“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages…” ~ Shakespeare

When anyone – including my coaching clients and grad students – asks me for career advice, my answer is always the same:

“It depends!”

And what does it depend on? A lot of different, individual factors. But among the most important is, where are they in terms of Shakespeare’s “seven ages”…and at what stage are they in their career?

While there is, of course, no “one-size-fits-all” answer to the question, “What career advice do you have?” based on my own, subjective and personal experience, here’s my best career coaching advice for every age and every stage:

Teens: The Age of Exploration

When you are in your teens, you don’t know what you don’t know. Try to gain exposure to as many different experiences as possible so as to learn more about the realities of the workplace and to get an idea of what you may be good at and what you’re not, as well as what you may like to do and what you don’t. Don’t be afraid to try or to fail. That’s what these years are for. Find internships, take temp jobs, entry-level jobs, do volunteer work, and ask questions. Lots of questions. Don’t feel that any question is dumb, or that any job is beneath you. At this stage of your life, everything is a learning experience. Just go into it with a positive attitude, and you’ll be amazed at how much you can learn and how much, and how fast, you will grow.

20s: The Age of Experimentation

Now that you have a better sense of what’s out there, take a more targeted approach toward finding your niche. You are still exploring and experimenting, but the stakes are a little higher now than when you were still in school. You want to do well, gain experience, build your network, and show that you are capable of producing real results. Take chances, but be smart about it. And don’t burn any bridges or do anything rash that could potentially come back to haunt you one day (including what you put out there on social media). You are now establishing your reputation, building your resume, planting the seeds for your career, and – as Steve Jobs put it – asking yourself how you are going to “put a ding in the universe.”

30s: The Age of Self-Actualization

At this point in your life, there is, hopefully, some connection between who you are and what you do, as well as having developed a strong sense of your “personal brand.” One way to explore what your personal brand is is to think about your answer to the question: “What do you want to be known as ‘the Guru of’ or ‘the Go-to person’ for?” And then figure out what you need to do to make that vision a reality. Ideally, you want to be working at what you are good at (and/or aspire to be great at) and what you like or love to do. You want to be setting yourself up for success and becoming a subject matter expert in your field, while still creating opportunities to take risks and to grow. You may have greater “adult responsibilities” now, so it may also be time to start thinking about and preparing for the future — financially and otherwise. The key is to be proactive in figuring out what you need to do to maximize your performance, your productivity, and your potential, both in your career and in your personal life.

40s: The Age of Expertise

Ideally, you’d like to now be settled into a career in which you’ve established a proven track record of success based on producing tangible results, as well as having developed a positive professional reputation and a network of contacts. (And not just online “connections,” but true, real-world relationships.) Building on the results you’ve produced, and with an eye toward the future, very often at this stage your thoughts turn to further developing your leadership potential while continuing to hone your personal brand — both internally within your firm and externally within your industry.

But what do you do if you’ve had a setback and/or your career train has gone off the track? My feeling (from personal experience) is that it’s never too late to reinvent oneself. As the saying goes about best-laid plans, they often go awry. And, as in a board game in which you get knocked back to the starting square, you may need to go back to the Ages of Exploration and/or Experimentation again and start anew. And, if so, keep in mind that there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that (!), as it happens to most of us at one point or another. The good news, however, is that this time around you get to leverage the wisdom of your experience as you set out in search of new horizons and new possibilities.

50s: The Age of Mastery

Here’s where and when you want to leverage your many years of experience to establish your reputation as a credible subject-matter expert in your field. You’ve earned it. But it’s equally important to keep learning! Remember that “In an ever-changing world, if you’re standing still you’re falling behind.” Everything today – technology, the marketplace, expectations – changes quicker and more frequently than ever. The shelf-life of knowledge in this day and age is shorter than the expiration date on a container of milk. So it’s a never-ending, 24-hour-a-day race just to keep up. But you must, as there is no other choice if you wish to stay relevant and be seen as valuable. Your strength, at this stage, lies in combining your years of experience with your ability and willingness to proactively stay ahead of the curve. At this stage, you may also be thinking about what you want your “leadership legacy” to be…and, therefore, think seriously about what you need to do between now and the future to make that vision a reality.

60s +: The Age of Wisdom

You’ve seen it all. Or have you? With things these days changing faster than ever, we see something else we've never seen before. You want to make yourself marketable by branding yourself as a sage, and yet have the humility to look to those younger than you as your teachers. You want to be a mentor, and yet be open and willing to be mentored. With that combination of attributes, you will have much to contribute and be much in demand. You want to experience the satisfaction of continuing your own personal and professional journey of growth and development while, at the same time, taking the time to -- and taking pride in -- passing the wisdom of your experience along to the next generation, keeping in mind the maxim that “Wisdom is where Knowledge and Experience meet.”

A Few Final Words

Please bear in mind that this is all just one person’s totally subjective, general advice, and you are entirely free to agree or disagree. And there are no “shoulds.” Career paths take us where career paths take us. Just as in Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” our career journeys are ultimately made up of the combination of the choices we made…and the choices we didn’t. The reality of today’s workplace is that careers are rarely a straight “path” but more of a roller coaster ride of ups and downs, starts and stops, twists and turns, and victories and setbacks.

So, with that in mind, to me the keys to a successful career journey include a life-long love of learning, proactivity, resilience, a positive attitude of gratitude, and a growth mindset that keep you continuously looking – and moving – ever forward…at every age, and through every stage.

When asked by a CEO how to handle the ever-increasing time demands of start-up entrepreneurs requesting to pick his brain, the Workologist provided a few suggestions that I felt kind of came up short.

Here's the original column called, "Sharing Your Wisdom":

 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/jobs/sharing-your-wisdom-within-limits.html

And here's my response (scroll down to...Reader Feedback: A Mentor’s Limits)

 http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/jobs/the-insufferable-colleague.html?_r=0