What
do I really want?
Copyright © 2006 Marion Stone
Used with permission of the author:
Author:
Marion
Stone
Director
Cornerstone Connections
marion@cornerstoneconnections.co.za
www.cornerstoneconnections.co.za
10 May 2007
Back to ... Workinfo.com Human Resources Magazine Volume 1
Issue 9, 2007
What do I really want?
Do you sometimes
wonder how you ended up in your current job?
Would you like to re-assess which direction you want your life or
career to take?
Are you looking for a better balance between your work and your
personal life?
Does your current job make best use of your skills and talents?
Many of us have
visions of being able to work by an impossibly blue ocean with a
laptop in front of us, a mobile phone in one hand and a cocktail
in the other. Is this realistic or are we chasing dreams? This
scenario sounds good to most of us, but the reality is that many
of us do not actually know what we really want. The result is
growing sense of dissatisfaction and an uneasy feeling that we
could probably be engaged in more satisfying activities.
So often, the first
step taken when this unease makes its presence felt, is the
unearthing and updating of the CV. This is followed shortly by the
mass mailing of the CV to apply for any suitable sounding jobs. We
are so programmed to believe that we are doing the right thing if
we are taking action that unfortunately we do not stop to think
– think about whether these suitable sounding jobs are in fact
right for us. Will they make good use of our skills and abilities
and do they match our interests and our values?
Fairly deep for just a
job application I hear you say, but you will not make good career
decisions if you do not ask the right questions first. Overheard
recently was the comment "If you don’t know where you are
going, any path will do"!
To help you make the
right career choices consider the following steps and questions
very carefully.
Self-Assessment
The core questions to
ask at this stage are:
Who am I? Where am I
now?
This is a reflective
stage where you examine your motivations, interests and skills.
This self-assessment will provide you with essential information
about what is important and interesting to you and effectively
this is an expression of your needs.
Of course unmet needs
are the gremlins that result in those feelings of unease and
dissatisfaction and that is why it is important to work on your
self-awareness first before you do anything else related to career
development.
Knowledge of your
motivations, interests and skills will help you to assess whether
career opportunities really are for you or not. For example, if
working in a team of people is a strong motivator for you; you may
want to bear this in mind before you set up a business on your
own!
Innovation
The core questions to
ask at this stage are:
Where am I going?
Where do I want to be?
This is a
visualisation stage where you use your imagination to describe a
picture of what you want for your life and career if there were no
constraints. Where would you be? What would you be? What would you
be doing? Who with? What skills will you be making use of?
The information from
the self-assessment stage will bring some depth to your
visualisation as well as providing a form of reality check. For
example, does it make sense to dream of writing a book if we do not
have the patience or the skill to put the words on paper?
Impact
The core questions to
ask at this stage are:
How will I get there?
Am I achieving my goals?
This is essentially a
planning stage. It is important to write down you goals and how
you plan to achieve them so that you can take focussed and
proactive steps to reach your dream. You may not get there all in
one go, but if you do not write down your goals you will limit
yourself to making reactive career decisions.
Make sure your plan
includes the following:
-
What are you going
to do?
-
How are you going
to do it?
-
When are you going
to do it?
-
What help will I
need?
-
How will you know
when you have been successful?
Developing a career
plan is a journey. It does not stop once you have written down
your goals. As your knowledge of yourself and what you want
evolves, your plan will adjust and grow with you. Keep asking
questions and keep reviewing the plan.
“Find a job you
enjoy and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Confucius
Marion
Stone is an
experienced training and development consultant with over 10 years
of experience both nationally and internationally. Her
comprehensive understanding of training strategy and practice has
been acquired in various sectors including manufacturing, FMCG,
construction, media and travel. Her work has focused predominantly on middle managers although she has worked with
various levels within the business from the shop floor to senior
managers.
Marion
holds a first degree in chemistry (UCT) and an MSc in Strategic
Training and Development (
University
of
Surrey Roehampton
). She is accredited by the South African Board of Personnel
Practitioners as a Chartered HR Practitioner. Her diverse
background ensures a practical approach to development activities
that are joined up with organisational goals and processes.
She can be contacted at marion@cornerstoneconnections.co.za.
For
regular newsletters from Marion click on 'Subscribe to
newsletter' on www.cornerstoneconnections.co.za.
Cornerstone
Connections builds
connections between the organisation and it’s employees and
between managers and their teams. Consultancy and training are
offered in the areas of:
Short summary
Self-awareness plays a major role in the career plan people follow,
or neglect to follow.
Keywords and
relevant phrases
Assessment, balance, career choice, career plan, goals, interests,
job application, motivation, needs, recruitment, retention,
self-assessment, self-awareness, skills.
Back to ... Workinfo.com Human Resources Magazine Volume 1
Issue 9, 2007
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