The protean career is a name given to describe a career that is driven by the individual and not by the organization. The most central characteristic of the protean career is that it is a reflection and manifestation of the individual career actor. An individual with a protean career—or one who is protean—is thought to put self-fulfillment and psychological success above concerns and norms that would have their source outside of the individual.
Human resource managers are increasingly emphasizing the protean career with their discontented employees, meaning that they are helping them to achieve a values-driven career orientation and self-directed career management. This means that the employee is defining their own career values and assessing their own success according to those terms.