Take initiative & walk your way to success

Do you feel unchallenged at work? Do you have problems identifying new ventures? Do you find it difficult to discover new responsibilities that you would like to shoulder? Do you remain perplexed at having your boss make the best use of you and your expertise?

The above bewilderments are quite common and manifest your keen desire to work for your company in a more consequential manner. However, the important issue is how to give such a wish shape and direction.

You must acknowledge the truth that if you have problems in trying to contribute more to your organization, your boss would perhaps be in a similar quandary. Remember that your boss has more responsibilities and accountability; and hence looking for means to make better use of you, though in his or her charter, is something easily shelved.

At all workplaces, there are a number of people who tend to grumble about under-utilization of their skills. But regrettably, the initiative that ought to be displayed by them in this context is rather low. The fact is that such people simply keep reiterating that their capabilities are under-estimated and that they have the potential to put in more; whether or not they put in sustained hard work to reveal that is a million dollar question. 

The above thus raises serious doubt about their contentions. As a matter of fact, they are a jaded lot who are not contested at all; and this gives them reason to grumble. It is not that everybody who feels underutilized or under-worked is not more endowed or more capable; and authentically seeks to find genuine and concrete methods to put their skills perceived to be overlooked to better use.

The first and foremost step that you should take is to take the onus of the dilemma. It is pointless to hold others responsible for whatever is transpiring. You simply cannot look forward to others finding ways and means to utilize you optimally. It may appear that the circumstances are not favourable to you or things cannot be dominated by you. However, you must get on to take control of the situation and take all necessary actions to find a remedy to your dilemma. Here is how you can do so:

·   Assess how you are faring:  Your maiden task should be to ensure that you are not found wanting in your current job profile; all assigned tasks should be excellently executed. It is only then that you should seek varied and additional responsibilities. If you are a run of the mill type vis-à-vis your current job, it does not stand to logic exploring higher responsibilities. Your efforts should be directed at where they are primarily supposed to be; it is subsequently that you should contemplate looking at other prospects.

·   Identify what you seek:  It is next to impossible laying hands on what you are not clear about. You need to visibly and unmistakably characterize what you want to do. To do so, you have to understand specific skills possessed by you that could be better made use of or those that you need to sharpen; and reflect on what the final picture should appear as. In other words, you must identify particular assignments that you would prefer to take on and summarize issues that you would like to be involved with and contribute to.

·   Find out how your boss can help:  Bosses can be forgetful and need to be reminded about what is to be done including specific projects that can be undertaken by you. While approaching them, you have to be specific in your requests and be able to justify them. The boss will thus evaluate you and your requests in the light of larger company interests.

·   Be enterprising & have an upper hand:  There is nothing wrong in displaying initiative and taking on additional responsibilities. You should try to infuse greater efficiency, introduce interior economy measures and boost productivity. You could well devise ways and means to come up with ingenuous ideas and implement them. This will boost your image in the perception of your boss and co-workers alike. It is likely that seeing this, you may get to be in charge of a greater program.

They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. Remember that your wisdom is the ultimate tool for forging your future.

The falsehood about dream jobs

Prompted by our ambitions and aspirations, we tend to contemplate very seriously on dream jobs. And when we are into it, no time is lost in embarking on a deceptive hunt for another. What is the reason behind this? Is a dream job a reality; if yes, then why search for another one? Or is the perception of a dream job hazy and weird? Why is it an allegoric idea or a figment of your imagination?

Every individual has a different perception of a dream job; they know fully well that none of them can ever satisfy all your requirements and make life a comfortable ride. Remunerative factors and job profile are two major factors for consideration, however, in case if happiness is not there, it does not remain a dream job.

Dream jobs exist only in minds and are dreams so long as there is nothing adverse about them. Should tough working conditions, low salaries and greater responsibilities be imposed, dream jobs cease to be so. Consequently, the deceptive hunt for a new dream job takes off.

Professionals and wise men opine that dream jobs are always just around the corner, provided you recognize and believe in truth. The truths are:

·   Happiness at job is not forever:  You can only derive happiness from your job only if you have a happy disposition. Your dream job cannot guarantee it and may impose agitating moments. Remember that happiness is your discretion – if you want to be happy, you will be so. In fact, it is a state that you would like to be in a couple of years hence and thus is a natural corollary to your desire and anmitions. 

