Career Volatility: When Executives Struggle Most

Navigating a professional career often involves moments of unpredictability and flux, and understanding these patterns is critical for both employees and organizations. CareerDNA’s research uncovers revealing trends about job volatility and its impact on executives.

What Defines Job Volatility?

CareerDNA frames job volatility through two key metrics:

1. Tenure per employer – the duration employees stay with one company.
2. Employers per annum – the average number of employers an individual works for yearly.

Unlike role-based analyses, which can be skewed by promotions within the same company, this approach provides a sharper focus on external transitions and stability.

Critical Career Phases: Peaks of Volatility

The study found that professionals across all executive levels face heightened career flux during two critical phases:

1. Growth and Senior Management Levels – These roles demand a mix of strategic decision-making and operational oversight, often challenging even seasoned professionals.
2. Leadership Roles – Executives at the highest levels, such as Corporate or Divisional Leadership, experience another bout of volatility, frequently tied to shifts in organizational dynamics and the struggle for autonomy versus upward mobility.

Many executives plateau at divisional leadership. Here, they achieve a degree of autonomy but may not reach their ultimate career aspirations, leaving room for uncertainty.

Preparing for Career Volatility

Transparency and preparation are key to navigating these challenging stages. Professionals and organizations can proactively address these transitions through:

• Executive Education: Courses that enhance strategic skills, preparing individuals for the demands of advanced roles.
• Mentoring: Learning directly from leaders who have successfully navigated similar transitions.
• Observational Preparation: Gaining insights by closely watching others handle career flux and leadership shifts.

By understanding what to expect and building the right tools to handle volatility, professionals can approach these phases with greater confidence, while organizations can foster stronger leadership pipelines. With clarity and preparation, periods of career flux can become opportunities for growth and advancement.