Maintain a Clear Vision of Your Career Path

I talk to people all day long about what makes them tick and why they’ve made the career decisions that have placed them in their present role. I ask them what they might do differently if given the chance, or ask them to describe their biggest career mistakes. And I take fastidious notes, because I love this informal study of successful people who just seem to “luck into” the best career opportunities out there. The term luck seems to apply, but upon closer inspection it is often a matter of just how focused these few are; apparently the luckiest people are those who have a clear picture of where they are headed in their career, and their activities keep them on that path through a tight focus. This month’s column, I’ll share what I’ve learned from others over the years about staying focused on the picture you’ve got in mind for your future success.

Early Career Vision

When you first set out on your career journey (perhaps a long time ago), how is it that you decided to be a chemist, a microbiologist, a salesperson or an engineer? What general thoughts drove your big decision? Did you have a passion for some aspect of science or technology? Or, did you (as I did) simply start out by hoping that these questions would resolve themselves at some later date?

It’s this latter approach that many of us take. We “fall into” a discipline that just seems to intrigue or for which we apparently have a talent. I had the thought that I’d like to explore a certain kind of education but then I eventually found a completely different path. In my case, would any 18-year-old heading off to college ever plan to be a headhunter? Not really!

But some people know early on what it is that they want to do and they go right for it. Perhaps you had a favorite uncle who regaled you with tales of what it is like being a chemical engineer—or, you went into the sunscreen arena because skin cancer runs in your family and you’d like to be a part of the solution. Regardless of what it is, this passion for the subject drives you forward when it is combined with the vision of where you want to be in the future. And I will note as an HR professional that tapping into this passion can lead to a very powerful interview response when you get questions about how you got into your field.

Whether you fell into your career or had it well planned out, you’ll want a clear picture of your long-term goals so that you can ensure your weekly/monthly accomplishments are moving you closer to that reality. This is what exceptional people do well, and which is so often mistakenly labeled as luck. They know where they want to go; they’ve thought about the various paths that can get them there and they consistently measure their progress.

Flexible Thinking

Each of us has multiple paths that will get us where we want to go. And the best, the luckiest, have thought about those in advance. Philip is a fellow I’ve known since we recruited him to a sales management role seven years ago. He has dreamed about being CEO of a startup company, and has shared some great concepts with me. I know that one of these days his network will help him bring this into reality. He doesn’t just have a plan A—he’s got a backup plan B and probably one behind that as well.

I wouldn’t bet against him. I’ve also seen in Philip another element of career planning that lucky people exhibit…you can’t be totally focused on your own dream—you must help others achieve theirs. Everything that Philip does is focused on making his present company successful. He wouldn’t consider sidestepping his present responsibilities just to speed his own advancement; the fellow gives 150% to his employer and the team of people who work for him. While he may not think of it this way, I see this as building a stable platform of relationships that will support his future plans as CEO of his own company.

Perhaps it is time for you to sit down and put your career vision to paper. What exactly are your career options at this point, and how would you describe the grand goal that should be attracting your attention and focus at this moment in time?

Ask Yourself…

The following questions will help guide you in the process, so that perhaps the next time an HR director asks about career goals, you’ll be able to discuss it without the last-minute “creativity” that’s obvious when someone wings it.

If I had unlimited time and resources, and could channel them into developing any type of career I desired, what would it be? It’s always fun to find out if the career track we have developed bears any similarity to what the ideal circumstances would produce.

What do I most deeply enjoy doing? Does this activity align with what I believe to be my major strengths?

When I look at my work life to-date, which activities seem to be of greatest value to my employer? In general, what is it that I do best that is of value to others, and how can this become a stepping stone to my future goals?

Am I happiest in a hands-on role rather than in management? Is problem solving one of the most important aspects of my work? Management staff still have problems to solve, but there’s no greater place to find serious mental challenges than at the lab bench, for example. If you’re a technical expert, don’t make the mistake of assuming that you are obligated to move into a management role.

What strengths have others noticed in me? Go back through your past conversations with mentors, bosses, family and friends who discussed your career and made recommendations based on strengths that they identified.

Whom do I most admire, and which qualities have been most responsible for his or her career success? Think about the people you have met over various stages of your career and identify those attributes that you believe might be worth emulating.

How would I change my current job or improve it to suit me? What could I do with my current job in order to fully utilize all of my unique skills and abilities? Are there talents you have which no one else really knows about? Is there a way that you can implement some of these into your career vision?

How do I feel about the type of company I am in today? Am I best within a big corporation with unlimited resources, or is it the smaller, more entrepreneurial organization that suits me? Entrepreneurs aren’t found only in the corner office—they are often inside Fortune 100 companies, working away on championing their projects as “intrapreneurs.”

Do I enjoy managing, mentoring, and directing the activities of others? Or, does my best emerge when I am given a project to carry through to completion on my own?

Maintain a Grand Vision

Career visualization and planning skills begin as a young employee, because that’s the time when you have so many options. If you’ve trained in microbiology, for example, a career might go off into quality control in the personal or household products sector, or into the biopharma world for the production of genetically engineered medicines. Two wildly different jobs but both requiring the same training.

We have the benefit, which doesn’t last long, of not being painted into a corner when we start out. But as our work experiences become more specific, options narrow. How long we stay in a job, the kind of company and industry we’ve selected and so on…these all “label” a person and limit the future options. But no matter what stage you are in, even in the later career, it can only help you advance by keeping a close eye on that grand vision you set earlier in your career. 

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David G. Jensen
Founder and Managing Director of CTI Executive Search
davejensen@careertrax.com
928-274-2266
www.careertrax.com
 
David Jensen is the founder and managing director of CTI Executive Search, a unit of CareerTrax Inc, a leading search firm working in the life sciences. Previously, he had been a managing director at Kincannon & Reed, a 30-year retained executive search firm where his company, CareerTrax, had been a contractor. In 1985, Jensen founded and was CEO at Search Masters International (SMI), a top executive search practice working with biotechnology companies, which was sold in 2001 to a $4.4B human resources service firm. Prior to 1985, Jensen had established a life sciences practice for Govig and Associates (Phoenix, AZ).