The essentials of an effective career plan

Need for career planning

Ideas, information & instructions

     I am not going to explain what is meant by a career or a plan. If you have chosen to view this blog, I presume you already know what it is. As human life expectancy keeps rising, the career span of a normal healthy individual also keeps expanding and it would be a big pain to live the 30-40 years of your working adult life without a definite aim and plan. Someone put it very succinctly "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail". Our greatest satisfactions are derived from our professional achievements and so much rides on you succeeding in life such as which school your kids will go to and what kind of health care facilities your elderly parents are going to be supported with. I am not going to rub in the urgency or gravity of the situation because that would be unnecessary. You already are a success minded person. No lecturing required!

     So let us begin with the first question. Why do you need the information that I have decided to provide later in these pages. Do you know that approximately 80% of the world's wealth belongs to just 20% of the people. Now, what is it that separates the top twenty from the bottom eighty? Certainly not the desire to be rich or the intensity of their desires! The difference lies in what they know! Knowledge is power, knowledge is money and knowledge is not very easily available. Success in all its forms and interpretations has enchanted human beings since time immemorial and knowledge gathering has been a consuming passion for all the generations. Knowledge, like wealth, begets itself. Knowledge is needed to explore more, discover more, know more and produce more. With every generation, knowledge gets consolidated, like another brick on the wall, and the pillar of wisdom keeps rising higher, every generation contributing one brick each.

     It may be fashionable to say 'history is bunk’ but remember that a wise man learns from others,' mistakes and a fool learns from his own. There is a lot of fuss that growing up kids raise about the so-called generation gap. What they don't realize is that there is a remarkable paradox in life. Change, you must have heard, is the only constant in life. The paradox is that more the things change, the more they remain the same. Why do we still have terrible wars if we are really smarter than our grandparents? To cut this spiraling argument short, let me say that we do not invent wheel twice. It is much more convenient to learn what the generations before us have already known and then take it up from there. Just because your generation is capable of producing more lethal bombs and designing more deadly missiles does not guarantee that you have become superior to your forefathers.

     Another side of this knowledge dispensing business is the source of knowledge. A lot of people, because they do not like the source, reject the idea. It is more like throwing the baby along with dirty bath water. Even a fool can give a good advice, a failure in life can write a good blog and the idea underlying this is the supremacy of ideas. It is always an idea that has ruled this world. Ideas change people and ideas change lives. It would be appropriate to draw a line between intelligence and wisdom. Intelligence may be inherent and inborn but wisdom is always acquired slowly and with age.

     Let us now get back to our bread and butter i.e. career planning. In the beginning of this section we referred to career span. To emphasize the value of a well thought out and clinically executed plan, let me ask you a question. When are the salaries highest? Towards the end of your career, isn’t it? If you plan well and begin well, you start your career sooner than average. Every single year you cut from the preparation of your career, you are adding one very precious year to the end of your career when the returns are highest. There are brilliant examples of people planning their career right, like Britney spears, Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhouni who became celebrities at the age when others are merely beginning to take aim. And none of it would have been possible without right information and proper guidance.

Decision making process & significant partners:

     A decision is always about making a choice.  A decision to pick up a career would be to choose one from among several options. The diversity of career options available to a youngster these days is perplexing and much thought has to go in to making a correct decision. Doing all this on your own would be very risky and very limiting. A smart guy is someone smart enough to know that he does not know everything and he cannot do everything on his own. However, when you seek others’ help in this affair, you run the risk of receiving, what Stephen R. Covey (the author of bestseller "Seven habits of highly effective people") calls, an ‘autobiographical’ response’. It’s like people giving their own example as a personal recommendation. For example, a lawyer saying become a lawyer and a businessman saying "it's just too much pain so stay out of business."

     Keeping this autobiographical response factor in mind is important because of the unquestionable uniqueness of every  individual who exists on this planet. So, different strokes for different folks! What applies to me does not necessarily apply to everyone and it is this subjectivity element of success that makes it impossible for any genius to devise a formula for success. Let us not dwell much on this issue as it can be quite distracting.

     Now, let us suppose that you have involved the people you trust in choosing a career for yourself. The process would entail;

A   compiling all the options available     

B   debating pros & cons of each option

C   comparison among options

D   evaluating your personal interest and likes, dislikes etc

E   assessing your suitability for a particular option (Qualifications etc)

F    availability of resources to pursue an option

     It would be practical to realize that it’s not only the career options that have multiplied; the number of job seekers have multiplied, too. And the benchmark, the standard requirement for a given option keeps inching upward at the same time. What was considered good material yesterday has become average today and would be obsolete tomorrow, unfit for hiring? All these complexities, the fiercer competition, the higher entry qualification make career planning imperative and challenging.

