Know Thyself - Career Strategy

Career strategy, is something that I bumped into in the last weeks. Personal Branding and Purpose are the most hyped words on the internet. Followed by Passion and Networking. Career Strategy on the other hand, has a low profile and I stumbled upon it on an obscure post. Career strategy in a nutshell is how we get to our career vision we set for ourselves.  I thought it would be a good idea to dig deeper into this concept, as it gives focus to what we undertake. What we focus, we become.   

Being in control of our career destiny is kind of cool. I would think, a solid career strategy would be the foundation that Persona Branding and Networking are built on. Not that I am a fan of Networking or Personal Branding with an end in mind. I believe we should be nurture all our relationships and be intentional in who we are. That way we come across as authentic and trustworthy to those we interact with.   

Looking at my career, I had no clue of a Career Strategy, let alone, one for Personal Branding or Networking for that matter. I seem to have fallen into things as I went along. First into accounting, then into an accounting firm. Then on migration to New Zealand, things took a turn for the worse with falling into things as I was a new migrant, and it was recession time. I took whatever opportunity that came my way, even in the form of volunteering in the accounting space.   

My ideological brain encouraged me to do a Diploma in Teaching. I thought I was going to be of service to the world and influence young minds. Once in the secondary school scene in Auckland, I found, that many kids did not find education that attractive, especially at fifteen. I also got sick quite often. I moved along in a year, to my old stomping ground Accounting. In that space, I rose reasonably fast and continued this climb as we migrated to Australia. No strategy in mind, just loving what I did, doing the best I could and having a huge fire in my belly.   

My curiosity and willingness to take on projects and complete them successfully, led me to take a leadership role in Operations. When these projects presented themselves, in most cases I did not have a clue. But the hunger to learn and grow, and the confidence, I would be quick on the uptake, pushed me along to take up these opportunities. I did not have a clear idea what would transpire at the end of the project. Again, no strategy in mind. The young would say I was a bunny, doing all this extra work for no real compensation.   

In the job, I went regularly to regional meetings. In these meetings, I had a ball. Again, no strategy in mind. I got along well with colleagues and was cheeky enough to speak my mind to all the big wigs coming from headquarters. I also ended up being the spokesperson for the shyer folk from the other countries. I found later, being a loudmouth, helped those of influence remember me and recommend me at critical points in my career progression. I would like to think my vocal habits were backed with substance and that is what got me the recommendation. Again, this was not very well thought of. I was just being myself.   

Learning and reflecting on my haphazard approach to career strategy.  

1. A drive and hunger to do the best we can, is fundamental to any career strategy. Without fire in the belly, no wonder vision can come alive. The first essential ingredient. 
2. Mastering all aspects of what we do is another essential ingredient in this mix 
3. Knowing what strengths to work on is the third ingredient. This way we will excel what we do naturally and with consistent application, we leverage our strengths.  
4. Knowing what weakness will be career limiting, is essential. The fourth essential ingredient. Without working on these weaknesses, our career vision may very well be a pipe dream.  
5. Never being afraid of taking on new responsibility and opportunity. These help to Know Thyself better and enhance our skill set. Though not an essential ingredient, it can fast track us to our career vision.  
6. Making sure we continue to add value. Essential ingredient always. Ensures that we stay relevant.  
7. Speak up with substance and with those who count. This will help fast track us and is fundamental to Personal Branding.  
8. Flowing to where our interests are. I moved from accounting to commercial management to operations. This will open possibilities that were not in our line of vision.   

The icing on the cake is Personal Branding and Networking as mentioned before. Depending on each individual, we can prioritize what we work on. The ambit for growth is huge if we play our cards right.   

Knowing where you want to go and thinking about diverse ways to get there will help you be intentional about your career growth. I am sure one should not leave it to chance like I did in my career. Looking back at what I did, I seem very naive and trusting. Not sure if this is a good way to be in today’s times.   

Now that I help others with their careers, it is important to be close to our target career position by forty years. That way, we have another twenty years to consolidate and make ourselves financially secure for retirement. But I also appreciate that everyone is programmed by the universe to play to a different beat of the drum.   

I know life is not simple and will not work out only because we have a career vision and a strategy that we are executing. Life will always bowl us some curveballs. We must bounce with resilience and proceed in pursuit of what is important to us. These curve balls may induce us to review our vision and tweak it. That is natural and is a sign of growth.   

Do you have a career vision?   

What is your strategy to reach that vision?   

What will you work on this year?