Career

Working Identity: 8 key ideas

by Herminia Ibarra

The core ideas of Working Identity, each in under a minute, written in our own words. Want the full depth? Get the book.

1. IDEA 1 OF 8

   Career change means changing identity

   Ibarra, a professor at INSEAD, studied professionals who changed careers.

   She argues that changing careers involves reinventing who we are, which happens through action rather than careful planning. Her view is based on what she saw in her interviews.

2. IDEA 2 OF 8

   Act first, then reflect

   Ibarra argues that people discover new directions by trying things, not by thinking alone.

   She calls this a test-and-learn approach. In her account, people learn who they might become by doing new things and seeing how it feels, not by planning alone.

3. IDEA 3 OF 8

   Experiments reveal options

   Ibarra describes crafting experiments, such as side projects or courses, to try out possible careers.

   In her account, small trials, such as a short project or a class, let people learn about a new path without a big commitment.

4. IDEA 4 OF 8

   New people open doors

   Ibarra argues that shifting connections, meeting people outside one's usual circle, helps change happen.

   In her view, people who stay inside their usual circle tend to see the same options as before.

5. IDEA 5 OF 8

   Stories make sense of change

   Ibarra describes how people reinterpret their past to make sense of new directions.

   In her account, each person tells themselves a story that links what they were with what they are becoming.

6. IDEA 6 OF 8

   We have many possible selves

   Ibarra argues that people carry many possible selves, and change involves exploring them.

   In her view, a person is not one fixed self but a set of possibilities, and trying new roles brings some of them forward.

7. IDEA 7 OF 8

   Conventional advice fails

   Ibarra challenges advice to first know exactly what you want.

   In her view, people often cannot know what they want until they have tried things, so a precise plan made too early can mislead.

8. IDEA 8 OF 8

   Change takes time

   Ibarra found that career transitions often take years and involve uncertainty.

   In her account, people move through a stage of feeling between the old and the new, which can be uncomfortable. She sees it as a normal part of change.