CAREER TRADE-OFFs

                                “You can’t have a cake and eat it too”

The other day I was talking to my financial advisor and he was quite emphatic on a point that the market is very volatile now and we should reconstruct the portfolio to reduce the risk. It triggered a thought simultaneously worth pondering on.

Do we do the same action while doing our career planning. Do we need to embrace and enhance risk when we plan our career?

Any career decisions go through a tacit Cost benefit analysis, in most of the cases, they are mere mental drawings and inferences thereafter and for some, it is a diligent “Pros and Cons” tabular exercise. And, after this, comes a very cognitive decision and in most of these cases, we are amply clear what are the trade-offs we are doing in this process.

Any trade-offs have two important aspects to look at

1.    Engagement Strings

Engagement Strings are basically the threads by which you are attached to a role, positions, place, namely, engaging and challenging roles, family members, friends, et al. Designation, Position power and compensation will excite you for a month or two, but then the search of underlying enjoyment derived from the work will start once entire euphoria of designation, compensation dies. I have known people who were brilliant professionals deserving a stellar career, but ended up with miserable ones. Perhaps they had very strong Engagement strings. All engagement Strings are to be categorized very carefully in terms of Negotiable or Non-negotiable categories.

“One of my colleagues decided to pursue his career out of the company when he was asked to relocate as he had to attend his ailing parents who couldn’t have moved along with him. He had to turn down the proposal despite higher role, designation and compensation as the proposal fell on the side of Non-negotiables.”

What is important here is to be cognizant of your Negotiables and Non-negotiables. Interestingly. It is pertinent to be well prepared as many of us fail to articulate and distinguish between Negotiables and Non-negotiables when situation comes. 

Are Engagement strings always de-railers to what could have been a stellar career?

2.    Disposition in the world of the Unpredictable

However well-thought and pre-planned, most career moves are unpredictable, heavily influenced by people, seminal moments or fantastic opportunities. Acclimatizing and scoring over on each surprise career-turns provide, are key to success.

“Talking about the same colleague, he knew that he had to leverage on his Engagement Strings and play between his negotiables and Non-negotiables, his charismatic work in his present organization opened up multiple opportunities for him in the given constraints.”

 While we cull out and be cognizant of our Engagement Strings; we have to play on the attitude of being Pollyannaism, we must learn and adapt. Engagement Strings don’t strangulate careers, but with immense positive attitude, we must look out for learning opportunities however crazy it may sound.

Career is all about leveraging on Engagement Strings and pushing into unknown territories and perform. In this scenario, careers call for maximizing risk, not regulating or reducing it. The road to fulfilling your ultimate goals is an evolving negotiation of what you’re willing to let go of in order to get closer to what you want.

Do we camouflage ourselves behind the alibi of Non-negotiables and ration our career shape? Or to work within given Non-Negotiables; there are something more than Optimism or attitude required to have a successful career? Or Trade-offs have to be always painful career wise?

 Do share your thought.

Let me share the quote Prabir spoke:-

“The neighbour’s career always seems to be going better than yours. Don’t envy. You don’t know the trade-off”

Prabir Jha