Soft Skills

Manage your career well before a crisis strikes

Professionals are often compelled to take career decisions in haste. Effective career mapping and planning can prevent such problems, feels Vikram Bhardwaj

Have you ever been caught in a career situation when you are very sure about the destination you are driving towards, yet you take the wrong turn and the resultant dead end!

• Anagha Talluri had been with an Indian software product firm for over 9 years in a career spanning progressive roles, growing up the delivery rungs to her current role as Delivery Head for their largest business unit. A job change was the last thing on Talluri’s mind and she never entertained calls from headhunters, nor maintained contact with alumni or ex colleagues. Last month, her company was bought over by one of the largest software product companies. Talluri has got the feelers already that her role may not be relevant in the new scheme of things.
• Srinivasa Raju has been working for one of the world’s largest system integration companies for over 12 years. Based in Mumbai, Raju has over 20 years of experience spanning manufacturing and IT, and is currently responsible for their SAP practice, reporting to the managing director. The management has decided to hire a Head-ERP from outside, overlooking Raju for the role. Raju is not interested in the new role and wants to put in his papers, however, is not clear as to what he would do next.

Situations like the ones above resulted in Talluri and Raju landing themselves into a crisis in their respective careers—sudden change of events which find them without a job, without immediate prospects for a job, and thanks to their ‘comfort zone’, without contacts who can refer them to companies and jobs. In such situations, professionals often take decisions in haste and often based on fear and expediency rather than logic and clear planning.Effective planning, networking and relationship management can prevent such a crisis.

It is a dynamic world in which we operate, one cannot know everything he needs to know or do everything he needs to do for him to not worry about worst case scenarios. Hence, not having an active career management plan is like floating down a fast river without a paddle or knowledge of what’s there at the next bend. Things may go fine for a while, but at some point, you are going to realise you made a mistake. To avoid such unforeseen mistakes in your career, you need to proactively analyse its direction and thoughtfully create a plan for achieving your career and life goals.

There are three tenets which all of us as professionals should be aware and plan accordingly.

Firstly, long-term career goal and strategy. What is it that you would like to be doing several years from now? If I have an interest and specialisation in Finance, do I want to be a treasury head? Internal audit? CFO of a large publicly traded firm? This goal setting would give a direction. Hasty decisions like taking up a skill which is currently in demand but has no relation to your long-term goal would then be easily avoidable. Additional skills, trainings, certifications are not always a guarantee for an everlasting marketability. Any road will not take you to your destination. You have to spend time planning you career route.

Secondly, the cornerstone of long-term career management is evaluating options as and when they do come up. There are several instances when opportunities themselves throw-up. It could be from within the company, in the same industry or different. Keep yourself informed. As a corollary, participate and be heard in internal events. Most often than not, these are occasions where one gets to rub elbows with those higher than himself. Attending seminars, conferences et al leads to effective external networking. Remember, these are the people who have the authority to take hiring decisions.

The third element of effective career management is never base an assumption that the job market is booming and hence getting a job would not be a problem. Yes, getting a job would not be difficult, however, getting just the right role, company and perks would not wait for you to look out for a job. We often encounter several executives who had to shortchange since they did not get the right opportunity when they were looking for a job.

When it comes to job search, candidates do not have an expiry date, but there exists a thing called candidate “freshness”—by fresh what is meant is—the degree to which the hiring manager considers you a hot commodity. Of course, your experience and skills are primary factors. But every person on the hiring end of the equation implicitly factors in a freshness factor. How long have you been on the market? Who else have you talked to?

You are most fresh, most desirable when you are employed somewhere else in a challenging role and are doing just great. This is when your value is greatest in the marketplace. The next degree of freshness is when you are still employed somewhere else but have a target exit date. At last level is when you have just left your previous employment and have now entered the job market.

Career management strategy is vital for any person who wants to see his or her career continue to grow.

The author is a partner with Redileon.
E-mail: v.bhardwaj@redileon.com