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Career Anchors
In business management studies there is talk of "career anchors. "A person’s career anchor is his or her self-concept, consisting of:
self-perceived talents and abilities
basic values
the evolved sense of motives and needs as they pertain to the career
Career anchors evolve only as one gains occupational and life experience. However, once the self-concept has been formed, it functions as a stabilizing force, an anchor, and can be thought of as the values and motives that the person will not give up if forced to make a choice." [2] Thinking about career anchors allows us to know ourselves in a different way and to evaluate our career choice against these core values. This framework might also be helpful to you when making work or career decisions. When considering different residencies you may have already thought about career anchors when answering for yourself questions like:
Am I a specialist or a generalist?
Do I like technical or managerial work?
Do I seek depth or breadth in knowledge and information?[1]
Most people’s self-concepts revolved around eight categories reflecting basic values, motives, and needs:
Autonomy/independence - desires work situations that provide maximum freedom to independently pursue career interests
Security/stability - concerned with long-run stability and security of employment and benefits
Technical-functional Competence - intrinsically motivated by the work itself, its technical aspects, and the desire for enhanced technical competence and credibility
General Managerial Competence - motivated by the opportunity to develop and use interpersonal and problem-solving skills to climb to general management levels
Entrepreneurial Creativity - motivated by the desire to create and develop new products and services
Service or Dedication to a Cause - wants to use interpersonal and helping skills in the service of others
Pure Challenge - motivated by the desire to overcome the odds, solve unsolved problems, and win out over competitors
Life Style - wants to integrate personal, family and career needs and to maintain flexibility[2][1]
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1. Career Management Guide, Certified Management Accountants of Canada. www.cma-canada.org/multimedia/CMA_Canada/Document_Library/Attachments/CareerGuide.pdf accessed September 21, 2011
2. Schein EH. Career anchors revisited: Implications for career development in the 21st century. Academy of Management Executive, 1996;10(4):80-88.