career and success

a very inspiring and eye-opening article, for those who are struggling in their work and finding their way to success, taken from Career Magazine

One in four workers is dissatisfied with their current job, according to the recent “Plans for 2004” survey by CareerBuilder.com. In any conversation or gathering, the topic tends to lean or end up towards our jobs. People love discussing the work that they do and finding out about others. We identify ourselves to the work that we do. Take some time to really listen and you will hear the dissatisfaction that is in the workplace. Even careers that come in a well-wrapped package of excellent salaries, benefits and privileges are not an exception at all. How and where do you start your search for a career? Whether you are fresh from training or coming back from a break in your working life, I have outlined a simple way of getting there:

Your Interests. What is it that really motivates you? What are you passionate about? Where do you get that driving force to overcome any obstacles that working life fires your way? I always say to clients to take the time to re-assess their life and work carefully. The first place to look is where your interests lie. Recall a time in your life since childhood where you have felt that strong passion flowing through you. What are you really interested in? What makes the butterflies in your belly fly all over or make your heart beat faster? What kind of work will get you out of bed every morning feeling refreshed from yesterday and ready to face another day in today’s battlefield of work?

A colleague had shared with me this story of a successful client who said to her that the only thing that seems to interest him when he was in school was the lunch break. Why? It is the only time where he could socialize with others and really connect with people. Assessing his situation when he was in the process of finding a career path, he held that thought dearly in his mind and came up with being an entrepreneur in financial advising. This person is way ahead of his time now building an empire that came from his interest in socializing and relating with people. He figured it out himself that with his strong interest in making a difference in a person’s life plus his deep desire in financial advising, he had found the path where he would like to go.

Your Beliefs and Values. A salesman who has over 25 years of experience and was laid off due to downsizing once said to me that as long as he believes in the product or service himself, he could definitely sell it! He also mentioned that the last thing he would like to do five days a week is to market something that doesn’t work and will only waste the consumer’s money. Isn’t this a formula for success? Put yourself in your clients’ shoes and ask yourself if you have really done a great job. If you value honesty, you have to practice it first and be able to give it to others in what you do.

Your Personality. Know thy self - another formula for success. There is an abundance of career assessments and services out in the market that one can avail of to get to know one’s self better. These tools whether self scoring or administered by a qualified professional will be most effective with the person’s knowledge of himself. They are there to guide and make you think outside the box. If you cannot do repetitive tasks over and over again then, working as an assembler of car parts will not be a good match for you. Recognizing where your strengths and weaknesses lie and finding a place where you could utilize these strengths to benefit the company and improving the weaknesses sounds like a good plan.
Dare to Take Risks. Risks taken after sufficient researching are calculated risks that would yield positive outcomes. Most of us get too comfortable of our existing situations even if we know very well that they are redundant or worse, obsolete. I could understand how change could generate fears of the unknown and of the unexpected. Life without change does not open doors to more or better opportunities. With our current business and technology moving so rapidly forward, how can we stick to old ways that do not work? This is why we have to undergo career and professional upgrading – to keep up with the flow of things instead of being left out. The world of work is now a life long learning field. It will require a lot of risk taking, letting go of things that do not work and being versatile – wearing different hats/multi-tasking.

Your Vision, Your Map. Through all these career searching or career change, never lose track of your end result. Write them down. Sound corny? Anybody who wants to invest their most valued time and effort into achieving their goals will not go in there without a plan. Why do you think builders and architects work on their blueprints first? You don’t put up the walls of a house without laying a strong base foundation first, right? Your vision is your guide, your reminder and your map. Also, dare to dream! Dreaming brings out the creativity in us. Creativity puts the glow and uniqueness to our work. It’s the one that sets us apart and adds colour to our achievements. Dreaming without doing achieves nothing. Make a list of things to do, do them (this is the most important step – to really do it!) and go back and experience the joy of putting a check mark beside the things you have accomplished.

Lastly, Take Ownership. As an adult job seeker, your time is up in pointing fingers at other people and putting the blame on them for your failures. You need to stop running and avoiding the truth! Face the facts, support your decision with important research and consult qualified people. I interviewed at least four people in my field of work in person before investing in a course that turned my career and life around. Coming to Canada as an immigrant and moving from one job to the other just to pay the bills, I lost that drive to excel and love what I do. I felt that I have turned into a robot programmed to do the same things over and over again. I was caught in the “Rat Race” of life and didn’t know how to get out. I made the decision to pursue a career that will revive me, make me look forward to coming to work everyday and live my passion of making a difference in other people’s lives. It wasn’t an easy road, there were quite a number of bumpy rides but that burning desire inside me carried me through it and made me appreciate the meaning of the work I do.

© 2005 Career Bound Magazine. All Rights Reserved. For permission to publish this article, please contact the publisher at publisher@careerbound.ca