One of the most common pieces of career advice is you should always have a five-year plan mapped out. It’s a way to set targets, stay on track, and advance in your career. But LinkedIn’s CEO says that’s “outdated,” considering the state of today’s job market.
“You’ll hear people frequently say, ‘Hey, you have to have a five-year plan, like, chart out what the next five years of your life are going to look like, and then follow that path and follow that plan,” Ryan Roslansky said during a recent No One Knows What They’re Doing podcast episode.
“And in reality, when you know technology and the labor market and everything is moving beneath you, I think having a five-year plan is a little bit foolish,” the LinkedIn CEO continued.
Being the chief executive of one of the most popular career-focused social media and job-search platforms since 2020, Roslansky has witnessed countless career paths from users—especially in a tumultuous job market challenged by the pandemic, different administrations, layoffs, tariffs, inflation, and more.
But one of the most recent and prominent transformations to the job market is the introduction of AI. Because technology is changing the workplace at such a rapid pace, Roslansky suggested professionals make shorter-term career goals instead of focusing on years down the road. Data from the World Economic Forum supports Roslansky’s argument the workplace is changing rapidly—and therefore people need to stay more agile about mapping their careers. Workers can expect roughly 39% of their core skills to be transformed or become obsolete by 2030, according to WEF.
“I would much recommend people focus on maybe the next few months and a couple of things that aren’t a plan, but [rather] what do you want to learn? What type of experiences do you want to get? That’s, I think, the right mental model in this environment,” he said.
Other career experts still subscribe to the necessity of a five-year plan, arguing “career growth doesn’t just happen by accident,” and more intensive planning helps people actually reach their goals.
“Five-year plans also give you the flexibility to change what’s no longer relevant to your long-term goals, without derailing your progress,” talent management executive Mary McNevin told Arielle Executive. “This way, you’re always working toward what you truly want to achieve.”
But Roslansky is so dedicated to this idea he hosts his own podcast called The Path, which is focused on how professionals take on a variety of career paths that aren’t necessarily linear.
“A lot of people just believe that there’s some linear career path that you jump on,” he said. “You know, you graduate high school and then go to a certain college and then you become a consultant and then get an MBA. People believe that’s how it happens.”
Armed with insights and data from his own company, Roslansky knows a linear education and career is not the reality for most people. In fact, a recent report from vocational and education provider TAFE Gippsland shows people, on average, go through three-to-seven career changes throughout their lifetime—and 16 job changes.
And this trend is especially evident in Gen Z, who changes jobs, on average, every 1.1 years, according to a recent report by recruiting firm Randstad. The firm calls this “growth-hunting,” and not “job-hopping,” though, because Gen Z says they change jobs because they sense a lack of progression in their current roles.
“If you focus on those shorter steps, gaining learning, gaining experience, a lot of your career path will open up for you,” he said. “And the sooner you realize that, you can take your own career into your own hands. No one is trying to figure this out for you.”
