Resolve all predicaments of career choice decisions

As young boys and girls pass out from college armed with a degree, mixed feelings are experienced by them. They are both happy and worried - happy because of the degree and worried because of the uncertainty of the future. The feeling of euphoria that is generated because of the fact they are graduates may tend to subdue the feeling of worry. And hence there is some element of anxiety, though it does not come to the fore. 

Statistics indicate that nearly half of fish graduates fail to find a suitable job immediately after leaving college. Therefore, it is no surprise to see them struggling to get into a job as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the manner in which the youth goes about hunting for a job adds to their predicaments. Their career choice satisfaction is influenced greatly by their capability to arrive at good career decisions.

Making career decisions entails two different methodologies. The first one involves deciding on and pursuing a course of action that meets minimum individual needs to accomplish an objective. Boys and girls who adopt this method are quick to secure the very first job that meets their fundamental aspirations and which comes their way. The second method is to carry out detailed evaluation of all available options and then select a career that is most suited for them. 

All people who research career options in detail encounter unusual challenges while making career decisions. They suffer from a limited capability to sensibly and pragmatically examine different career options and arrive at the best one. They strive to to evaluate each and every option that supposedly qualifies to meet their own standards before making a final decision. This process demands more time and more often than not, the process turns out to be a vexatious exercise. The circumstances are similar to a highway from which several roads branch off; a motorist is confused on the turn he should take. Likewise, if you have many options available to you, you will get confused and eventually end up combatting only question marks. A thought process like this is unlikely to yield positive results; it can even impact your health and wellbeing. Therefore, any initiative to make colossal efforts just to identify that single, ideal career opportunity from amongst a horde of them can result in inconvenience and even harm. The confusion that prevails leads to predicaments that tend to obstruct your decision making ability.  

To resolve all predicaments associated with career choice decisions, there are some issues that you should understand and deliberate upon. They are:

• Have a practical approach to the employment scene: You have to view the employment scene as it exists with pragmatism and come to terms with the prevalent tough conditions. Things will be moving at a fast pace, though you may feel otherwise. Identifying your ideal opportunity and also clutching it are both monumental tasks. It is thus incumbent on you to have a practical approach towards everything and accordingly make small adjustments to your aspirations.  You should keep in mind that a sensible and practical approach towards your hopes and desires will increase your comfort and satisfaction levels, especially those pertinent to the choice that you make.
• Be determined & purposeful: If you are required to arrive at a decision, there should be nothing that prevents you from doing so. You cannot keep delaying the decision by reflecting on the pros and cons of it endlessly. If a decision-making process is unduly put off, the degree of consternation and worry that will afflict your mind will be extreme and severe.  Therefore, you must set a deadline for yourself in this context. You should always remember that a decision that you make is binding. However, no career decision is absolute and hence, can be modified at any subsequent stage. 
• Take responsibility for your decisions: It is necessary that you focus on the positive fallouts of your your career or job choices. Unnecessary reflection on and brooding over missed opportunities serve no fruitful use.  Whatever has happened is primarily because of your inability to comprehend things and make a decision. Your efforts should thus revolve around only upbeat issues so that your career advancement and the happiness it offers to you is made possible and expedited.  

You will certainly taste success if you advance in the direction of your dreams with conviction and confidence. If that has to be the case, you need to have no doubt whatsoever about what you seek in your career and life alike. You will have to work tirelessly to accomplish your goals. In the light of the foregoing, making good career choice decisions is dependent on your self-awareness. However, you must rely on your instincts too and consider what your inner voice tells you.

Delight in your work when you cross fifty

In any organisation, everybody does not reach the top. It is at some stage or the other that one feels that further advancement is ruled out. This generally happens when one is around fifty; it is at tis phase of life that one realises what work and life is all about and also the importance of striking a balance between the two.

Today, the workplace environment has changed. New technologies have been dovetailed into working methodologies. Somebody who is elderly may not be conversant with all of them as compared to youngsters. But that does not men that the elderly should compulsorily retire. In fact, adjustments should be made to facilitate drawing pleasure from one’s work. Any person who has crossed the age of fifty needs to display additional flexibility and accept changes. The following tips can be of great use:

