In it for the long haul?… why good preparation matters…
We all were 21 once and the indestructible to the
world! I can’t count the amount of stupid things done by myself, which have
been written off to experience. How any of us get through our younger years is
a miracle in itself as the learnt lessons from these years spell out a hard
fact! If we don’t prepare in these years for a sustainable career, we will not
have one!
So, still in reflection, a brief yet candid reflection
of my own twenty something experiences:
A) Staying fit = Good move
B) Joining the Army = Good move
C) Studying Finance = Good move, could have
being better
D) Not embracing my passion after the Army =
bad move
E) Not developing my networking skills = bad
move
F) Not thinking long term career
satisfaction = bad move
G) Not doing a degree that stirs my passion =
bad move
So laid bare, one can see how hindsight is definitely
20/20 vision and that its difficult to make a decision in the present,
especially when you have just turned 20 and feeling larger than life itself!
I would like to share a story from a course I did
after launching my second career in Finance back in the day when the Celtic
tiger was roaring for all of Ireland! I was at a life-skills seminar by Ian
McClean & Partners and Ian himself shared a great story about a President
of a Merchant Bank who was in attendance at one of his courses. When finished
the course presentation, the President of the Bank approached Ian and thanked
him for the hearty presentation, which he found impressive. He especially liked
the analogy of the career ladder against the wall, where you climb it one step
at a time. He said that his father was also a President of a Merchant and made
him join the bank as a Clerk with no perks or favours done for him. He went
into the bank, worked hard and climbed the ladder like everyone else, one step
at a time until some decades later; he reached the very top of the ladder! It
was only at that time did he realise the ladder was not facing the right
wall! Imagine a lifetime of work, success and acclaim with no intrinsic
reward for the impact you have made on society? A life’s work spent on a hollow
success??
As a youngster, we would argue that “well didn’t the
banker get well paid for his troubles?” Sure he did, but money itself is not
what makes us happy, it provides a medium for living. Currency is a means to
travel life’s path, nothing more. Thing is, if you do your planning and stay
committed to your happiness, you can get paid doing what you love, which is a
win win!! You win by getting paid doing that you love and your employer wins by
having a better and more committed professional working for the company.
Society also wins by the increased positive impact given the “good cultural
fit” of the employee to the role and organisation.
So, if I could go and do it again, I would change
nothing! We all have regrets, no matter how perfect our plans are! Life tends
to work on net outcomes with plenty of crests and valleys along its path. That
said, there are things folks may want to think about now that will impact their
future either way.
Passion – find out what
interests you. Use social media to research your areas of interests and keep on
going until passion is stirred in an occupation and/or discipline. Don’t think
of it in best earning class, think of it in what makes you happy class!
Keep fit – fitness
assumed is fitness lost in later years. Stay fit whilst young and it will stand
to you in years to come. Develop a lifestyle of keeping fit through exercise,
running/field sports and walking. Stay active always!
College – College is a
must for charting your career path! Getting a degree will give you more
flexibility than without it. A 25 year old genius with a secondary school
education, an IQ of 160 and a coding ability that would make Steve Wozniak
jealous will not get his CV/Resume past HR in most major technology companies;
but the Philosophy degree holder, who partied through college will have a CV that
gets an interview! Degrees matter regardless of what path you take! Try to
marry your degree major to an occupation you are passionate about!
Networking
– 80% of all major decisions in management are made based on the confidence of
those presenting according to a McKinsey Institute study I read a few years
ago. Networking consistently through meetup.com and social media is a great
place to start to polish and practice your networking skills and build an
active network for yourself that will last the pace of time! In technology,
it’s estimated that over 90% of software hires in junior roles are done from
personal networks. Networking will increase your career prospects, potential
and effective development over the course of your career, the more you network,
the more successful you will be!
All that said, whilst now is the time to be doing the
above, make sure it’s all being done to support a direction that you love! If
you love what you are doing, you will be happier and the world needs more happy
professionals in love with their roles! Why not be that guy today! I will join
you are the happy bar as I start my third career in technology and am loving
every minute!
Sources/Credits:
Pics;
Credits;
Course by Ian McClean
& Partners was delivered to the Irish Institute of Credit Management, which
I then attended as an active member. Ian McClean &
Partners
Yulia Vambold for the
feature picture on unsplash.com
