The role of happenstance in career development
Updated 2024-07-06. Originally published 2013-03-25 on VocationVillage.com
Before he passed away in 2019, I heard Dr. John Krumboltz speak about happenstance and careers. Dr. Krumboltz was one of the best vocational psychologists in the world, and I have admired his work since I learned about it when I was in graduate school. This article outlines some of my favorite parts of his talk..
If you don't know what you want to do for work or you need to land a job, the single best thing you can do is to start taking actions likely to generate happenstance. "Happenstance" means the unplanned opportunities that occur when you get out into the world, do things, and meet people.
Career counselors love assessments (I love them, too!) but only because they help to narrow the universe of possibilities before you translate the theoretical into concrete action steps. Action steps lead to positive outcomes.
Dr. Krumboltz didn't want career counseling to get stuck at the reflection and self-introspection stage. He viewed career counseling as a process where a counselor helps a client to brainstorm the next constructive action that the client can take to deal with his or her concerns, then supports the client as the client undertakes those actions. The counselor's role is to recognize and reinforce progress and then to help the client undertake more action steps after that.
Thanks to social media, action steps may be in person or via digital means.
Career counselors can teach clients how to have conversations that build and maintain connections. For a few people, the ability to connect comes naturally. For many other people, it is a learned skill.
Every occupation has the goal of helping other people.
When you really think about it, this is true, right? Just try to think of an occupation that doesn't help anyone. Some occupations are directly helping, such as those that interact with the public in a customer service or sales capacity, and some are helping indirectly, such as researching cures for disease or writing technical manuals for software products or picking up garbage to clean up streets.
One way to view career choice is to decide which people you want to help and in what ways. This is like the traditional career counseling question, "Which problems do you want to solve?"
Even unpleasant jobs can be useful.
Because we hear about some really crummy jobs, you won't hear many career counselors say this one out loud, but Dr. Krumboltz argued that even bad jobs serve two major purposes other than money: (1) Jobs bring you into contact with other people who can introduce you to better opportunities. (2) Jobs offer a way to learn new skills that can lead to better employment. Dr. Krumboltz says this is true even when the job seems like a dead end, and he has case studies of successful clients to prove it.
Of course, jobs aren't the only way to accomplish these things. Volunteer experiences, membership in professional associations, and hobbies are other methods. The important thing is that you are doing things and with an attitude that is open to taking advantage of happenstance. He said that you shouldn't wait for a lucky break...you should make luck happen. This reminds me of the quote by film producer Samuel Goldwyn, "The harder I work, the luckier I get."
The goal of career counseling is not to make a career decision, but to keep your options open.
Life is no longer about making a career decision at as young an age as possible, finding a job with a big company, and staying there until you retire 30 years later. The world now changes too quickly for that.
Instead of “following your dream,” test steps in your dream. The goal isn’t to “complete your education,” but to “never stop learning.” Rather than carefully planning to avoid mistakes, embrace risks and view failures as opportunities to explore new territories.
Dr. Krumboltz said that indecision is a sensible reaction to a complex and unpredictable future. He advises clients to embrace uncertainty, because the ability to take action despite uncertainty is a needed life skill, especially during periods of life transition. No matter how detailed your plan is, it is helpful to remain open to happenstance so you can benefit from pursuing unpredictable opportunities as they arise.
Happenstance occurred in my career when I visited a volunteer match agency and asked them to send me somewhere to do volunteer work. They sent me to a community agency that offered free classes on employment-related topics. I became a trainer, then a career counselor, and finally, a psychology. I wonder what might have happened if they had sent me to do something else!
No matter what your career philosophy, your career happiness is likely to be higher if you understand and leverage happenstance.
Has happenstance happened in your career? I would love to hear about it.