• Be mentally & physically robust: Elderly workers face various obstacles and the best way is to remain as young as possible. This can be achieved by including physical exercise in one’s regimen and maintaining a positive outlook towards life as a whole.
• Know yourself well: You should be well aware of your personality traits and preferences, including those that help you in remaining happy. Such knowledge will facilitate in making sound decisions.
• Plan for years ahead: There is every likelihood that you neglected other aspects of your life. and focussed more on your work. If the same is applicable to you,there should be no feeling of guilt. Now that you have some time at your disposal, it will be worthwhile to spend a portion of it reflecting over how you intend keeping yourself busy in the coming years.
• Be pragmatic in your approach:  Having lived nearly two-hires of your life, you cannot think of becoming the Head of State. You should set for yourself simple objectives so that you can delight in the benefits that accrue upon their accomplishment.
• Assist & help others: You should know what your strengths are and how they can be put to good use so that others benefit from them. Now is the most appropriate time to understand that you too can benefit if you help others. It is necessary that you boost the fulfilment of your own potential.
• Appreciate the younger generation: It is your moral duty to appreciate youngsters. You must help them out if they get stuck. It is only then that they will genuinely respect and help you.
• Handle worries sternly: All changes are worrisome and pose problems of adjustment. You should discuss changes being experienced by you frankly with all concerned, including with your loved ones at home. 
• Don't be unnecessarily concerned about material possessions:  At the stage of life that you are, you would have surely done well for yourself. Therefore, money should not be an important consideration, you cannot disregard it altogether because you still need it to live your life well. But you need to focus more on your personal satisfaction, doing things that you have been unable to do and playing a useful social role.
• Use your networking to your advantage: You should realise that walking your career path when you have crossed fifty may not be possible all by yourself. You will have to seek assistance from others and for which, your networking should be utilised to gain information and advice.
• Don't be rigid: With the passage of time, you would have become used to some methods of doing thing. Nw that things are different, you need to shed that rigidity and find new ways to make small adjustments so that you are able to achieve the best.
• Don't rule out possibilities: The stage of life that you are at does not warrant a regular nine to six job for you. You should explore all available options to keep yourself busy and do some rewarding and gainful work.  Some feasible alternatives are mentoring and part-time job to keep yourself busy and still have an earning. Even self-employment is not a bad option at all. But remaining in a permanent job is always an attractive proposition.

Your life as a person who has walked the earth for fifty years plus can turn out to be the most precious happening if you are certain of what you can do and accomplish. It is advisable to be blind worries and not pay attention to inconsequential matters. Helping others will offer you solace and contentment; and hence you should not shy away from doing it. And of course, spending your valuable time with your family will surely give you immense satisfaction, something that people your age always look for. 

Conduct yourself professionally at your workplace

Many people think that the workplace is a busy place and your professional conduct there will hardly get noticed. All that is required of you is to perform your job well. But the fact is that all eyes are on you; any unprofessional behaviour will be picked up and impact your career. 

How do you conduct yourself professionally at your workplace? In fact, anything that you do from the time you enter and the time you leave has to be impeccable. If you adhere to thee following, you will come to be regarded in high esteem by one and all:

• Dress appropriately: Irrespective of whether the dress of the day is formals or casual, you should invariably look smart. If there is no dress code prescribed, you must select clothes that gel with the nature of work. Remember that dressing well is a form of good politeness and good manners.
• Be punctual: Coming late to the office or for any meeting will portray your lackadaisical attitude. Others will think that you have scant regard for their time. You must be present at the venue for any activity or event at least a couple of minutes in advance. Remember that if you are early, you are on time and if you are on time, you are late. 
• Don't tell lies: Any action that smacks of deceit and duplicity will project you in adverse limelight.  You need to be always frank and honest in your dealings.  If you lie and others come to know about it, they will never trust you. Even if you tell the truth, doing so with bad intent is as bad as telling lies.
• Maintain a positive disposition: It is well known that negativity is communicable and infectious. Your negative outlook will serve to pull down others and you will not be appreciated, including by your boss. But if you have to take up a stand, you must do so, but must offer recommendations for improvement. You must avoid being a perennial cribber. Remember that your positive disposition will lead to positive outcomes.
• Don't grumble: There are moments when everybody has mood swings. You must hang your bad mood on the peg at home. If your work per se is the reason for your bad mood, then you must introspect to determine corrective actions required. You must build up trust, reduce stress, amplify gratitude and mute your grumbling.
• Stay away from gossip: You may get to know many things about others, including their private matters. But sharing it with anybody at your workplace is best avoided. Maturity demands that you stay away from all tittle-tattle and whispering campaigns. It needs to be understood that talking about people behind their back speaks more about you than them; therefore you do not be a party to any gossip mongering.
• Don't use unparliamentary language: Foul language has no place at your workplace. It will surely offend others. As a guideline, something that you would say to your parents, you should say it at your workplace. Remember that a person of dignity will never use unparliamentary language and display of professionalism at workplace is all about maintaining your dignity. 
• Own your mistakes: It may be difficult alright, but you must have the courage to own up your mistakes and take appropriate remedial action to offset the harm that they may have done. Repetition of mistakes will project you in poor light. If at all you err, you should not point fingers; if there happens to be collective responsibility, your acknowledgement should prompt them to admit theirs too.
• Help your colleagues: You must share the load of your co-workers. After all, anybody’s success at the workplace manifests everybody’s success and speaks well of every person at the workplace. But you must guard against being adamant to help out; if somebody desires to be left alone, you should not insist on helping him or her.
• Don't get into an altercation: Because a workplace is all about people, there will be disagreements; you may even disagree with your boss. But you should not become irate. Any inclination to raise your voice should be curbed as also resorting to intemperate actions. You must put across your views calmly and if they are not accepted, there is no point n being unduly persistent. And most importantly, you should always avoid getting into a physical contact.
• Avoid discussing your personal matters: There is nothing wrong in confiding something in a close friend, but you must guard against telling everyone. You need to be wise and prudent about whom you engage in a conversation, more so when the subject happens to be your personal life. 

