Blog 1 in a series of 3 on the IABC Career Assessment
In 2005, Thomas Friedman’s provocative book, The World is Flat, hit the top of the New York Times Best Sellers in one week. He spoke to the rise of standards in business and professional practices so people could work together across companies and borders with a unified goal of excellence driving their work and results.
In 2012, IABC released The Global Standard of the Communication Profession® to set the Purpose and Principles that drive strategic communication excellence for communication professionals worldwide. The IABC Career Roadmap came out shortly after The Global Standard to guide communication professionals in choosing their career focus and aspirations while embracing the values of quality and excellence of a Standard in what they deliver to companies. It was a significant milestone for the communication profession and its organizational legitimacy.
But confusion arose in the marketplace:
- Communication Professionals needed detailed knowledge, skills and behaviors for The Global Standard Purpose and Principles to guide their career development. If everyone now delivers The Standard, how does a commpro differentiate themselves?
- Employers wanted to know how to tell one "Generalist/Specialist" from another applying for the same post when their resumes read noticeably different.
- Marketplace stakeholders noted “roadmap-washing” as practitioners often “enhanced” their career path, declaring themselves strategic advisors or business leaders without evidentiary support of performing at that level on their resume or CV.
To give a rigorous, evidence-based rubric for understanding the Standard and the Roadmap and provide the structure for an honest picture of where communication proficiency lies, IABC launched the IABC Career Assessment constructed on the IABC Proficiency Metric at the 2021 World Conference.
More than 1,000 professionals from across the globe have used the IABC Proficiency Metric to gain an honest assessment of where they fit in the world of the Global Standard. They used the assessment and proficiency metric rubric to
- inspire their career direction and path,
- give a realistic performance level of their knowledge and skills to current and prospective employers, and
- write their career story on resumes/CVs with confidence and authenticity.
Stay with us through the next couple of weeks as we get ready to join a global discussion on ways to fuel your career as a strategic communication professional. Registration is now open for Fuel Your Career - An Adventure in Professional Development webinar on 13 April 2023.
Next up in preparation, learn about the IABC Proficiency Metric in Proficient Today, Perhaps Incompetent Tomorrow? to ensure when you complete the assessment, your results are authentic and represent who you really are. When you feel you understand the Proficiency Metric, you’re ready to take the online IABC Career Assessment.
This is the first blog in a series of three on the IABC Career Self-Assessment tool for communication professionals.
