{"id":9211,"date":"2024-04-25T23:29:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T23:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/?post_type=resources&p=9211"},"modified":"2026-04-27T12:39:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T12:39:52","slug":"the-squiggly-career","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/www.brightmine.com\/uk\/resources\/talent-management\/learning-development\/the-squiggly-career\/","title":{"rendered":"4 steps to help businesses embrace the squiggly careers era"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Laurie Macpherson<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Careers are “squigglier” than ever. Where traditional professional development tended to be linear, individuals now often trace more zigzag-shaped paths as they acquire new skills to adapt to rapidly changing workplace needs. Career mentor and expert Laurie Macpherson sets out four ways in which HR can support employees to upskill, grow their network and track their achievements \u2014 so allowing organisations to retain talented members of their workforce<\/a> rather than losing them to opportunities elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phrase “squiggly career” was coined by Sarah Ellis and Helen Tupper, the powerhouses behind the books The Squiggly Career<\/em> and You Coach You<\/em> and the brilliant Squiggly Careers podcast. They talk passionately<\/a> about the number of careers we are likely to have nowadays and how so many of the skills we have at the moment will become obsolete in the future<\/a>. Research from Forbes suggests that nearly half (49%) of the skills that exist in the workforce today won’t be relevant in two years’ time<\/a>. So it’s clear that both employers and employees need to keep evolving and changing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that employees are looking for development more than ever and will leave companies if this doesn’t happen, so allowing them to shadow other roles, offering mentoring from different parts of the business and providing opportunities to work with people in other teams on projects has benefits for both staff and employers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s time for both employers and employees to think differently <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To ensure they have the requisite skills as opportunities, audiences and technologies change, employers need to think about how they can allow staff to retrain and move between roles while remaining with a single organisation long term. As such, it might be helpful to encourage employees to think less along the lines of “I am an X” and more along the lines of “I have skills in X and Y” as they consider their career development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If employees understand that their career is less likely to involve climbing and more likely to involve trying new things, upskilling and investigating options, it is probable that they will find the process fun and interesting, rather than terrifying and unsettling. This requires a change of mindset from thinking only about linear career progression to thinking about possibilities and things to explore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Research from Forbes suggests that nearly half (49%) of the skills that exist in the workforce today won’t be relevant in two years’ time. So it’s clear that both employers and employees need to keep evolving and changing.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

What employees need to do  <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To navigate all of this uncertainty and to demonstrate their readiness for new opportunities, employees need two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n