his

article, then peoplewe can have a direct vision of whetherif this new method of shaping theirour

professional path is going to work or alignif itthey aligns with theirour long-term goals. Nowadays, from

time-to-time new ideas or movements are generated to gogoing against the traditional. These ideas andor

movements have their initial objective of causing a change in the way many recruiters carry the processes

within their biggest corporations. Nevertheless, in the background of these ideas sometimes do not appear

the steps to follow and how to end satisfactorily this new path as people just get the motivation to choose

another career path and the possibility to feel professionally fulfilled without specific strategies.interests

appear that are not necessarily seeking the common good, as in this case allowing people to have more

ways to feel professionally fulfilled. The points of view that Ellis and Tupper establish to publicize this

innovative method of achieving a successful career need a greater amount of statistical data that shows
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the background of this new career path is being fully understood by the people who are opting to use it in

their professionalwork lives. Furthermore, the claims against the ladder-type model generate an image of

idealization of the new method by mentioning that we should all abandon the model that governed us for

more than a century (Ellis &Tupper, 2021). As if this new method had no shortcomings in its

implementation in the real world of work. Since certain types of people work better with the previous

model than with the irregular career model where they may feel insecure and confused by not being able

to follow a single option.

The speakers show a lack of truthful evidence when they state that “Ladders are limiting. They

limit learning and they limit opportunity, and if organizations don't lose the ladder, they will lose their people, the

people that are always adapting, that never stop learning and who are open to the opportunities that come their

way” (Ellis & Tupper, 2021). These comments about the limitsdisadvantages of the typical straight-line stairway

in a generalized way without an option to replicate generates some complexity to receive the message. The

narrative of the exhibition changes in a certain way and causes the relevance and veracity of the main idea to be

called into question. The speakers to avoid sounding negative criticism their points of view should use an

argument and counterargument. In this way, they would be showing that they do not have the absolute truth on

the subject, only that they have livedfelt the benefits of choosing and implementing a squiggly career to be

successful professionally. Without this implying promotion or constant salary increases. In the same way, as with

the first statement in this second criticism segment, an external source was evaluated. This source agrees that

careers are no longer linear. Even when people think they are following a straight path, they are not doing

so. These people do not lose interest in learning and adaptability (Castrillon, 2020). The fact of finding an

alternate path to the one that all life and most of the people follow does not mean that this new path is

perfect. Rather, it opens up a range of possibilities that if an individual is not aligned with either of these

two methods of the professional path, then another option would be generated to improve. For example,

in certain corporations, it has been noted that an individualistic and narcissistic profile benefits certain

people to grow in their professional careers. A person with a high level of narcissism is 29% more likely

to grow rapidly within an organization with a ladder-type career model (Robson, 2021). Despite the fact
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that the speakers of the presentation try to convince the audience that the change of model is urgent, other

studies have different perspectives that support the current professional model. It is true that the current

model does not offer the same opportunities for professional growth to all careers, but within the straight-

line ladder model, people can also find alternatives that strengthen constant learning. Regarding this idea,

a study shows that psychologists can go out of their professional career line and opt for another that goes

out of their typical options. This option is to become an organizational leader where psychologists are

challenged to learn new skills and open their horizons to a path that complements their career (Thorn &

Yancey, 2021). In this way, it can be concluded that it is not about promoting a new model by

highlighting the weak points of the current model. On the contrary, the idea is to seek actions that produce

challenging changes within the traditional model that has governed the professional lives of several

generations.

Conclusion

To sum up, Tthe typical career path that people have followed for a century today does not bear

the same results that in the pastfruits. The experiences recounted by Ellis and Tupper show valuable

relevance to the argument that more options must be sought to have a successful professional career

despite falling into a changingwinding career path. Professional success is not the same for the different

types of people who exist in the world of work. Many times, people agree and are happy to follow an

outdated model. Although this model provides them with some mental and financial security, it is not

always the best way to get a successful careero. The message that provides the presentation is more

persuasive than informative because the authors explain more a detail the advantages of an irregular

career and they do not mention the possible benefits of the straight career path. If people want to diversify

their career path by learning new skills, then they must understand that they will face uncertainty and

challenges but also many possibilities for changedeveloping soft skills in emerging work areas with a

squiggly career. Likewise, it should be taken into account that how success is perceived in the

professional career depends on how people are and what they seek to achieve as goals. Therefore, if

people choose one path or the other for their professional growth, that will not determine whether they
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will be successful in the future. What will shape their success will be the discipline and hard work they do

to achieve your goals.

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References

Castrillon, C. (2020). What To Do When You Lack Career Direction. Retrieved from

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecastrillon/2020/03/22/what-to-do-when-you-lack-career-

direction/?sh=b2b28566e6a9

Compass Maven. (2017). Your Career Isn't A Straight Line. Retrieved from

https://www.compassmaven.com/blog/your-career-isnt-a-straight-line

Robson, D. (September 1, 2021). How narcissists climb the career ladder quickly. Retrieved from

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20210830-how-narcissists-climb-the-career-ladder-quickly

Sheehan, L. [TEDx Talks] (June 8, 2018). Career Change: The Questions You Need to Ask Yourself

Now [Video file]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIjH8MCbONI&t=1s

Thorn, M., & Yancey, B. (2021). Becoming an organizational leader: A different career path for

psychologists. The Psychologist-Manager Journal, 24(3), 183–198. https://doi.org/10.1037/mgr0000117