Mentoring and the Boundaryless Career: Lessons from the Minority Experience

Abstract

Abstract Just as there was little debate in the late 1950s about Whyte’s pronouncement, today there is widespread agreement with Lancaster’s. A radical change has occurred: Employers no longer act out of a parental-like obligation to ensure the security of their employees. Just doing your job and being loyal no longer guarantees your career. Today, the new employment contract is more “adultlike” (Kissler, 1994). The focus is on finding a decent match between what the firm needs and what the individual needs, and this fit is sought by the individual, who is now in charge of his or her own career. Perhaps the most significant implication is that the firm can no longer be the anchor for one’s professional sense of self and definition of psychological success. The individual now has the responsibility to develop what Hall (1986) calls a “metaskill”—cultivating adaptability by adopting new work roles and experiences and assimilating them into an integrated sense of identity.

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