Career Progress: What Workers Want & 21st Century Career Advancement

When we surveyed U.S. workers for the State of Work and Career Success 2022, we asked them about what activities they engage in to advance their careers, both in and outside of work. And what we found is that the traditional way of learning is shifting, especially for the younger generations of digital natives.

What Career Advancement Activities Are U.S. Workers Engaged In? 

Unsurprisingly, workers are usually turning to digital resources when they want to pursue career development. 

85% of workers are learning new skills using online resources like online videos and 82% of workers are staying up to date with their field through digital media like videos or podcasts (and just over half of those surveyed engage in these activities every one to three months).

Unfortunately, discussing their career with a mentor is the activity they engage in the least, even though it is a high priority for many and is a critical driver of work and career success. In fact, only 37% of U.S. Workers report feeling successful when it comes to having a mentor who will meet with them regularly to discuss their career. 

Given what I shared a couple weeks ago, the key to success for highly successful workers is having a career plan and the relevant people — such as mentors — to help them achieve their goals, but most people aren’t doing this. They’re struggling most with developing a relationship with a mentor, finding a career sponsor, and building a network.

So mentorship should be a priority for both individuals and organizations, but there’s only so much that individuals can do by themselves. Many people need the organizations they work for to facilitate mentorship if they hope to get a mentor — and our survey revealed that over half of Gen Z (52%) and millennials (55%) expect their employer to be responsible for preparing them for the future of work.

But formal mentorship programs are also just good for organizations... when implemented well, at least. If your organization doesn’t have a mentorship program currently, this is one of the most impactful things you can do to help your people feel more successful, which in turn reduces the likelihood of them leaving.

Preparing for a Portfolio Career

Millennials and Gen-Z are preparing for portfolio careers, or a career that consists of a breadth of experiences across industries. For those in their 20s, 50% believe they have to change roles and jobs often if they hope to be successful in their careers.

There are a few possible reasons for this, but I think the two biggest drivers for the shift towards portfolio careers are passion and risk management.

Purpose and passion have been business buzzwords for at least a decade, but this trend towards desiring purpose in your career was magnified by the pandemic. 62% of those in their 30s now expect to make a social impact in their career and over half of those in their 20s believe it’s important for their company to offer volunteer opportunities. I wrote about this in more detail a few weeks ago in “Purpose, Passion, & Pay: The Changing Priorities of the Workforce.”

When it comes to risk, it’s not as simple as organizations not being able to trust that younger workers will stay — many young workers saw financial insecurity in their families in the ‘00s and all of them witnessed entire industries struggle in the pandemic, with millions of jobs disappearing almost overnight (and the industries hit the hardest also tend to have younger employees). The rise of the gig economy, in part, reflects this desire and need for people to not put all of their eggs in one basket. And organizations are going to have to learn to embrace this kind of worker if they want to leverage young talent (who will eventually become most of the talent).

If you’re interested in learning more about portfolio careers or creating your own career mashup, check out “Building the Business of You."