Sailing through various career states

The most important facilitators for career success are active career planning and management. However, your best of ideas and strategies can become unfocussed if you fail to set your sights on the skyline of prospects and possibilities. It is essential that you remain prepared for any and all unforeseen ups and downs or diversions that your career path may be subjected to or forced to adopt.

During the course of your career journey, there will be several events and happenings that will unfold before you; some of them may be anticipated and some startlingly unpredicted. If you are already working, perhaps you would have experienced a few. The pertinent point is that if you can learn to deal with them effectively, the likelihood of enhancing the prospects of your career success will be high. Common career situations that will show on the horizon for you at some time or the other and for which you ought to be primed for are:

· Sudden job loss: When this happens, you will invariably wonder about what you should be doing next. Since you have been rendered jobless, some element of uncertainty will plague you about the shape of things to follow. Therefore, your focus will be on how to get going and from where.

· Change in organisational pecking order: You may find that your boss has resigned or there has been some reshuffling. You may be required to work under a new boss and for which you may have to start all over again to harmonise your equation with him or her.

· You have started off on a new job: A new job has its own challenges because you are not aware of the work procedures and organisational expectations of you. You will have to demonstrate your capabilities and establish yourself. In all likelihood, you will be on probation and hence creating the correct impact will be your priority.

· An opening for a lateral transfer comes up: The new position could well be in any vertical and you want to be in the race for it. Your aim will evidently be to get to the top of the list of contenders. When the opening comes is another matter, you have to anticipate and be prepared for it.

· Leaving your job on own accord: For whatever reasons, you may decide to leave your company and decide to do something on your own. What ought to be the factors that should be considered before making a decision? And how do you make that crucial decision and will your initial priorities?

· Overlooked for a promotion: This is a distinct possibility and you should be prepared for it. But when it does happen, you will invariably cogitate over the causative factors and identify measures that you will take to offset them. Perhaps you may realise that your people skills were deficient and hence you may have to identify people with whom you need to have more potent associations.

· The annual review is about to take place: The annual performance appraisal is a ritual that you will have to go through. With it scheduled, you will wonder what you should do to get a good rating. You will think of your contributions in the last twelve months.

· A promotion is due to you: It could be due, but there is many a slip between the cup and the lip. You will have to think how you could capitalize on your chances.

· Enough is enough & I want a change: You may want to change your job and even your career. It will be a perplexing situation. You will always wonder how to go about it.

· Your job hunting is not progressing: Your job search attempts may not yield results. You may feel as if you need to haul and thus think about recreating your push to create worthwhile prospects.

· Your shortfalls are impeding your advancement: You may feel as if despite best efforts, you are simply not moving forward in your job and career. If you realise this, you will also thing of corrective steps that you should take.

How do you address the above issues? You will do well if you take assistance of a mentor or counsellor. The person whom you identify as a mentor or coach should be one who has gone through similar experiences and come out successfully. You could also research and ascertain how others coped with such situations. The need will be to have a realistic plan to make things happen. But it will be inescapable to be on the lookout for any such developments in advance so that you are well geared up to deal with all upcoming events and situations.

If you have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give your best effort, eventually you will incapacitate your immediate problems and find you are ready for greater challenges. You will need to have faith in yourself, look challenges straight into their eyes and dig deep within yourself to subdue all apprehensions. After all, you have to be always in the forward-moving mode.