Demonstrating professionalism is important for job advancement, recognition and to show others that you are supportive. Professionalism is not a tag that you attach to yourself. It is a description that others apply to you. And that is what should always be borne in mind while you are at your workplace.

Be aware of your deficits & overcome them

Having a fat bank balance, enjoying a high social status and wielding power cannot be interpreted as signs of being successful. You may still harbour unfulfilled desires and aspirations. On the contrary, you may have none of these and yet be contented with your life. While possession of some qualities boost the prospects of a successful career, there are some that ensure that your career is in perennial doldrums. The general tendency among people is to overcome the latter category, little realising that in the process, they wreak havoc with their careers.

You could be excelling in your career or not doing so well. You could be passing through any stage of your career. Under all situations, you should remember that some deficits will invariably put your career at risk and as a result, you may suffer immense disenchantment and dissatisfaction. Five major deficiencies that can your impact career adversely are:

• You harbour a rigid approach to things: The boundaries that you draw for yourself and the values that you subscribe to, help you to face challenges. But they cannot be sacrosanct; with the passage of time, they may become redundant and hence need to be reviewed. As human beings, we are intelligent and possess inherent capabilities; but we get disillusioned when people do not support us. You need to be open to suggestions and new ideas; in other words, you have to be openminded and flexible. The world is changing fast and it is imperative that you not only accept, but be part of the change being witnessed. And when you shed rigidity, opportunities will come knocking at your door. 
• Your social skills are not up to the mark: If you lack social skills, life will never be smooth sailing for you. On the contrary, if you possess good interpersonal skills, you will be able to nurture good associations and collaborate effectively with others. You need to communicate with sincerity and be genuinely willing to accept new ideas. But if you are arrogant, sceptical and suspicious, you will find that these nasty qualities will continue to surround you because the people around you will beam out your own perspective. In order to draw out the best responses from people, you need to exhibit your best bearings. And for that you need to improve your social skills at work.
• You are not enterprising: Success will continue to elude you if you do not take initiative. You have to be enterprising in all your endeavours, which may be difficult if you are relatively junior in your company.  The fact is that you cannot bask in the sunshine without taking risks. You simply cannot afford to rest after delegating work. Being enterprising and dynamic calls for shedding apprehensions.You should not be unduly worried when additional responsibilities are assigned to you. Remember that new initiatives on your part will serve to propel you on your career path.
• You fail to see mistakes as learning experiences: The process of learning occurs when you acknowledge that you have committed a mistake or when you admit that you do not possess a specific skill. If you do not learn from your mistakes, you will repeat mistakes. You need to be thus forward-looking and develop good judgement; this will only be possible if you introspect.  Mistakes that you commit should also be viewed as opportunities for self-improvement. Your career will move in the correct direction if you can identify your mistakes and initiate corrective actions.
• You tend to avoid accountability: Responsibilities can be avoided by you, but then the adverts effects of the same will be yours to justify. When things do not move in the correct direction, you simply cannot go about criticising people or circumstances. You may not be responsible for whatever has happened, but if you evaluate why it took place, you will realise that the adverse fallout offers you a bundle of opportunities to do things in a different way. Well, negative results, if they have to be there will be there, but your character will come to be defined by the manner in which you respond to it.

You can overcome your deficiencies and thus open up new windows of opportunities for your career advancement. The need to accept change positively needs no emphasis because any and everything that will happen in your life will be brought about by what you do. Therefore, pyou too must change and adapt to emerging challenges that ushers.

