Planning for a better career is long, difficult and stressful. Most people do not give enough attention to the process and the time needed to ensure that they excel in their fields. AlOK JAIN tells you that one’s job is what one makes of it and by following four simple never ending steps one can get ahead in life and become future leaders
Career planning is a long and stressful process. More often than not, most of the people don’t pay enough attention and time to this process. Not that they don’t want to give it the due attention but the lack of knowledge prohibits them from doing it. There is no ready reckoner and information available on when and how to start this process.
Often, in the absence of proper career guidance, many a student fail to realise their true potential. Some of them wake up to the arduous task too late, others fails to identify the career path that is best suited for them. Many realise after spending a few years in a profession that they were not made to do it. Some are stuck with the same job, failing to realise that it is time to change, and hence, lose out on growth opportunities. The key to having a good and satisfying career is to pick up the one that is right one and make sure one doesn't fall behind when it comes to leaps — technological or others — in one’s field.
Industry experts say that by following a simple step-by-step exercise — a four step process to do career planning will keep one ahead in life all the time. This can start as early as when one get into teens and continue till one retires.
Know Yourself
The first step in the career planning is to know yourself. What an individual can be best at depends largely on his or her interests and aptitude. One will certainly excel in a field that one is made for. A student who might have an exemplary aptitude to work in the dynamic field of media might be wasting her talent preparing from engineering examinations. Even if the person is able to become a good engineer, the aptitude and deep interest will always lie in another.
Know the passion, talent, aptitude, personality and intelligence. It is often seen that people who succeed are the people who follow their passion and have skilled themselves for that. If one is a person who wants to be with people all the time and enjoy being in a group, want to help others and enjoy people seeking advise, then one is most likely to succeed in careers which involve lot of people interactions like doctors, counselors, teachers, social workers. However, if one becomes an auditor or an accountant, then one may be able to discharge the duties effectively but one is unlikely to enjoy and hence deprive yourself from attaining the heights that one may be capable of. Often this is the step where people go wrong. They are unable to identify their true calling and end up chasing the dreams of others. It is advisable to take professional help at this time. There are a lot of online tools available to help one identify one’s true calling. Psychometric assessments or tools designed and developed to analyse behavioral and latent traits of an individual are crucial tools.Once one knows what is the direction one need to follows, the next step is to skill yourself.
Skill yourself
One may be studying in best of the institutes to acquire the relevant knowledge but it may not be enough for you to succeed. One needs to acquire a lot of life skills that are essential for you to succeed in a career. These life skills will keep on changing depending upon the stage of in the career. For a fresher, some of life skills required are communication skills, basic etiquette, ability to write a CV, appear for an interview and group discussion. One should have a good general awareness to make for an impressive personality. In three to five years into the career, the life skills required may include the people management, decision making etc. At a later stage it may be strategy and leadership skills etc. This is an ongoing process and to succeed one needs to acquire appropriate life skills for the next career move ahead of time.
So, even when one is in the initial stages of the career, keep yourself ready to make the next move. Interact with the seniors who are handling greater responsibilities and know that sooner or later one will be expected to perform them as well. There may be many people competing for promotions. So make yourself the best among the equals.
Adapt Yourself
Once one moves into a career, one will quickly realise that with the knowledge and skills acquired, one is unable to cope with various situations within the organisations. These could be work related situations, office politics, team dynamics or any other kind. Each of these situations could be unique and may require different way of tackling, which one has neither learnt nor encountered. In such a situation one needs to adapt yourself to handle these situations. There are two things that one must do in a career to succeed and tackle such situations. First is to have a mentor. Mentor could be the supervisor, someone senior in the organisation or outside. They could be the sounding boards for challenging situations. Their know-how and experience can help you tide over difficult time. The second thing is to have a good network within the organisation and industry. Conversations during informal meetings will give enough and more cues of the situations that are likely to unfold in due course of time.
BE ready for change
It is often said that change is the only constant. The life is never still and ever changing. The most successful people anticipate change and are ready for it. The informal channels, the mentor and various research publications available on net and libraries are good source of information for one to anticipate the nature of the change and challenges that it brings. One can plan to handle these changes rather than resisting or ignoring the changes. Be aware of the changes weeping the industry one is working in and and equip oneself accordingly. For example, if a new software is finding favour in the industry, be the first in the company to equip yourself with its working. This will help one lead the way. Those who are ahead in this journey are often the future leaders. This is a never ending process and the minute one takes your eyes off this, one will soon find yourself struggling.
(The writer is founder and head, CareerCo, a career counseling and advice)