     Now there is no need to lose a breath here. Go back to 80: 20 rule for wealth distribution. Eighty percent of the wealth is concentrated in the hands of this twenty percent of population because it is this part of the population that acts and the other part only hopes and wishes.

 If only wishes were horses, the beggars would be riding on them.

     I would like to introduce here at this point, the subject of people entering their family business or sons following in the father’s profession. There are families where there are generations of sailors or soldiers. The attraction of going for this option is the degree of ease with which you can make an entry. You have ready stock of knowledge at home and a resilient support system by way of parental wisdom and care. The flip side is a nagging sense of self-doubt and a persistent feeling that probably you could have done much better elsewhere. Whatever may be the situation, please take your own decision! No blame game later on.

     Of course, at no point of time and at no cost give in to parental pressure and emotional blackmailing if your heart in not in your father's line of business. Remember the precious uniqueness that God has granted all of us.

Career returns analysis & prioritization:

     Before setting down to a career, it would be worthwhile to do a Career Returns Analysis and devote some thinking hours to the prioritization process. Any career would provide the following to the individual, in varying degrees and proportions;

A   Money

B   Power

C   Prestige or fame

D   Leisure time

E   Fringe or associated benefits & perks

     The prioritization would involve you assigning each of these returns a position, from one downwards, in order of importance you attach to these returns. In other words, you decide which factor you want more as compared to others. Some would want money the most and other may opt for fame. Some are more driven by power and still some others would prefer to enjoy more of leisure time with their families. It is a process that would make you do some soul searching and you would better be honest with yourself. Life can be a drag if you choose a career that you don't really enjoy.

     I consider it my sacred duty to put in a word of caution. People, who are unrealistically ambitious, suffer greatly as they may not be suitable or capable of what they wish for and may not be content with what they deserve. However, I would like to quote a line from the book 'Illusions’ by Richard Bach.

“You are never given a dream without   also being given the powers to achieve it.            You may, however, have to work for it ."

     So, choose a career that is closest to your heart and then back it up with power of a collected, calculating and cool mind.

Eligibility criteria for a career:

     Each job in every career would have the following two components;

A   Job description: what is the job and what has to be done?    

B   Job specification: Who can do this job? (in terms of capabilities and qualifications)

     Every job, be it that of an actor or a barber, would have a well defined job specification. You need to know what it is before you can aspire to it.

     Another way of understanding the requirements is in terms of knowledge, skills & attitude.

Knowledge: Technical qualification, competence etc.

 Skills are of two kinds.

Hard skills: tangible, measurable skills such as typing, flying a plane, designing computer software.

Soft skills: less easily verifiable and measurable skills such as communicating, decision-making, relationship building etc.

Attitude: It’s more like your mentality, approach towards life and people. Attitude is only of two types; positive or negative. It is needless to say that for the better careers, only people with positive attitude are preferred. More on attitude in later chapters.

     The point about discussing eligibility criteria is to make you aware that we have to prepare very carefully for each career, keeping in mind the entry qualification and specialization needed.

Approaches to career planning:

     Different people adopt different approaches toward career planning. These approaches can easily be compared with the behaviour of some other creatures in trying to survive.

Crow: Opportunistic, will take whatever it can find easily.

Serpent: Lazy, waits too long for that big fat opportunity.

Spider: Industrious but very limited view and imagination.

Peacock: Too full of self admiration, unaware of flaws.

Dog: Entirely at the mercy of circumstances and people.

Sheep: Merely follows and does what it is told.

Honeybee: Active, intelligent and gathers food from the best sources. It has a sting, too.

Interest & aptitude:

     Interest for a career simply means liking or preference for a particular choice. People stating that they will give their left eye to become a doctor are voicing their interest. Aptitude on the other hand means an innate talent and ability for a profession. Examples are aptitude to be a fighter pilot or aptitude for numerical calculations. The ideal situation would be when both interest and aptitude exist in an individual.

Mere interest without the requisite aptitude or just having aptitude but no liking for that profession is no good.

     Now, you may ask me how we know whether we have an aptitude for the job that we really like. My answer would be, interest is often an indication of natural aptitude. To further clarify the matter, let me use a concept of "Left brained-Right brained" This entire world can be divided into two large groups.

A   Pre-dominantly left brained: aptitude for numbers, Calculation, precision work, science, engineering, and research work

B    Pre-dominantly right brained: aptitude for languages, Arts, humanities, creative work.

     Let me explain this a bit more. With research, the various faculties of the brain and their respective functions have been ascertained. When it is said left brained it-does not mean that that person only uses the left frontal lobe of the brain. What it basically means is that he has a natural liking for using left side and the functions associated with the left brain. Similarly for right brained people. Why do people develop these preference may be the mysteries yet unsolved by modern science. To find out your own type, you may go back and think of your school time. What did you like studying more, math or language?  If you scored heavily in math and science, you were the left-brained type and if you were good in languages and humanities, you were of the right-brained lot. Which one is better is a highly contentious issue but we know for sure that this world cannot do without either of them.

