1. PERSONALLY MANAGING YOUR PROFESSIONAL PATH

In the 1970s and 80s it was considered good form to build and to know how to manage one's "professional career", so logical it was for responsibilities to increase from one position to another. Today, the term "career" has all but disappeared, having been replaced by the more flexible expression "professional path", as ups and downs are predictable if not inevitable. Learning to anticipate them is a matter of course, but should a career mishap still occur, knowing how to bounce back is of the essence. Here are some tips for visual navigation in rough weather (beginners can apply them immediately, while they will help the experienced to change direction...)

No, enterprises no longer take life-long responsibility for their employees. They themselves are so beset by uncertainties that they can no longer guarantee job security. A radical change of mentality is needed: as security can no longer be found around you, you must look for it within yourself. This means that you must personally manage your own professional path, choose your basic profession, then the various employers with whom you intend to work. Life-long loyalty is a thing of the past, it has given way to partnership. Now you stay with the same employer as long as your skills are needed and are being upgraded, as long as you are getting as much as you are giving (the win-win relationship advocated by the Gordon technique). For this you will need above all to carry out regular introspection, make an assessment of your skills, compare your actual experience with your past and present wishes, not to be content with the appearance of a job, but ask yourself the key question (and above all, reply honestly): what would the company lose if I were dismissed?...