·   Dream job will not be there for grabs:  You can well be satisfied doing a number of jobs. Hence the term ‘dream job’ is not apt. It is quite likely that you will be happy if you give wings to your zeal and fervour. But when your passion gets transformed into regular work, the zeal gradually die down and so doe the happiness that you were experiencing. Opting for unbeaten paths is a trend of current times, but once you walking on it, it is no more a dream. If you blend a job with a leisure pursuit, the result will be a exhilarating cocktail of sorts alright, but will make you feel miserable after some time. You should get into a job that you are at ease with to graduate further to your dream job.  

·   No dream job offers handsome salary:  You may be paid handsomely in your dream job, but this will be an exception rather than a rule. If you have vim in you that attaches a high importance to money, you will eventually have diminished earnings, despite your fondness for the job. There are many people who are passionate about their work and yet make decent amount for their living. The essential point is to draw satisfaction and happiness from work and not bother much about remuneration.  

·   Dream job is a matter of perception:  Yes, it is so; there is no such thing as a dream job because a dream is not an actuality. It is all about how you visualize your job; the discernment varies from person to person. A low-paid employee working in a small setup may also regard his job as a dream job because it helps him to make his both ends meet. At the end of the day, it is all a matter of how you psychologically and emotionally recognize a job. 

·   No job is a dream job:  The belief that an ideal job is a dream job is wrong. A perfect job is one where you have time for various other pursuits too; remaining bogged down with the job routine does not qualify to be called one. Your job conditions should offer you opportunities to be happy, contented and rejuvenated. Simply facilitating meeting all personal obligations is not a yardstick of a dream job; you should also be able to walk around and see the sights your life. You should not have excessive hopes from a job; you have to strike a good balance between your work and personal obligations to live life truly king size.

Facts highlighted above notwithstanding, people still let their imagination run riot about dream jobs. There are numerous contributory causes that make a job a dream job and which, needs to pragmatically considered, before actually taking a plunge.

Look within & around before your job hunt

Your prospective employers will invariably ask you to provide references to verify your credentials. Therefore, it is advisable that before you set out hunting for a job, you look within yourself and carry out a check. This will help you to discern grey areas and rectify them.

Aspects that any employer likes to confirm are your educational and professional qualifications; employment history; character antecedents; performance capabilities; movable and immovable assets; criminal and court records; health & well-being; and even credit worthiness. They could well find out more about you than your mother knew; the list could be quite exhaustive, particularly if you are going to be handling confidential information.  However, it would be largely contingent on the employer and the job involved.

It is considered pertinent to mention that every prospective employer will not carry out a very detailed verification. But since they seek to decrease the risks in hiring, increase the quality of hire and ensure compliance of rules and regulations, they will definitely conduct background checks. Therefore, it will not be a bad initiative to discern and distinguish your footing on important facts and figures so that you are appropriately geared up.

Services of an investigative agency or direct contact with the references you provide are the more common means that companies use for employee verification. Of late, searches on social networking sites and the internet have also come to be used for the purpose. In order to preclude any unfavourable situation from developing at a later stage, it should be your endeavour to detect likely mismatches and pieces of apprehension that your employer may find out in the process of judging your candidature.

Talking of the internet, you too can search for information pertaining to your profile and see if there are any incomplete or incorrect details appearing. There could also be factually incorrect information appearing on social media sites like Linkedin or Facebook. It needs no emphasis to affirm that appearing of inaccurate and incorrect information related to you, inadvertent or otherwise can have a devastating effect on the opinion being ascertained of you by any prospective employer. 

You should also make sure that your professional records are proper and truthful. The importance of your resume is immense; in fact it focuses on you and your past, but has a great bearing on your future prospects. Therefore, you must make certain that each and every bit of information included in it is precise and truthful. Remember that even a trivial lapse, by oversight or otherwise would prompt a prospective employer to believe that similar gaffes would exist in the entire paper. Needless to state, this would put your candidature at great risk. Considering the foregoing, it is imperative that whatever you put on your resume is factual and not exaggerated or inflated; there should invariably be supporting documents to substantiate all your assertions. In case supporting documents are not available, you could well procure them straight away.

