Taking a step back in your career is also good judgment

Most people regard their career as something very diverse from that they are doing in their current jobs. The truth however, is that your career commences the very moment you agree to accept your maiden job offer and persist with each and every consequent step you take. People who excel in their careers comprehend this and mull over the consequences that will result tomorrow of whatever they undertake to do today. They also know that a career may not necessarily adopt a course that will take you to the top; lateral, backward or circular movements can also do so.  

People who decide to take a step back in their careers do so view their career decisions in the framework of a decade and what is likely to transpire in that period. It is also their conviction that going down and then moving up would facilitate getting close to their eventual career objectives. And hence it is no surprise to see many upcoming people leave their lucrative appointments and take on subordinate assignments that are plagued with contests, challenges and risks.

Planning for a step back

It is important that you contemplate on what you genuinely seek from your career. That is what career planning and management is all about. Planning for a step back is also career planning; and its maiden step is to visualize the level at which you want to be a decade hence. Thereafter, you should travel in reverse from that wished-for post to identify spots that will have to be compulsorily be in a nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three and two and one year span from the starting line. You will know what you have achieved so far and where you are pitched at now. The point of take-off can thus be determined by you. As you formulate a retrograde plan, you will get to identify measures that need to be initiated straightaway to bring you close to your wished-for point.

You will undoubtedly come face to face with doubts, ambiguities and improbabilities in your career. There are many people who end up at unanticipated position. However, the career planning that you do will help you attain most of your career objectives and also strike targets beyond them. But if you leave everything to gamble and luck, the stakes being high will not unfold in your favour. The biggest disaster that is witnessed in the corporate world today is when people slog for donkey years hoping to reach the zenith only to realise that they had embarked upon a wrong path or the steps that they took were leading elsewhere.

Have you designed a line of action?

There has to be a workable balance between all your deeds and deliberations. You may be required to strive and toil; and occasionally sweat it out. You should not be apprehensive of taking a break. Just as there is a break during a football match, the break should be utilized to unwind, discern, note and get ready for the grind once again.

If you are geared up for a career advancement contemplation, move ahead for the implementation of your plan. The following four-stride wherewithal inventory will stand you in good stead as you move forward with your plan:

· Buoyancy: You need to brave past downbeat conditions like hindrances, non-acceptance or disappointment. Howsoever hard you may try, no career will unfold as per your visualization. There will be reversals and you will have to be buoyant enough to overcome them with confidence.

· Evaluation: You must know your plusses and minuses; and be able to relate them to your various facets of your career. Do you feel that there is something that you need to do to update or complete your skills-set?

· Knowledge: If you scan the environment, you will discover a horde of sources that will foster your progress. Distance education modes and off-duty internships are good ways to gain knowledge. Do you have such idea in your mind?

· Persons: You need to find individuals with whom you can have a straight talk about your career. They will render you frank advice, appropriate counselling and excellent motivation. Have you identified any such persons already?

You must gauge where you stand today and accordingly direct your efforts on to the future. When you do so, you are unlikely to lose track; and if you resolve to do all assigned tasks well, the contentment that you experience will be of a different magnitude. The point to be remembered is that your today will decide and speak of your tomorrow. And to be able to do so, sometimes you will have to take a step back and look at your life in order to take a step forward and move on in it.

Embarking upon unconventional career paths

When your aspirations were taking shape, did your school teacher or principal ever caution you that you were not being true-to-life about your career line and that if you took a plunge in it anyway, you will never be able to make a living out of it? Has it been that a person has remarked that your dream job or career is not convincing at all? Does your father or mother scowl and grimace whenever you talk about your career aims and?

An unconventional career path can prove to be an extremely solitary and desolate trudge. But not necessarily. There are hundreds and hundreds of men and women who have elected to embark upon an unconventional career path; and success has not eluded them. They are as happy as anybody else.