Strategies to boost your career development

Career management is not something that you should just talk about; you must do it if you want to delight in your work and have a successful career. And that is possible only if you plan and work to acquire new dexterities and competencies.

Your career advancement will always take place if you take initiative. Amongst other actions, you could well job shadow others to gain knowledge about different jobs. Your experience will widen tremendously if you explore lateral movements and take active part in learning and development projects. If at all you have a mentor, somebody from a department that is on your exploration list will stand you in good stead.

Successful and contented people invariably try find out whatever they seek from their work. Once their sights are set on their objectives, they formulate a line of action to accomplish them. The plan should have timelines built in for accomplishing the objectives.  If you incorporate your boss in the process, the advantages will be in your favour because there will be someone within the organisation to help you out with your career management. Remember that sans a plan, you will be directionless and have no criterion against which you can measure your progress.

The modern day workplace is ever evolving and highly demanding; and to cope with pressures that are inherent to it, you need to make a strategic career management plan. None of the employers do you any favour by hiring you. In fact, they will always attract, recruit and retain employees who provide he best value and have the potential to provide the maximum value. If that be so, you ought to regard yourself as a business with something to sell. In other words, you need to generate strategies to sell yourself in general and your value in particular. You should:

• Have a frank discussion with your manager about your career objectives and seek his assistance to jointly generate a career development plan. Remember that the most consequential opportunity to exert sway and bring to bear effect is by involving your boss in various actions or steps required to be taken in your career planning.
• Probe into different qualitative requirements related to skills and experience as pertinent to the immediate and distant future. To illustrate the point, if your aim is to be the head of the human resources department of a company, then you should have a clear picture of the qualifications without which you will not be able to reach that position. And more importantly, you will have develop interim career development plans that will contribute to the accomplishment of your ultimate career objective.
• Increase your awareness about varied career options available to you. This can be made possible if you interact with your boss periodically and also have regular meetings with your friends, both at the workplace and outside. Your aim ought to be to gather maximum information so that you are able to make sound career decisions. You should have no apprehensions in approaching people because more often than not, they would be more than willing to tell you how they moved up in their careers and offer honest advice to you on how to do so.
• Display willingness to shoulder additional responsibilities voluntarily and take on challenging tasks. One good way to do well in your career is by keeping your wits about, looking for areas that are neglected in your organisation or where there are problems and come up with a line of action to set things right. When you undertake to bring about an improvement, you will get noticed and acknowledged by your management; in the process you will also get an opportunity to improve upon your skills-set.
• Interact with the HR department regularly to find out about new career development opportunities or policies that could facilitate them. It is necessary that you make optimum use of various learning & development events and amenities offered. You should be on a proactive mode as far as improving your skills and knowledge is concerned. In this way, besides improving your career prospects, you will also make yourself indispensable and thus be in a better position to accomplish your career objectives.

It is alright to have a job, but if you create a career out of it,  you stand to generate more opportunities for being successful. Remember that a successful career happens only if you work for it. And working for it implies planning, toil and periodic reviews to ensure that you are on track.

Creating a career path

       The process of creating a career path implies plotting a course by a person for career advancement within an organisation. It entails comprehending the skills, expertise, individual qualities and experience essential for any working person to make career progress by way of promotions and raises. Such progress can also be a lateral movement. Therefore, it places upon an individual  immense responsibility to review career objectives and deliberate on what needs to be done to accomplish them. Creation of a career path is thus an inescapable constituent of your longterm career management.

In good organisations, a career path is a crucial factor in the performance development planning of an employee wherein the seniors deliberate and plan advancement avenues for an employee. The issue of performance development planning is significant because firstly it is in a written form and secondly, it is shared, tracked and periodically reviewed at different echelons. The annual performance review can also be used for creating a career path.

The career path includes an individual’s ultimate career objective and actions required to be taken to accomplish that. Drafted properly, it gives a sense of direction and purpose to the concerned individual besides providing him methods to evaluate the progress achieved at different stages. This thus, help in making midterm corrections, if required. It is not necessary that the career path be created by an organisation. As an individual and as an employee, it is your responsibility to make your own career path. How do you do that?

You can develop a career path by taking a look at your desired job or jobs in your company. Having done that, you should then chart a course through different jobs and departments. This can be undertaken with the help of your immediate boss or in conjunction with the HR department; in fact a career path arrived at in this manner will be the best.You need to acknowledge the fact that seizing any job that you have an eye on will necessitate move out from your current team to different sections altogether. And of course, a promotion at appropriate intervals is also essential for accomplishing your objectives. A mentor can be of immense help in this context.