     This concept of aptitude is being discussed here because much of the selection procedure depends on this. Interviewers try to make sure that they pick up the candidate with the required aptitude and due interest. More on this in later chapters when we talk about "Personality Theory”.   

Fall back option:

     A good planner always plans for the rainy day.

Having zeroed in on a choice of a career and starting to prepare for it, you must have at least one alternative to go back to in case the original choice in not achieved. Some will accuse me of pessimism but I believe in the adage "Better safe than sorry". You must have a cushion to fall back on if the dreams don't materialize.

Compromise & adaptation: 

     In the unfortunate event of you not getting to the castle of your dreams, you may have to settle down to an arguably inferior choice. Now, the positive attitude lies in not sulking but gradually converting your little villa into a big mansion. In the second or third choice career that you start working in, you'll have to give it your best minus any superiority complex. This is called adaptation. Make the best of what life has given you and be grateful for it. If life has given you a lemon, make lemonade with it! But never give up on your dreams. You may want to see it recreated in the eyes of your children and give it another shot. No mushy sentimentality, only soft hearted practicality!

Unconventional career options:

     There are some run-of-the-mill career choices like medicine, engineering, M.B.A. law etc. But there are some uncommon ones like deep sea diver, astronomer, fashion photographer and film direction. Now, no one should choose them for the sake of being different. But if your heart is backing your decision and you can see a realistic possibility and feasibility of pursuing such oddball choices then don't back off for the fear of ridicule or lack of enough moral support.

Optimism vs. Pragmatism:

     Optimism is being hopeful and hoping for good results. Pragmatism is being realistic and expecting that negative results may not be entirely avoided. Optimism gives you enthusiasm and energy whereas pragmatism gives you caution and enterprise. It teaches you to take nothing for granted as life can be quite unpredictable and unfair. A career planner needs to have both but neither in excess nor in deficit.

When to start the planning process:

     It’s never too late but the right time would be in school. A school is a prototype of the real world and learning to win here helps in success at future career. There may be demerits in the education system of our country but till we develop a better one, this will have to suffice and we will have to learn to make the best use of it. Schooling is a time when your only job in the world is to learn and improve. This liberty does not carry on later in adult life when you will be saddled with numerous responsibilities. Your time at school or even college would tell you about your aptitude and interest. Take the lead and draw your plans from here. And remember that the people who can guide you the best are your parents and teachers. If you don't talk much to them, change this habit right today!

Peer group:

     Your peer group consists of the people of your age group and who have similar background, education and status such as yours. So your class mates or colleagues at the same level form your peer group. I needed to mention it here because there would always be an unspoken and subtle rivalry among peers. And quite a lot of us draw our information from our peer group so we have to be sensitive to any ill-meaning advice coming our way as a sugar coated poison pill. Much of the time, people also withhold giving information at the right time and so we can never entirely depend on our peer group. It’s ugly but true and you better take precaution.

How to win friends and influence people:

     This much acclaimed book by Dale Carnegie, which also faced some kind of criticism for teaching people to use artificial behaviour, still remains a wonderful source of wisdom to fresh-faced kids. It opens your eyes to a profound truth that everybody is most interested in himself or herself. In simple words, we think of our interests first and then anybody else. So how do you manage to get ahead in life all by yourself? The book tells you that when you take interest in others, you become interesting. When you help other, you turn important. When you are friendly, you make friends. The book also teaches that people will not move an inch unless they are convinced that it will be of any value to them. So the art of influencing lies in identifying what the other person needs and then being useful in fulfilling that need. Then you can expect others to reciprocate. By just focussing on your needs, moods, wants, desires, feelings etc, you are going to be left all alone. Being of value and assistance is the key to building strong relationships. Yes, even among jealous classmates and neighbors!

Networking:

     If you haven't heard of this word outside the internet world, networking is an activity undertaken to come in contact with influential and professionally or commercially useful people. Once you get to know them, then you make persistent efforts to continue being in touch. One contact leads to another and the network keeps widening. No need to tell you why people make or need a network. Today, in a highly competitive world, a network assures you that you'll get the right information at the right time so that you can be at the right place at the right time. The guiding principle of establishing a fruitful network is "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours"; "Quid pro quo"; "Give & take". If you remember this is exactly what Dale Carnegie tried to teach. No philosophy, no intellectualizing. It just says as it is.

Recommendations:

     A lot of people believe that most good jobs are snapped up by people with good recommendation. A very popular word  on the Indian sub-continent to describe the extraneous influence of a recommendation is "Jack'. It’s such a powerfully succinct word. Now any kind of generalization is bound to develop exceptions so it would be wrong to say that good openings or jobs are not possible without so called ‘jacks’ but I don't have the guts to rule out completely its importance in starting or building a career. Nonetheless, a career can start on a recommendation but to sustain it requires talent, hard work, stamina and discipline. No one can contend with that line of thought, I am sure.

