We’re discussing why some people enjoy a successful career progression that moves them closer to their goals, while others with comparable backgrounds are are stuck in dead-end jobs or unchallenged. Either way, they’re not happy.
We pointed out one key differentiator was successful people take responsibility for managing their careers. They are intentional about mapping a path for the direction they’d like their career to go. They actively monitor it, so they know if they are tracking. If they stray too far off course they take steps to redirect. They take ownership because they know if they fail to steer their careers, other people or circumstances will move it off their chosen course.
They also understand that every stay or go decision they make affects their career trajectory, even if they don’t make them. Perhaps that should say, ‘especially when they don’t make them.’ Failing to steer your career is not different than failing to steer your sailboat, hoping the wind blows it where you want it to go.
Another key differentiator is that people with successful career progressions get that timing is everything. In some respects, it’s more important than hard work or managing their career, so they work hard to get their timing right. Sometimes, that’s as simple as being more open-minded.
But experience has taught me that for some people, being open-minded isn’t simple. For some reason, they seem to learn best through pain. Lacking a good sense of timing once or twice in their career has cost them opportunities and limited their progress. Lacking it over their entire career is a big reason why they end up dissatisfied, settling for less than they could have had. At the early stages of their careers, mistakes can be overcome. Farther into their career, it’s much more difficult to adjust for getting too far off course.
Successful people on the other hand understand that just as life happens while they’re busy making other plans, their careers happen while they’re busy doing their jobs. Career progression happens through a series of steps, one step at a time. Each step should serve a purpose. Sometimes that’s trying on a new job to see if it fits. Other times, it’s moving them closer to their goal. The right step at the right time is key. Not taking the right step at the right time is the wrong move.
If they’ve made a good career decision, their new job offers new beginnings and possibilities. They have more options now that weren’t previously available to them. They’ve learned new skills, expanded their network and increased their visibility. Because they’re more well-rounded, they have a broader perspective which should translate to adding more value.
In contrast to the ones who stay too long in the same job, people who consistently make good moves advance closer to their ultimate job. They tend to be happier because they’re in jobs that are a better fit, tend to grow at a faster rate professionally and are earning more money than the peers they left behind. On the journey known as your career, if you miss the exit you should have taken, you’re heading in the wrong direction even if you don’t know it at the time. Unfortunately, sometimes people don’t realize that until years later.
As much as we would like, we don’t control the timing of when ‘good next steps’ appear. Planning is a great tool. It helps us visualize what we’d like to happen and when. But man plans and God laughs. A good plan is like a good map, but even the best maps are incomplete.
That’s why when opportunity knocks, successful people listen. They grasp the value and leverage that options provide. Sometimes, the opportunity was a specific job they had targeted to pursue. When the door to that job opens, it’s a natural to walk through.
Other times, a really good opportunity comes their way, but it wasn’t in their plan. Whether through a referral or a recruiter, since it wasn’t on their map, they weren’t looking for it. But it came anyway. It’s called serendipity. But if they’re not open-minded, they can’t see it because it’s not listed in their plan. Someone else gains the benefit they could have had.
The bottom line is, even when they’re looking, people who get the value of timing still listen. Even if they take a pass, it was their choice, based on what’s best for their career. It’s simple, but important; they know that if they don’t have options, there are no choices.
Successful people breathe life into their career options by accepting that the best time to walk through the door of opportunity is when it’s open. But just because a door opens, it doesn’t mean their name is on it. As you advance in your career, if you play your cards right, you’ll have multiple options, multiple times. Although options are always good to have, choosing between them can be tough. We’ll discuss making intelligent career decisions in another post
Tuning into timing in your career is huge. Along with managing your career, it’s hard to overstate its value. Managing your career requires planning. Temper your plan with timing. Be open-minded by inserting planning for unexpected options into your career plan.
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