Besides the above imperatives, there are three other actions required of you. They are:

• Formulating career objectives & deciding on aspired jobs: Coaching and mentoring may facilitate narrowing down on likely career options, however, it is your responsibility to explore them to your satisfaction. This will have to be done as an own time effort. You may also seek assistance of career professionals or carry out extensive research online for the purpose.
• Reduce your career path plan to writing. If you are working in a company where your performance appraisals are linked with career development opportunities, the career path plan will already be there in a documented form. But in most cases, you will have to make your own plan and then share it with your immediate boss or the concerned HR staff. You will need to enunciate your objectives clearly because unless you do so, accomplishing them will not be easy.
• Exercise full control over your career path plan: While help from others will be to your advantage, you need to understand than that no person other than you will be the only beneficiary of your career path plan. Your responsibilities will include taking initiatives to select a good mentor, applying for jobs that are there within your company and acquiring necessary skills to meet the qualitative requirements spelt out. It is only then that you will be able to achieve your goals. Remember that the impact of your career path will be only on you and hence the importance of being a master of it needs no emphasis. 

A thoughtful career path plan is a key factor for an employee to stick on in an organisation. That is why companies are increasingly taking the onus of developing career paths of their employees. Learning and developing activities planned by companies make it known to employees what skills are expected of them to hold higher responsibilities. Such information known, you can plan and prepare for different jobs and opportunities within your existing organisation. This is all the more important because today, no organisation will offer you a lifelong career because the focus will always be to safeguard organisational interests that could well be poles apart from your concerns. Therefore, if you understand the importance of planning your career path yourself, you will always have a roadmap to follow through out your career journey.

Career management tenors in 21st century

There can be no denying the fact that the present era is extremely challenging and various career management procedures applicable fifty years back have been rendered irrelevant. Intense competition and lack of employment opportunities tend to make an individual demotivated. That is why, you cannot afford to have knee-jerk reactions to your career issues. Your career has to be managed well and planned for.

        People may have had unmistakable career paths in the period some years back. While the economic slowdown continues and hence, few career paths cannot be walked upon. The outcome is that employers are reluctant to take responsibility of career progression of their employees. If you contribute to organisational growth, you are viewed as efficient and indispensable, but if anything goes wrong, there will be nobody to hold your hand. You are thus accountable to yourself and the responsibility to look for another alliance partner is yours.

Though at the cost of reiteration, it is significant to state that the 21st century lays increased responsibility on an individual to mange his or her career and the prospects that go with it. That calls for greater answerability and liability. The fact is that the very nature of employments and job profiles has changed; such alterations have been brought about by scientific advancements and a perception of the world having become a global village. There is no job that is retainable for life in the 21st century occupation panorama.

But one attribute has not changed. Careers, like some other life effects, are fluctuating, unpredictable and flexible. They have a demonstrated ability to alter themselves in consonance with individualistic conditions.  Furthermore, all careers need to be periodically assessed to make certain that all schemes and objectives are in harmony with progress achieved in professional and private planes.

           Current difficult times have sent appropriate signals to everybody that even the most forceful and healthy career arrangements are subject to upset. Therefore, it is inescapable to uphold and sustain one’s viewpoint and outlook. Additionally, options to get on track in the eventuality of an interruption or interference also need to be identified in advance.

      There would be many who would have had other burning concerns that perhaps relegated career management to a lower position. They would have not found it difficult to manage their careers because the focus of attention lay somewhere else. But those who were not passive in their approach and did not leave their career management to luck or others, stand in good stead today, particularly when the global economy has started witnessing an upsurge.

The writing on the wall is thus clear – never leave your career management to others; you will always face the hazards of being abandoned or being left out of the loop. In the light of the foregoing, you must spare time for some career appraisal. There are individual career objectives and ambitions on one side and private and job-related principles on the other. The need is to see whether both of them are in harmony or not. A career appraisal would help in the comprehension of what is moving and what is static. It would also help in gauging your proficiency, weak spots, opportunities at your disposal and impediments that you may experience. This will help you sieve the good from the bad; you will thus be able to find out where precisely where you stand.

        When you reflect upon different prospects, you must query yourself on issues that are on rails and issues that are not. In addition, you must also find out matters and influences that have been thwarting your career growth, including the level at which they have been fixed. While trying to initiate midterm corrections, there is no harm in identifying people and setups who can help you achieve your career objectives.

All processes initiated for career management today demand a high degree of determination and steadfastness. This is largely on account of the flux that prevails at all workplaces and job requirement. Commercial and risk management procedures place on employees an increased liability. Such liabilities can be reduced if you have a flexible approach and harbour a feeling of answerability. It is only then that your career will come to be better managed!