By Steven B. McKinney

McKinney Consulting Inc.

Earlier in the drama of Korea’s economic miracle life-time employment was the general expectation of the educated young. Young professionals and recent college graduates all believed the iron rice bowl was their due for playing their roles in the play.    Read on

Knowing that it was an essential part of attracting and keeping the best talent, companies, like it or not, also thought it was an essential part of "Capitalism with Korean characteristics." This is a good time to say "That was then this is now." We all know how the third-act played out. The Asian crisis hit, employee lay-offs and company shut downs were written into the script for the first time and have been a part of "the way things are" ever since. Life-time employment no longer exists.  There are no guarantees. There is no iron rice bowl.

Get over it.

Welcome back to the future. In the ‘good old days’, before industrialization, before we expected to be handed jobs (however meaningless), we were master’s of our own fate. And lived and died by our skills and the decisions we made. We wrote the script ourselves. We piloted our own airplane and hoped we didn’t crash and burn. If we needed a helping hand, we could count on finding one at the end of our arm. In that sense, the good old days are back.  As many of us have come to realize first hand, this reality is a stark one, in which the flip side of "I’m in charge of my own life!" is "I’ve no one to blame but me."

For some in Korea, as it was in America in the 1980’s, this concept is still difficult to grasp. In a society where "collectivism" is the heart of the culture, an individualistic concept such as "managing your own career" can truly be a foreign concept.  Today, however, no matter where you are in the world, an effective career management plan is as essential as your suit and tie.  You would not leave home without them. Managing one’s career is now the norm.  Get used to it. 

We should not, of course, ignore the lessons from the life-time employment model of the past or act like it never existed. Indeed, we do career management so that we can restore that same sense of well-being and security that life-time employment once offered, but now without the rigidness, marriage to an organization, or lock-step career promotion schedule of the old system.

So how do we do career management? All the old advice is still relevant today along with some new economy additions. Keep your friends close and your enemies even closer. Keep your favorite executive recruiter on speed dial. Honestly, though, I’m not talking about selling out. I’m talking about taking the steps today to be prepared for whatever may come – opportunity or crisis.

Get on with it.

9 Career Planning Tips:

1. Start today by creating an electronic folder entitled, "My Career Planning".

2. Place this article inside your newly created folder for safe keeping. (This way you will not forget me when you become rich! Remember, I’m on speed dial!)

3. Next, update your resume and place that inside your folder as well. (If yours needs updating, get to it.)

4. Start from this day forward on keeping a daily journal. So many times we have successes and achievements and yet fail to document them while they are fresh in our minds.  We forget important details and so do the people that we work for.

5. Learn how to write and speak about your achievements clearly.  Here is one formula that you can use to develop this skill:

a) Write down what the achievement was.

b) Then, write down how you did it.

c) Finally, write down the results from the achievement.

Here are some examples of achievement statements for your journal and resume:   (Note: These are not complete sentences and are geared more for your resume.)

Created a profit and loss statement, by product, which resulted in management dropping 33% of unprofitable product lines.

Developed and installed a unique sample testing organization and procedures that eliminated duplication, encouraged cooperation, and reduced costs by $50,000.

Promoted new concept in the distribution of ecru thermal underwear, encouraged increased purchase and distribution strategically by historical weather patterns resulting in increased gross revenue of $1 Million and gross profit of $555,000.

6. Look at yourself in the mirror and ask these questions:

If I were to lose my job tomorrow am I employable?

Do I have multiple skill sets or are they limited?

Have I kept my personal training up with today’s requirements?

Would a competitor of my employer find me a valuable asset?

Where is my industry heading in the next 5 years? 

Is my industry growing or declining?

How is my industry changing?

Am I changing with my industry?

Am I mobile if I need to move?

When was the last professional training I received?

What professional development or educational training do I have planned for this year? 

7, Invest in yourself constantly study and improve your knowledge and skills.  Take an on-line course, an evening course, a Saturday course or however you can work it out to continually be improving yourself by increasing your knowledge and value.

8. There is an old saying:  "If you fail to plan.  You plan to fail."

9. Take action now, no one cares about you on Earth more than you do.  Be a Survivor.

Steven B. McKinney is the founder and president of McKinney Consulting Inc., Korea's most trusted executive search firm.  McKinney Consulting offers a comprehensive range of personalized, professional resource services to a wide cross-section of companies operating in Korea and Asia.  Mr. McKinney is a globally established commentator on international management.  He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it