How to choose your career: Interview with Dr. Herminia Ibarra
In 2018, I published a book about how to choose your career. In 2024, I moved the content to this site. Below is the interview with Dr. Herminia Ibarra. It’s short, but Dr. Ibarra has a talent for getting right to the point!
In your experience, why do so many people have difficulty making career decisions?
Because they know what they don’t want but don’t know what they’d prefer instead.
Your book Working Identity outlines “nine unconventional strategies to reinvent your career.” They all look good, but if you had to choose only two as a start for people who are experiencing career indecision, which ones would they be?
Stop introspecting and get out and talk to people on the periphery of your social network. The most important things are to try new things and meet new people.
What advice do you have for parents who want to teach their children the skill of career decision-making?
Instill curiosity. Know and bring home people from all walks of life.
What strategies do you recommend for young people who are discouraged about career decision-making in a time when college degrees are not a guarantee of employment and the global economy seems to be greatly limiting options?
Volunteer. Do an internship. Get a foot in the door in anything remotely interesting. Don’t try to make one big decision. Learn about different things.
Dr. Herminia Ibarra is the The Charles Handy Professor of Organizational Behavior at London Business School. She consults internationally on talent management, leadership development, and women’s careers, and she is the author of Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career.
