Over the past years, employee has used the career ladder for career planning. They begin at the lowest position and climb upward through promotions and titles changes until they reach the top. They also created a detailed 5-year plan showing their ambition. However, this model is no longer feasible in modern reality. When industries evolve quickly, new jobs emerge and vanish, the traditional five-year plan now represents outdated thinking that hinder career growth.
There is a need to use a new model: the compass, which is more flexible and values-guided. It focuses on the direction you want to go, instead of the exact destination you want to reach. It values the ability to adapt more than strict planning, and it encourages continuous learning instead of trying to reach fixed goals.
Why the Ladder No Longer Works
Change Happens Too Fast to Plan for Five Years
The five-year plan is based on an idea that may no longer be true: that the future is predictable. However, the World Economic Forum reported that 44% of workers’ core skills will be disrupted by 2027 and about six in ten workers will require training before it (World Economic Forum, 2023). This is not slow change, but a very fast, major change. New positions appear constantly while some jobs disappear entirely. At the same time, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and automation are changing many industries at once.
Think about what this means. If you decide today that you want to become a Senior Manager in five years, you cannot know if that job will exist in the same way. You cannot know what skills you will need. You cannot know if your company will still do the same work. When we try to plan five years ahead in this environment, we are working with out-of-date information.
Going Up Is Not the Only Way to Succeed
The traditional ladder assumes that the only real success is moving up to a higher position. However, research from Cornell University shows that this thinking is wrong. When workers move to a different role at the same level (called a “lateral move”), they in fact achieve greater promotion chances and salary potential (Bidwell, 2024). Why? Because when diverse skills and broad understanding are built in different roles, they are more valuable and prepared for higher-level roles.
The ladder forces you to choose: stay specialized and move up, or explore new areas and stay at the same level. The compass eliminates this false choice. It allows you to do both.
The Compass Mindset
Direction Over Destination
The most important change with the compass model is this: instead of deciding on one specific goal like “become Marketing Team Leader in five years,” you decide on a direction. For example: “I want my career to go toward more innovation, more opportunities to teach others, and more direct contact with customers. I want to understand emerging market trends better and have more influence on company decisions that affect customers.”
The difference is important. The first approach, with a specific goal, either succeeds or fails. The second approach, having a clear direction, provides guidance even when things change, so if you don’t get the promotion you hoped for, you still don’t fail. Instead, you evaluate yourself: Does my current job still match my direction? Can I find another way forward? If a new opportunity appears in a different industry, you can think about whether it matches your values compass instead of simply saying “No, that is not in my five-year plan.”
Continuous Recalibration
A real compass requires regular recalibration. Your career plan also needs ongoing review and adjustment. Every time you gain new skills, and notice changes in the job market, you should stop and think: Does my current career direction still match my values and goals? This reflection helps you make better decisions about your next steps instead of sticking rigidly to a fixed plan. This can allow you to respond confidently to unexpected challenges or opportunities (Cordle, 2023).
Building Your Agile Career Strategy
Embrace Short-Term Experiments
If long-term plans fail because the future is unpredictable, short-term experiments succeed by providing real insight. These might include volunteering for projects outside your usual scope, talking with people in roles you’re curious about, temporarily leading a team, testing new skills on freelance platforms, or spending focused time reflecting on which activities energize versus drain you. Each experiment provides crucial signals: Does this feel right? Do I want more of this or less? This makes a clearer direction for you.
To maximize the benefits and minimize risks, you could follow this framework. Start by defining a clear objective for each experiment (e.g. Earning a certification in data analytics within 8 week). Keep the experiment bound so it does not overrun your schedule and ensure minimal impact on your current role by starting small, like dedicating two hours per week. Additionally, building feedback loops through regular check-ins allows you to assess progress and adjust as needed (Brown, 2025). These principles keep experiments controlled and measurable.
Reflect Regularly
When you reflect more, you understand more about your strengths, motivations, and values. Try to ask yourself: What energized me this period? What did I learn about myself and my capabilities? Where do I want to invest next? Doing this kind of self-check regularly helps motivate you to seek for a better job pathway.
Network Intentionally
Networking is just as important. If you try to identify three to five relationships supporting your career direction and maintain these relationships consistently through meaningful connection twice yearly, can help you build real connections that support your career growth (Indeed Editorial Team, 2025).
Conclusion
A good career is not just a strict ladder. Try to move away from fixed, step-by-step plans toward a more flexible compass. It may not promise a clear endpoint, but it can help you find a path true to your unique strengths and values so you can create a career journey suitable for you.
References
Bidwell, M. (2024). “Stepping Sideways to Step up: Lateral Mobility and Career Advancement.” Organizational Science, 35(4), 1-18.
Brown, M. (2025). How to Design Career Experiments Safely – A Complete Guide. Resumly. https://www.resumly.ai/blog/how-to-design-career-experiments-safely
Cordle, D. (2023). Calibrate your career compass to plan your next move. Dave Cordle Blog. https://blog.davecordle.co.uk/calibrate-your-career-compass-to-plan-your-next-move
Indeed Editorial Team. (2025). Career Development Plan: Definition, Guide and Example. Indeed Career Guide; Indeed.https://hk.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/career-development-plan
World Economic Forum. (2023). The Future of Jobs Report 2023. World Economic Forum.
Donald CHONG
HKPES 職涯規劃師
