Your Career Path Doesn't Have to Be a Straight Line

You may think of your career as a ladder–you can go up, or down–but a better analogy might be a rock climbing wall, where going sideways, or even backwards, can be how you find your unique route to the top. KeyAnna Schmiedl, global head of culture and inclusion at Wayfair, explains what real-life rock climbing taught her about defining career advancement for herself.

00:00 “When I say career development, what do you think?”
00:30 It can’t just be that there is one path for everyone.
01:23 Rock walls are scary: How do I start climbing?
02:30 What if you don’t know your strengths?
03:35 Going backwards or sideways is okay.
05:05 There is no one “correct” path.
05:47 Here’s an alternate model of success.
06:24 You can actually define what success means to you.

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[fatikay]

Wow... this couldn't come at a better time for me!!! You have been describing my life right now. I find this insightful and very encouraging! Thank you! P.s. you look beautiful 😊. Love the colors!

[christinedlgRGV]

Perfect timing for me... (6 months after posted). I have been struggling with HR/Hiring Managers looking at my career as non-linear, i.e. they want linear... they want to see the ladder, so they can tick off the boxes on their hiring paperwork... but my career has totally been a rock-wall-climbing career path! I think I might have to create my own info-graphic!

[charlesomwoyo]

Wow I am lucky I found this video today, just the right timing when I am feel stuck in my career

[templesletstalk]

This is such a GREAT video!!! Thanks for sharing

[somosagricultura]

Interesting point of view. It's a great analogy to understand the path to professional success. Thanks for sharing.

[mrlindamandyu]

Invaluable insights, precise analogy that carefully illumines the career trajectory in a vantage point I have never considered before; the storytelling and connecting of important advice and ideas was expertly articulated. @HBR and KeyAnn Kudos to you, the best 7 minutes spent on this platform.

[aoitetsu]

Thank Harvard Business Review and Miss KeyAnna Schmiedl for this video! I have been struggle immensely getting into the workforce because of the typical lineart career path. I want to try more and experiment more in different positions and industries to find out my strength and skillset, and yet the hiring people often disagree and express dissatisfaction hearing this in the interview. They all want someone that have a straight career path in only one industry. I've been discouraged so many times so it's comforting to watch this video.

[ainunh_]

It's so inspiring especially for me seeing what shall I do in my intersections of career path

[christianhuble]

How timely. Lately, my students have been coming to me with their frustrations experiencing "detours" along their life path. I've taken the opportunity to paint them a picture of a series of intertwining paths. As we weave our way through the many paths, one path begins to appear highlighted for us, and we find our own way forward. I've ironically also started climbing at a local gym. Thanks for completing this metaphor for me.

[Virxo]

This is a great way to explain and give advice.

[sarikavijay]

KeyAnna Schmiedl does a fanstic job of articulating what it feels like to have a non linear career. Love the rock wall analogy! Yes, success looks different to different ppl at different points in time! Thank you for giving me the words to explain why I made choices that were so different from the mainstream ones.

[mionitrarxz]

Yet this is what I really needed to understand. Thanks for the share ! 🤩

[michaelrubio]

Great advice love this! Climb based on your strengths! Very true

[naveenswarnkar]

Thank you Dear Harvard business review channel for spreading knowledge!!!

[warrenferster]

Very informative video! Thanks for posting.

[SafiullahWasiullah]

This is what I have done recently. Great one.

[rckanyakumari]

Having side hustle, or passive income is a must for anyone working for a company. I highly suggest everyone to read "How will you measure your life" by Clayton Christensen. This book will definitely help you.

[Re_RAM]

A couple of problems with this analogy.

1. It's incredibly ableist as it assumes everybody can climb up the wall to begin with, what if you have some barrier to getting on the wall?

2. It is still a straight jacket because in the end, success is making it to the top of the wall/mountain, nobody cares about the guy who got off the wall/mountain.

Conclusion.
If success is solely defined as getting to the top it fails to account for those who are not interested in the cut-throat competition to get to that summit. This version of success prides the one over the many and disregards all those left behind, no wonder quiet quitting is a thing. Same rat-race, different day.

[JB.]

A lot of people want horizontal movement

[john]

I wish I had a career. I am 55 and life is not good. I am very talented at being an idiot and being useless.