So, keep that chin up!

“Future shock:”

     One of the most thought provoking books of the last century, this best seller by Alvin Toffler talks about change that has become such an inseparable part of modern lives. The whole civilization is changing and it has its implications for each individual. Whenever my life changes, I try to adjust to the changed situation. But what happens when these changes take place at a very fast rate? What happens when I am not prepared for such rapid changes in my life? I break down or I run away from life and get lost in escapism of alcoholism, drug addiction etc. It may all sound irrelevant to the chapter here so let me first establish the link. A career plan is for a future event, presuming all other things remain constant. But are things constant? No, they certainly aren't. So, your plan must be flexible enough to incorporate the changes in circumstances and you must be mentally prepared for sudden changes that will take your breath away. This change can be a wonderful opportunity to the prepared and paralyzing shock to the unprepared. Hence, the name "Future Shock"! Predicting future is a risky business. Ask any roadside astrologer, and he’ll tell you.

 So all you can do is to hope for the best and be prepared for the worst!

Long term planning:

     Even though we cannot predict future with certainty, we do make an effort to visualize our future. In trying to do so, we wish to create a sense of security, which in so vital to our mental peace and health. In planning you career you will have to think about the issues that follow now.

a)  Career path & trade/industry norms:

     Supposing you begin your career as an Assistant Manager, (sales) and then get promoted to Manager, Senior Manager, and Vice President and finally retire as Senior President, then this is your career path. If you happen to join automobile industry where it take approximately 2 years to become Manager and 8 years to become Senior manager, then this would be considered as the industry norm for promotion and growth in the automobile industry. Neither the career path nor the industry norms are very rigid and it will always depend on the organization, individual and general state of the national economy. This, however, does give you a fair idea about the future prospects of a given career and job position and it will come in quite handy in planning for your career.

b)  Occupational hazards:    

      Every job, every industry has some inherent risks and dangers associated with it. if you plan to take up a job as a fire-fighter, getting burnt or suffocated  is always a possibility , even through the department tries its very best to minimize the risk. This risk or danger is what we call the occupational hazard. It is this occupational hazard that threatens the very life of the most powerful man on earth, the President of Untied States of America. So when you plan for a career, be prepared for the related hazards, serious or not.

c)  Financial planning:

     When someone begins his career, the structure of his financial needs is different from someone in the middle of his career. Once people get married and raise a family the financial priorities keep altering with time. As many experienced people will tell you, saving money in early years of your career is easier compared to when you have a family with college going kids, loan repayments on a house and a car etc. You need to consider whether the career you are opting for will continue generating cash to meet these mounting needs. You'll also need to make a provision for emergencies and contingencies that often arise in a family life.

d)  Planning for retirement:

     When you are young and riding a wave of success, old age seems such a far off thing. Medical expenses in the old age can be crippling and you cannot trust anything but your own money in the bank and medical insurance policies as a back-up. I am not going to discuss the emotional trauma of lonely, old parents struggling to lead a stable, comfortable life but the old age planning has to be a major consideration in opting for a career. Let me demonstrate this with an example. Let us say you wish to be a film star, the chief attraction being the glamour and an exciting life style. You really live it up and then suddenly, movie offers stop coming your way. The shelf-life of every commodity is getting shorter by the day, anyway! Then, how do you spend the rest of your life? These are the kind of frank questions you'll have to answer if you wish to age gracefully and die in dignity.

“Power shift:”

     Another book from Alvin Toffler that’s so incisive in its analysis and powerful in its inferences. One of the most powerful insights was the tremendous power that individuals will wield. It will not be the power earned through political or monetary means. It will be the power of uniqueness and creative ability of every individual. The underlying message here is to understand that powerful waves of change sweeping this world are going to dramatically alter the way people live and the greatest glory will belong to those with unique talents and abilities. That would require us to think out of the box and have the courage to follow our dreams and ideas. Facebook creator, for example!

     Let us try to understand the features of an effective plan. A good workable plan is that which is “S-M-A-R-T.”

S-  Stated (Written in black & white)

M- Measurable (Very specific & precise)

A-  Action oriented (Must specify the actions to be taken)

R-  Realistic (Plan should not be too far-fetched)

T-  Time bound (no indefinite post-postponements)

     Another element of good plan is its flexibility but it shouldn't be so flexible that at the sight of first obstacle, it is abandoned. To summarize the discussion here I would like to share with you the secret of the biggest and most successful plans. This secret is common sense. My common sense tells me that a bird in hand is better than two in the bush so don’t wait, for the big D-Day, that dramatic event like in the Cinderella's story. I know for sure that success, like life, builds its self brick by brick, step by step, and day by day.