It needs to be understood what precisely is conventional or traditional. When we make a reference to a conventional or traditional career path, there are several connotations and implications attached to it. The most common meaning of the term is attending college to acquire a degree, appearing for an entrance examination, facing an interview, making the grade, getting an appointment, joining an organisation and thereafter making ceaseless progress. As an alternative, getting into a technical profession like engineering or medicine and then working one’s way up is also a reasonable inference. The impression that professions like law, medicine, teaching or engineering provide maximum constancy and esteem is widespread, but not without logic.

The pertinent question however, is if your goals and ambitions are at variance with conventional choices, what will be the ramifications? What would be the outcome if the life that you envision as also the excitement and sparkle in it entails flouting of customary practices?  

Most unconventional careers comprise a pursuit of arts and humanities. Artists, musicians and authors of different categories generally strive for careers in arts and humanities. While some of these careerists may undergo prescribed training, some perhaps may not. Training undergone or not notwithstanding, any career in these arenas where you happen to be supported by your own creativity and ingenuity falls within the gamut of being unconventional.

Another connotation of an unconventional career path is one wherein you take up a career that is generally related to a member of the opposite sex. Professions like nursing, kindergarten teaching, crèche management, receptionists and airline cabin crews are all generally associated with females; and if a male had to opt for them, it would be viewed as flouting of customary practices. Similarly, carpentry, gardening, automobile repairs, mining or firefighting have come to be accepted as male domains; and for a female who decides to pursue them, the career path would understandably be unconventional. The foregoing is no more a rigid rule as young men and women are increasingly deciding to break barriers.

Unconventional and non-traditional career paths have inherent downsides and shortcomings. Various other factors apart, the backing and encouragement that is forthcoming under normal situations from members of your family, friends and acquaintances may be conspicuously deficient, even non-existent. It is also likely that your colleagues and equals of a gender opposite to you at your place of work may view you with a certain degree of trepidation and consternation.   

 Since every cloud has a silver lining, there are clear-cut and definite advantages associated with non-conventional or untraditional careers. You become the centre of attention. The environment remains focused on you and you no longer remain invisible. But this phenomenon does not last forever; eventually it is your hard work that will stand you in good stead. There will be many quarters that will view this aspect as a disadvantage; however, the flip side is that the attention that you receive is flattering and may serve to inspire you, even if it smacks of disapproval, unconstructiveness or cynicism.

By following an unconventional career path, besides the attention that you generate, there is also the aspect of impact. You make a tremendous impact on the society and come to be revered. Traditionally, setting free from conventions has been regarded as synonymous with novelty, inventiveness and progress. Locks having been unlocked and doors unbolted, you also offer opportunities to others like you. They can be motivated and trained to achieve success in a non-traditional field of work.

Albert Einstein said that the world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking. Men and women who decide to take up unconventional careers have changed their thinking. They need to be appreciated for their bold moves.

How to find a job you love

Jobs that were meant for a lifetime are now a thing of the past. With new sectors of employment coming up, there are new opportunities that help an individual to seek a job of their liking. The issue is how to discover a perfect-fit job, something that you will love and enjoy. And more importantly, how do you ensure that for the rest of your life.

A broad outline to find a job that you love is as under:

·      Be genuine about job contentment: There is no job that is smooth sailing and hence to expect that a job will be total happiness amounts to being presumptuous. When you love your job, it will seem to be as an augmentation of your very individuality and not a gruesome task. Your ‘To Do List’ will serve to inspire you continually and you will be able to overcome hardships in doing them coolly. Job contentment is a stark reality of any work and it assumes different contours and silhouettes; if you love your job and career, the satisfaction that you derive will be of a high degree.     

·      Investigate & study your standards:  You should know precisely what is of significance to you and what you stand for; and the early you establish these, the better it will be. You should prioritise everything that matters to you. Whatever you catalogue can be very limited or run into pages, but will be exclusive to you. According precedence to various aspects will help you discern what signifies the most to you.

