Mentoring: Career success in a changing business

Those of us fortunate enough to live here over the past four years have witnessed a remarkable transformation across the region. The present spate of building and infrastructure activity, establishment of trading zones, creation of business centres of excellence and financial markets has raised concern among many who question the substance behind the façade.

Regardless of whether or not we may believe the viability of all the new regional initiatives, IPOs, alliances, compliance and reformation, etc, one thing is for sure it spells change!

I have often pointed out that career progression is contingent upon a combination of personal and, importantly, external factors. The list is long. Market drivers, competitive threat, company positioning and brand value, removal of trade barriers, regional growth and the turbulence and instability within the markets, the "whirlpool" effect, alignment with protocols such as WTO, an incorrect business model causing bad hiring decisions, an uncertain US dollar, and in addition the impact of external pressure resulting in companies establishing hiring barriers.

We must also take stock of the consequences of continuous change.

This is an era of collaboration, as regional markets cast off the manacles of monopoly, grace and favour. No longer is the Middle East considered a region that trades only with its own, the sub-continent and parts of Asia. In its bid to become an international player and trading bloc in its own right, parts of the Middle East are fast being recognised as world-class.

Herein lies a major hurdle for all career seekers. The need to identify 'datum point' shifts and subsequently position oneself to catch a market upswing.

With the regional markets evolving at such a fast pace, it becomes increasingly difficult to establish those points and subsequently develop a plan to take you to the next level. In the same way that there is a correlation relating career satisfaction and company success, then so is there a direct relationship between career satisfaction and prevailing market conditions. Two of the major hurdles facing the individual are critical issues and are outside their control, namely: the hiring environment and company positioning within the market.

As noted in the past, the long-term success of the region is dependent upon securing the right people for the job and once on board, retaining them. Not understanding the difference between a job and a career works against the interest of the individual. If you are in the wrong frame of mind when you go to market, then you are quite likely going to be shaped by some hiring agencies and those companies that do not understand their own requirements. In effect you will turn into a convenient fit.

Long-term, this translates to career disaster and business under-performance.

Another 'datum reference' is that of job title, since job titles without substance are meaningless. A general manager with inadequate signature authority or freedom to make business commitments without the need for recourse to a line-manager is a position of dubious substance. It also tells us something about company attitude to trusting its people.

Career advancement demands a thorough understanding of the market and the drivers that influence the way the market is moving. One of the main difficulties is that the job arena is amorphous, because the very factors that create opportunity continue to change and are doing so at an increasing pace.

It is a difficult proposition how to develop a suitable career plan, within an arena that continues to change at a rapid pace and, with that change, the uncertainty it brings.

Change is needed across the whole of the business process, from company form to recruitment and staff retention. Company form and the function of internal departments need to align and work seamlessly.

- The author is principal of career management and mentoring specialists Career Partners in the Middle East.