The Choice is Yours

I've been thinking a lot lately about choices. So many of us go through life letting others make our choices for us. Granted some of the aspects of our careers are in the hands of others but many aspects are based completely on the choices we make. When thinking about you're next career move, or even the place you are currently at, it is important to have a framework for making career choices. Some questions you should ask yourself in building your framework are:

Number one: What do I value in my life and in my job? Is it balance, achievement, monetary wealth, feeling as though I am making a positive contribution, flexibility, autonomy? Knowing the answer to this key question should inform the choices you make. If you value balance over money and are offered a job that pays more but requires you to work 20 hours more a week than you currently do will you be happy in that position?

Number two: How do I define success for myself? Our society has created a clear idea of success. Make lots of money, have a big house and drive a fancy car is the simple vision of success that is presented on TV. This vision of success often does not align with your personal values or reality. Consciously deciding what success looks like for you in the short and the long term will allow you to focus on achieving what is right for you.

Number three: What am I willing to sacrifice for career success? What am I not? These questions align closely with the first two. If you know what you value and what success looks like for you, you can then decide what sacrifices you are willing to make to achieve success. Perhaps balance is important to you but you are willing to sacrifice balance for now while you establish yourself. Or maybe money is paramount to you but you may be willing to take a step back in pay to have the opportunity to earn more longterm. The key is to make these sacrifices and choices consciously and with a plan in mind.

Book Review: The Dip by Seth Godin

The Dip: the little book that teaches you when to quit (and when to stick)
Synopsis: (from Amazon.com)
The old saying is wrong—winners do quit, and quitters do win. Every new project (or job, or hobby, or company) starts out exciting and fun. Then it gets harder and less fun, until it hits a low point—really hard, and not much fun at all. And then you find yourself asking if the goal is even worth the hassle. Maybe you’re in a Dip—a temporary setback that will get better if you keep pushing. But maybe it’s really a Cul-de-Sac, which will never get better, no matter how hard you try. According to bestselling author Seth Godin, what really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts. Winners quit fast, quit often, and quit without guilt—until they commit to beating the right Dip for the right reasons. In fact, winners seek out the Dip. They realize that the bigger the barrier, the bigger the reward for getting past it. If you can become number one in your niche, you’ll get more than your fair share of profits, glory, and long-term security.
Losers, on the other hand, fall into two basic traps. Either they fail to stick out the Dip—they get to the moment of truth and then give up—or they never even find the right Dip to conquer.
Whether you’re a graphic designer, a sales rep, an athlete, or an aspiring CEO, this fun little book will help you figure out if you’re in a Dip that’s worthy of your time, effort, and talents. If you are, The Dip will inspire you to hang tough. If not, it will help you find the courage to quit—so you can be number one at something else.
Seth Godin doesn’t claim to have all the answers. But he will teach you how to ask the right questions.

Key ideas:

• Quitting is not the same as failing. This point is a great one and is the greatest virtue of this book. Their is no guilt or shame in quitting a job or project that is not a right fit for you and isn't leading to success or important learning. We make choices everyday that create our future. This is a great way of expressing the importance of trusting yourself in making a choice to turn in another direction that is right for you.
• Quitting out of fear or NOT quitting out of fear is not the right way to make a choice. Godin suggests having an 'exit strategy' before beginning. This is an exercise worth doing, even though your personal circumstances change you can always revisit but thinking through to the end allows you to understand what you want to get out of the experience you are embarking on and how to identify when it is no longer working for you.
• "If it scares you it might be a good thing to try" - pg 76
  

Take with a grain of salt:

• Godin really focuses on being the best in the world at whatever you do. I don't find this realistic. I found his style lacking a balance with choosing the lifestyle that is right for you. He doesn't seem to allow for definitions of success outside of the economic marketplace and uses the word 'loser' a little to easily.
  

Overall:
This book at 80 pages is a quick, interesting read that will help you think about your career in a more strategic way. That is always a good thing. Godin truly supports the concept that you are the CEO of You Inc. He asks some excellent questions to help you figure out where you are and where you should go next.

More about you...

As I outlined in my last post, the first step in Career Development is assessing yourself. Self awareness is extremely important for finding the right path for you; building an accurate, effective resume; answering interview questions; setting personal and professional goals; and basically living life to the fullest!

These are the basic questions you should know the answers to:

• Who am I? This questions focuses on your Personality Traits
• What can I do? This questions helps you clearly understand your Skills and Abilities
• What do I like to do? This question helps you figure out not only what you’re good at (because most of us enjoy what we do well). What you are good at and what comes naturally to you is known as a Talent
• What’s important to me? This questions helps you figure out what type of organization you want to work for and understand what your Values are. This is important in finding the right fit.

Here are some more links to great self assessment resources to help you get to know your self better:
http://www.careers.unsw.edu.au/careerEd/planning/knowYourself/knowYourselfSteps.aspx
http://www.rileyguide.com/assess.html

I recommend keeping a file, notebook or journal for all your career exploration information. This will be useful if you are called for an interview or have to revise your resume for a promotion etc…. Having all your goals, past experiences, skills and ideas about your career in an easily referenced place will allow you to be ready for anything. Remember, luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity!!