Rise
of the
Career Activist
A new professional culture has infiltrated today’s workplaces—
and it’s up to staffing firms to help their talent and clients
navigate the potential landmines
By Peter Weddle
Business conditions always evolve, but oday, they’re morphing at warp speed. The “less jobs recovery”—a new world
of work where economic growth is accompanied
by organizational constriction—has reset the
purpose of corporate staffing. Employers are no
longer content to hire a normal distribution of
workers—a few A-level performers, a few D-level
performers, and a lot of those who do enough at
the C level to get by. They seek, instead, to employ
as much talent as possible. They want to arrange
for the daily delivery of excellence on the job.
The resulting transaction between a buyer and
seller of talent—not a buyer and seller of labor—
is the essence of the new employment contract in
America. A worker who is qualified for an organization’s opening—the conventional definition of
what employers have sought when recruiting a new
hire—is no longer viewed as sufficiently capable to
meet the demands of a highly competitive global
Staffing Success note: The following article is based on excerpts from the author’s latest book, The Career Activist Republic.
Career activists, says the author, are individuals who have taken charge of their professional fate to such an extent that they no longer trust their
well-being solely to their employers. Rather, they have become their own best advocates—even if they work for a firm that provides them with
adequate professional and personal support. This emerging mindset, the author asserts, is molding today’s and tomorrow’s work force.
Please note that the author’s assertions published here are his own and do not necessarily reflect an official view by ASA.