·      Discover your appeals & interests:  To be practical, it is essential that you know what you generally enjoy doing. What is that fuels passion in you? What is it that you wait to do? Your inclinations and penchants will throw light on what you are cut out for. Anything that you like doing, should not be thrust aside, even if you are not perfect at it because no time is late to begin learning. Moreover, you will be able to visualize where you actually yearn to be and the feelings that you will have when you are actually there. The crux of the matter is that you should not be fearful of dreaming and thinking unconventionally. And when you do so, you are able relate your interests and ambitions to likely careers. 

·      Get to know your capabilities:  No two persons are equal; you will have few highly advanced skills and some run of the mill types. This disparity should not worry you because the career market of today is all about skills that are transferable; the notion of perfect match is no more relevant. Traditional and typical career swings are fast becoming common occurrences, rather similar to linear career traffic. However, you need to know what you are good at so that you can put it to good use. The knowledge and expertise that you formally gain as also various soft skills and headship traits that you acquire over a period of time will always stand you in good stead. 

·      Be prepared to reskill & reorient:  Learning is an eternal activity and you should not be found wanting in your enthusiasm to train and refresh your expertise. The voids that exist between your current skills and future aspirations can be bridged if you acquire new qualifications. The more you sweat today, the less you will bleed tomorrow. 

·      Explore, inquire & study continually:  Your focus should be on delving into the oceans of knowledge and this would entail researching details about your field of work, job requirements and career paths. You should not be restrictive in your efforts. Reading and interacting with others will make you aware of where you stand and how you can contribute. Getting to know what people like about their work or organisations will help you in planning for your next move. You should make certain that the job that you are looking at matches your career and life objectives; and they are not at tangent with your principles and standards. And with everything new that you get to know about, your enthusiasm will soar high.

The key to finding a job that you love lies in identifying what you are made out to be and then garnering everything to achieve whatever you aspire for. Some changes and realignments may be inescapable, however the most important thing is to realise that you are the wheels of your career and that you will strive to make sure that you are geared up for any change that may be necessary. Most people are living not their dreams, but their apprehensions. You should be resolute enough to go move confidently in the direction of your dreams. If you believe that you will be able to move on, half your battle will stand won. Remember that if you run the day, the day will not run you. And you will not encounter any traffic jams on the extra mile that you may have to run to find a job you love.

Career advancement comes step by step

There were times when careers used to move on their own. Today, people want them to move rapidly; they seek instantaneous fulfillment. But things do not work that way. All of us have to inch forward towards contentment and progress; and success is not always easy to achieve. Therefore, there are some basic queries pertaining to career advancement that need to be answered.

You simply cannot afford to embark upon a career sans any idea and planning. You need to seek responses to the following questions:

· In what direction do you want your career to head?

· How do you propose to set your bearings?

· What actions should you be initiating?

· Are you able to visualize the impact of your career advancement on your success?

One thing that will always stand by you as you move ahead in your career is fortitude. A large number of people lack it and do not seek to cultivate it either. If something good has to happen, it will not be a sudden development; the start and end will never be without your notice. The unfortunate part is that we think that we are geared up well for anything when actually we are not. Therefore, it is no surprise that when things happen, they fail to move forward. Be it a new career, getting onto a career path, a job hunt or any other activity, advancement will be gradual. And this highlights the need to be patient. Some step-by-step measures to keep in mind in your career development are:

· Take off from wherever you are in conformity with a well-defined plan.

· Follow a sound & secure course; and acquire necessary skills.

· Have an analytical approach, anticipate things and respond appropriately on occurrence.

If you seek to move forward in your career, you simply cannot afford to wait for any prompting happening to take place. You have to always be preemptive in your approach and harbour an anticipatory disposition. Five simple tactics that will help you immensely are:

· Identify a navigator:  You ought to identify a successful frontrunner in your line of activity. He or she could be your manager, an employee of some other organization or even a person who has superannuated. The very fact that he has done well means that he would have traversed and piloted downsides and difficult situations that are usual for people like you at the echelon that you are at. Valuable guidance, clarifications of doubts and indication of directions provided by this so-called guru will assist you in attaining your objectives. Building an association with a doyen manifests your keenness to excel and can serve as a big advantage, particularly when it comes in the knowledge of others.

