I read this wonderful piece on The Standard Newspaper. The article is titled:

Stages that define your career path

By Murigi Macharia

When Irene Atieno left the university five years ago, she was optimistic she would land a good job within the first six months.

She had hoped that her First Class Honours degree, network of well-connected friends and ‘tall’ relatives would help in the hunt.

Irene was lucky to get a job and started her career life with energy, and enthusiasm. But five years after graduation at the age of 21 she’s still unsettled.In that short span, Irene has changed jobs three times and is now hunting for her fourth employer who would give her the dream job.She is not alone in this. Many of her classmates are anxiously scouting for that ideal job, that promises quick career advancement.

They are all going through what human resource experts describe as the exploration stage, where young employees keep ‘hopping’ between jobs in search of the ideal employer.

Here, employees strive to improve their competiveness, by seeking for jobs that would solidify their career objectives. Once job hunting is over , the young employee finally enters the establishment stage. It is then that the employee seeks to establish his identity, seek acceptability and integration within the organisation.The employee strives to make full contribution to establish his worth.

Critical stage

At this stage, the employee learns all ropes within the organisation. Besides seeking full involvement with the operations of the organisation, the employee also develops confidence to seek intimate involvement with colleagues. Because this is a critical stage, employees are concerned about advancement and opportunities. The third stage is maintenance, characterised by uncertainity and fear. As a result, each employee seeks to protect himself from all manner of workplace threats. Although a few employees continue developing and growing their careers to higher levels in this stage, many enter the stagnation then deterioration. For those who are still relevant to the organisation at this stage, their roles largely revolve around creativity of new working methods, coaching and mentoring younger colleagues.

The decline stage defines the final lap in one’s career life before retirement. It marks serious reduction in the mental, physical, emotional and psychological abilities of older employees.

http://www.eastandard.net/business/InsidePage.php?id=1144007618&cid=474&

It very easy to get into the decline stage.

One only needs to get a decent job where he/she is comfortable.Many people stop developing at an early age. By developing I mean learning a new trick, new trade, constantly updating oneself in the respective sector or simply reading to keep the mind sharp. People start to wither and soon than later more knowledgeable people come along and you are the first to be given a sendoff.

My advise is:
1. Set career goals
2. Develop strategies to achieve the set goals
3. Constantly upgrade your skills (reading or taking new courses)
4. Network well
5. Have mile-markets to assist you evaluate your progress along your career journey
6. Seek feedback from someone who can give you an honest opinion (this will help you see areas that you need to improve)
7. Do not get comfortable (always have a contingency plan)
8. Enjoy/celebrate your success: this will help/motivate you work even harder