GREATER SUCCESS AT WORKPLACE

Be the captain of your career

Steer the direction but remain humble that the wind might bring you somewhere else.

A career is one of the controllable yet uncontrollable things in our life. We can choose to let the wind (bosses, sudden pop-up opportunities, random comments from others, etc) bring us somewhere.

Or, we can be the captain of our career and plan our way forward.

Know what’s out there

One of the pieces of advice I hate the most for career planning is — to go and speak to people and learn what’s in the role.

It is not logical to reach out to a stranger to ask about their career paths and work. It is so weird.

To know what’s out there, read more. There are magazines, career websites, recruitment descriptions, and so on. These are a good avenue to understand what other jobs entail.

Besides that, talk to your friends or relatives. Whether their job is directly related to your career path or not, you will learn something. Especially when you don’t know what you don’t know.

Talking to others will help one to know the nature of different jobs. This understanding helps you to manage your expectations — every job has its pros and cons. If you are lucky, you have a friend who is on the same career path that you are gunning for, make sure you capture the opportunity to ask as many questions as you can.

Know yourself

Knowing yourself is probably the most important thing in life. For career reasons or not, it is one thing that we are here for. Know yourself.

Funny enough we don’t know ourselves as much as we think we are. Our brain tends to fool us if we are not careful.

Do you think you hate your job?

Or do you just hate this particular colleague who is not collaborative?

Is it the boss who doesn’t recognize your effort that brings down your morale?

The never-ending unreasonable or unimportant questions from the boss can cloud one’s judgment. The overwhelming frustration could drive a person out of a job that he or she loves.

Writing down the feelings, segregate them into happy and unhappy feelings. See if you can find a common factor among the feelings. Take your time to do this exercise. Record down your daily feelings and review them after one month. If the unhappy feeling is really about work, it is probably time to leave.

If not, think again.

Know the opportunities

Whether the conclusion is to leave or not, never cease to find the other opportunities. This is part of career building.

In this digital world, getting information is much easier than before. Follow the company or individual that you are interested in. Keep yourself updated with the latest news in the industry. Never be afraid to reach out to find out more.

Take charge of your career and constantly look. Look externally and internally to find opportunities that match both your wishes and your capabilities.

Do not let yourself down.

Your career is in your hands.

If you want to read more in Medium, sign up for Medium membership via link below! Hope you hear from you too!