Lately I began questioning my approach to career planning to-date. Don't get me wrong, I think I've made good decisions, enjoyed the work in all my previous jobs, and have grown a lot professionally. No regrets there. However, my approach has always been very structured, "planful", and goal oriented. I first identify what "my interests" are, what "my salary requirements" are, where "I want to be" in 5 years. Then I would narrow down my options and backed out a path whereby specific education/credentials or experiences in certain companies would be identified and pursued so that I can explore an area of interest or fill certain skill gaps. This way, I am sure to be able to put a certain bullet point on my resume to get to the next job I've got my eyes set on. This approach has worked very well for me, but I noticed a few potentially troublesome themes: (a) my career is all about developing "me"; I pick a job because it serves my desire to get to the next job, which will get me to the next job vs. I'm doing this job because I love it and it allows me to fulfill a purpose now (b) since a job is picked to get to the next job, I'm forever postponing that perfect job that I will stay with (c) this method of career planning puts control 100% on me, which means that it is possible that I overlook certain opportunities simply because I wasn't in the right mindset when that opportunity came along or I was too focused on a different direction. (d) this approach assumes the career path will forever lead/advance somewhere; however, the reality is, the path will end at one point since not everyone can be the CEO. So, when career progression feels a little bit like playing the Angry Bird game where you're always working to pass the next level, how would one feel when there's no more next level? Will there be a sense of void? or sense of defeat? How can one recognize the end of the "path" when it's presented to you?
After working in Africa for almost 4 months now, I see so many opportunities, and so many places I could contribute my skills. I'm definitely not the smartest person I know; however, I am probably among the top 1% best educated people within a 100 mile radius here. With that comes a sense of responsibility to do something good/useful with this precious knowledge and skill I've been bestowed. Already, I felt that I'm making an impact and helping a small organization progress little by little. And while doing so, I am also learning and growing. I'm learning about things that I wouldn't normally put on a corporate individual development plan or consider "career development" based on my typical way of career planning. I'm learning about people, culture, and random things that I can never articulate on a resume. How do you put into a bullet point when a lady int he village tells you how your lights have transformed her life? How do you summarize in a "situation-action-result" format in a few words the craziness one will have to put up with to get a certain paperwork through to be able to do your job? All these are unexpected experiences that I would never actively seek out if I'm left in charge to "manage" my own career. However, all these are invaluable experiences that not only made me grow as an individual, but also allow me to do something bigger than myself.
So the question is...rather than continue to seize full control and manage my career the way I would manage a business, would it be better for me to give the control away to the universe and forget about career paths, to throw away career development plans, and just go where I are needed most and where my skills will make the most impact (with certain base criteria such as "being able to financially support myself" of course)? Will this be a career suicide or career liberation? What do you think?
After working in Africa for almost 4 months now, I see so many opportunities, and so many places I could contribute my skills. I'm definitely not the smartest person I know; however, I am probably among the top 1% best educated people within a 100 mile radius here. With that comes a sense of responsibility to do something good/useful with this precious knowledge and skill I've been bestowed. Already, I felt that I'm making an impact and helping a small organization progress little by little. And while doing so, I am also learning and growing. I'm learning about things that I wouldn't normally put on a corporate individual development plan or consider "career development" based on my typical way of career planning. I'm learning about people, culture, and random things that I can never articulate on a resume. How do you put into a bullet point when a lady int he village tells you how your lights have transformed her life? How do you summarize in a "situation-action-result" format in a few words the craziness one will have to put up with to get a certain paperwork through to be able to do your job? All these are unexpected experiences that I would never actively seek out if I'm left in charge to "manage" my own career. However, all these are invaluable experiences that not only made me grow as an individual, but also allow me to do something bigger than myself.
So the question is...rather than continue to seize full control and manage my career the way I would manage a business, would it be better for me to give the control away to the universe and forget about career paths, to throw away career development plans, and just go where I are needed most and where my skills will make the most impact (with certain base criteria such as "being able to financially support myself" of course)? Will this be a career suicide or career liberation? What do you think?
I think your know the answer. Listen to your heart and do what you love. Steve Job once said "the journey is reward."
ReplyDeleteIf you don't like something, change it.