You should also be certain that the references provided by you in your resume or otherwise have been spoken to by you. All telephone numbers and addresses should have their acquiescence for use by you.

There are many employers and recruiters who also verify your credit worthiness from banks and financial institutions. You should make it a point that there are no defaults against you.

It is always better to not lose a good job because of poor findings of a background check, which, in the current times is a hard actuality of business. You can avoid adverse ramifications by taking corrective actions in advance. This is an indispensable component of your preparation to bring your job hunt to a winning completion.

In short, prior to your job hunt, you need to confirm that everything that you claim and put across in black and white is factual. This will remove all apprehensions in your mind and make you feel extra self-assured when you move ahead to get the job that you have been aspiring for. After all, you simply cannot afford to be ambushed at a later stage.

Decide on fresh career direction

Are you jobless and suffering from the emptiness generated by it? Having attained your objectives, are you now seeking to climb up to the higher rank. Is a glum feeling of amazement plaguing you because you were not confident of reaching where you have?

If you happen have any doubt about where to go next without taking any chance, you must do some career planning. The job market today is not very sizzling and hence you need to be certain about what you have achieved so far and what you aspire to achieve in your career. Remember that life unfolds itself strangely and things could be always be in your favour. Here are ten tips to decide on fresh career direction:

·   Plan straightaway:  If you want to have better tomorrow, you need to have a sanguine outlook. This will help you stay alert and become noticeable to prospective employers. And you cannot do this unless you plan and plan well.

·   Unwind & reflect:  Ideas will cross your mind if you are at peace with yourself. It may not be surprising if the best idea comes to you when you are taking your morning walk. Mulling over at your workplace will not yield anything because your mind may be knowingly or unknowingly preoccupied with criticism of others. You must allocate some space for thinking to yourself; and refrain from worrying. You will find that you will hit good plans for your future.

·   Know yourself:  To know yourself, you must know your inclinations, inspirations and expertise. If you happen to be an impulsive doer, it may not be an easy affair. But you can do the needful with some willpower; taking assistance from a friend or guide will help.

·   Identify what you seek:  You have to look within to discern exactly what you seek. You have to be certain about your aims – humble or grand - sans which you simply cannot plan. When you look within, you invariably carry out an assessment of your motivation.

·   Be candid in your evaluation: Does you present work leave you contented and in high spirits? Or do you feel otherwise? You need to discern precisely what makes you feel cheerful or miserable –your organization, remunerations, work ethos, recognition and facilities to improve upon, etc. If you are able to point out issues that you adore or abhor, you will automatically also think of various alternatives available to you.    

·   Catalogue your skills:  What are your attributes and strong-points that qualify you for an appointment? You must record them; doing so will facilitate identification and rectification of your weaknesses.  

·   Envisage your prospects:  Your imagination should be let loose, if not wild to conjecture images of what you intend to achieve in your life and career. Do you know your preferences? Where exactly would you like to be in? What charter would you precisely like to take on? How would you like to be acknowledged and recompensed? While envisaging your future, you should not lose your nerve; your determination will help you picture it.   

·   Reason out things:  It is essential that you know the rationale of your objectives rather than musing over the ways to go about achieving them. You will be inclined to believe that you are on the right track and not pause to reflect about actualities. Points that you should consider are your aptitude, skills and principles because without evaluating them, you will never be able to formulate a cogent plan.

·   Do phased scheduling:  There are three distinct phases that your planning should pass through. To start with, you must evaluate your personality and what you necessarily should have. Thereafter, you should see in your mind's eye your future and create a picture of it. And lastly, the plan has to be reduced to writing.  

·   Reduce your plan to writing:  You must jot down anything that crosses your mind – be it during travel, conversation or simply sky-gazing. Your plan should invariably include five aspects – your action, methodology for it, time for its initiation, outside assistance required and a perceived picture of the end-result, that is, your success.

Do not waste time anymore. You could be in for a great surprise. Anew life could be unfolding for you – something far exceeding what you even imagined!