· Emulate a role model:  You need to be watching a person who is above you in your company’s hierarchy to emulate him. His or her deportment, to include dressing sense, demeanour, camaraderie and attitude can well be imbibed and followed. You need not impersonate your role model, but following all positive attributes will stand you in good stead when you endeavor to work in organizational interest.

· Make learning a habit:  Learning is an eternal process. You should make full use of various learning and development programmes organized by your company and this also includes attendance of seminars. Off time, it is a good idea to join classes and acquire additional qualifications. Remember that the more you learn about your job and the level that you aspire for, your dreams will invariably come true. You also make yourself a valuable member of your team in the process and be better poised to take on additional responsibilities.

· Formulate a five year strategy:  Whenever you ruminate on your career objectives, you should also think of what you seek or where you hope to be the ensuing five years. Having identified that, it must be recorded. It could well be anything – new qualifications, promotions or job change. Once recorded, they will serve as a visible summary of your objectives and juxtaposing any of them in an action plan will be rendered simple.  

· Manage your time & resources:  Time management is an essential ingredient of success. It is essential that you do not get overburdened and are able to maintain a good work-life balance. Further, you could be at any stage of your career, however you need to manage your resources wisely. Overspending should be avoided and savings affected for unforeseen situations.  

Remember that your luck has a limited role to play in your career. It will never whisper to you to get cracking. The initiative to be in command has to be your own.

Assess your career honestly

Do you feel contented having reached wherever you are?

Does your present position offer you adequate motivation and competition that you seek to move ahead?

Does the future hold out good prospects for you or are you likely to stagnate for the next decade or so?

Do you feel that your career will meet all your current and future requirements?

If there happens to be any iota of doubt in your responses to the above questions, you need to seriously re-assess your career. After all, like anybody else, you will never like to be faced with a situation wherein you brood over spill milk. You will never like to be critical of the decision that you took about your career some years back and feel that you would have been comfortable, more contented and at an advantage if you had gone in for something else.

The difficult part of the exercise is however, weighing your current career to conclude if it is worth pursuing or worth bidding farewell to. You need to come up with honest responses to the following questions:

·      Is your present career an exhilarating experience?  You may have made slow or good progress in your career so far. But do you genuinely feel happy being wherever you are today? Remember that happiness and contentment is a state of mind; they vary from person to person. There are many people who always wear a smile on their face, irrespective of the strains and pressures of work. This is largely because they enjoy their work. On the other hand, there are many who though contented with their work yet find their jobs very demanding and strenuous. But they do not complain because they think that they are holding   responsibility and performing for the good of everybody. The actual issue that should not escape your attention is whether your career is able to cater to all your necessities and aspects significant to you. 

·      Do you see prospects of growth in your present career? This is a matter of great significance. The prospects of growth should extend into the next fifteen or twenty years. In case, the future is bleak with the growth prospects limited, does it ring bells or are you unruffled at this prognostication? There are several people who do not get tired doing mundane jobs for prolonged periods; in fact, they derive happiness performing humdrum tasks repeatedly. But there are many who want to move forward, move ahead and move up; they seek career advancement on a periodic basis. It will be prudent if you identify people at your workplace holding analogous positions for similar periods of time as you. They may be happy and contented, but are you too? There may or not be prospects for advancement, but this aspect should not serve to prompt you to quit. However, there should be no inhibitions whatsoever to cogitate seriously and honestly over ground realities.     

·      Are you content at staying wherever you have reached today? Imagine that you have attained the age of your superannuation and you are still holding an appointment that you are holding today. Will you be happy at that? Surely, there will be a list of several things that you would have wanted to attain; you must make a note of them. To be more specific, you should know exactly where you want to be. It is possible that the path that you are trudging on may be leading to your dreams. Or perhaps not too. You should know precisely what the fact of the matter is and in case you do not, it is high time that that you get into the serious business of evaluating your objectives so that you are clear about what you want to achieve in your life. But if case you feel that your present career is unlikely to fulfill your aspirations or satiate your requirements of the future, perhaps you may elect to go in for a fresh career.

