I come across lot of youngsters looking
for better career opportunities in life and they never cease to surprise me
with their attitude during the interviews. Sometimes the surprise is positive being
the energy or ambitions they bring along but most of the time I feel sad for
the type of constraints many of them put in on themselves which most of the
time unknowingly result in losing the right direction in their careers. Many
times during the interview, we through random punches just to assess the
potential of the candidate and in future how much he or she can fly, some
survive but most take the fatal blow straight on the face. Generally, the story
ends even before it starts in the first interaction itself. Some of the show
spoilers in the first interaction at least I despise the most are:
‘I cannot shift to other city because
I have my home here’ – Flexibility is a constraint: Narrow Mind-set
‘How much more salary I am going
to get’ – Money before the opportunity and future growth aspect: Greedy and can
have Loyalty issues
‘I can work only 5 Days a week’ –
Always Personal before Professional goals: Not reliable during business exigencies
‘What are the office hours here’ –
Looking for a 9 to 5 job: May not grow beyond a certain limit
‘How many people will be reporting
to me’ – High Headedness: Already wants to be a Boss before proving his
individual worth first
We may want all of the above but
none of them can be a restricting factor for exploring an opportunity in the initial
phase before seriously thinking through what it will do to your career. Over the
years, I have analyzed that 4 Ds can define our professional journey and may
help in developing a great and sustainable career growth.
0 to 5 Years – Develop but don’t Deny
In early years of the career, the focus has to be on developing the foundation more in terms of acquiring skills and mindset for being successful in professional career. This is also the period when most opportunities will come your way so don't be in a denial mode because of petty constraints which you feel are more important than your career.
5 to 10 Years – Develop and Deny but don’t Desire
During this phase, don't fall in the trap of mid-life crisis. Family, friends are important and you may get something to deny but still don't desire the perfect world out there for yourself. This is also the time when most of us lose the right track and take decisions which settle us for a mediocre career ahead. This is the time when you will learn the managerial aspects in your career so adopt before the wrong jump.
10 to 15 Years – Develop, Deny and Desire but don’t Demand
Now you have reached the gate of Leadership roles. Things are in your reach now, a little more patience and right strategy can set you for life. This is where when most of the people do the mistake of feeling that they can demand whatever they want. You have still not come out of the judgmental phase and demands can either become deal breaker or they can set the course for extremely high expectations which you may not be capable of. So beware and be careful since this phase will decide where you will end-up in your career.
15+ Years – Develop, Deny, Desire
and Demand
After one and half decade in career, you can deny, desire, demand, in short do whatever you want to do because whether you are doing ok, or successful or a legend, nothings going to change much except suddenly you receive some enlightenment which makes you jump from one league to another. Trust me mostly such sudden rush of life changing realizations can be for good but we all have seen even legends going down in history as failures.
But yes there may be outliers to these 4 Ds. People with extremely high intelligence, or entrepreneurial mindset can do whatever they want from Day 1 of their careers which can also start anytime in their life. That is why we have so many Unicorns coming out of young generation but at the same time let us not forget that the unemployability is also at its peak. In future, during the career progression, you will see that competition will keep on increasing and the right opportunities will keep on decreasing. Remember, before 'D' the letter that comes is 'C' and in professional terms it is defined as 'Capability'. Develop the capabilities first and than utilize them to their full potential. Don't ever let some of the constrained decisions spoil the pleasures of the journey called Career and that is what my heart whispers to me.....