There were times when careers were self-propelled; they did not require any push. Today, with things having changed, it is you who is responsible to steer your career in the direction that you want it to proceed. If that be the fundamental truth, you should not be unduly hopeful and wait for providence to push you forward. You need to be in command of the vehicle that you are seated in. If you remain at the wheels, you will be able to write your future and your success story.

Career management & career success

In most instances, at some stage of a career, people tend to introspect; they query themselves to determine if the job that they are in is apt for them, keeping their abilities, capacities and personality in mind. And if they infer that things are not as good as they ought to be, they ponder over the efforts that they need to put in to make things turn out in their favour. The fact is that unless you are clear about the ramifications of responses to your inquiries, any move to propel your career forward can be a very challenging affair. It is therefore, no wonder that many people remain trapped in a ‘career jam’. It is not that they are not gifted or adept; all that goes against them is the fact that they do not know the direction of sunrise and sunset.

The above highlights the importance of career management for achieving career success. Are you too in the same quandary? If so, there are five prime career issues that when considered honestly and pragmatically, will facilitate arriving at a sensible career judgement and resolution. Some of these issues may be tough to consider and respond to, but you can always overcome your predicaments by seeking help from people with whom you have been associated with or whose wisdom appeals to you. These issues are:

· What can you offer to a prospective employer? You should be aware of your USPs so that you can make them known to your prospective employer. These USPs are your forte and assets; and amongst other things, include your knowledge, capability and experience. Other significant attributes that can impress are your contact base, status, spoken reputation and power of sway. You need to market your USPs meritoriously and efficiently. You should remember that it is rather challenging to be detached and unbiased in your efforts to achieve all this and hence you must obtain feedback and substantiation from others as validation.

· What is your working approach & technique? It is an inescapable requirement to comprehend your work disposition, behaviour and make-up. The foregoing entails the manner in which you consider various assignments and cooperate with your co-workers. It is your personality as a whole that governs the suitability of functions and responsibilities that could be assigned to you as also the atmosphere in which you can perform optimally. If by temperament you display single-mindedness and enthusiasm towards your work, any consultative assignment may not be your cup of tea; the reverse is also equally relevant and applicable. You may not realise this, but it is a fact that better than you, people surrounding you can estimate your working approach and technique; and hence it is always a good proposition to ask for their views off and on.

· What is it that you seek? You must catalogue various facets that you want to change in the times to come and also things that you wish for to formulate a plan for your career. It is essential that you are specific to the maximum possible extent in your approach and accord precedence to various items on your list. The list could well feature practical issues like remuneration and other worldly aspects like receiving recognition; eventually the list you make can be converted to your career objectives.

· How do you propose to attain success in your career? In any sphere of activity, you will have alternatives and preferences. Some of them could be deciding against relocation, accepting lateral transfers, taking on different or diverse responsibilities and switching your job and even career. You may even decide to alter or modify your work style or embark upon endeavours where you are your own boss. The alternatives that you have should be considered in detail and validated through discussions with people in similar pursuits. Even placement agencies can give you valuable feedback on your standing vis-à-vis other contenders. After a holistic consideration of all these factors, you can proceed to decide on what goes with you the best.

· What do you need to do to attain your career objectives? Your actions to ensure fructification of your career objectives is nothing but career management. You must reduce to writing each and every thing that you ought to be doing towards this. Consequently, you may be required to brush up your resume, revivify your contact base, attend a training capsule to acquire a new qualification or discuss the issue of your career advancement with your boss. It is essential that you do not miss out on any of your proposed actions; the best way is to set a cut-off date for each for accomplishment.

Remember that your regard for your career comes from you, though extraneous factors may also wield influence. However, it is you and you alone who has to manage it. The way you manage it should be based on your own cognition of yourself.