A while back, I started this mini-series which had been born out of my personal struggles in the process of building and progressing in my career and the realization that there could be many of us going through the same struggles. I really had something going, although it felt that the conversation didn’t get as much traction as I hoped it would. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time for the conversation or I didn’t express the nature of the series in a more comprehensible manner or I just didn’t know (and I still haven’t figured it out) who to engage to spark the conversation in the right direction. Below are some of the blog posts I had done.
- Part One: What Is Your Expected Income?
- Part Two: Who’s This Millennial?
- Part Three: What First Impression Do You Make?
- Part Four: What’s That One Thing That’s A ‘You Thing’?
- Part Five: Does The Future Give You The Creeps?
While at it, I was also going through a career slump and so I wasn’t confident enough to continue with the conversation. I say this because I don’t have any other good reason why I suddenly halted the series. I was enjoying doing it because I could share my past experience in the process but then when I got to part five, I realized, “Whoa! Wait a minute! I also don’t know what is really expected of me at certain times. I’m just winging it.” Ha ha. I am still trying to figure this career thing out too, because at one point you think you’ve grasped it, then the next you’re put in your place. Then you learn from the experience, pick yourself and move on to the next one.
Then as recently as yesterday, while having a conversation with a good friend of mine about where we are in our career journeys and where we want to be or better yet, where we see ourselves, I discovered that we are pretty much going through the same struggles. Many of us are going through the same struggles, but since no one is really talking about it, we just wallow in self-pity and find ourselves venting as opposed to having solution-driven conversations with our peers.
We vent about our institutions, about our bosses, about our leaders, about our colleagues, about our job roles, about our work cultures, about our overall demotivation and so on. I mean, it might as well be about the air we breathe, because everything just seems not to be as put together as we anticipated it to be. There are challenges presenting themselves left, right and center. How can we have conversations around these challenges that instead of us just coming off as an entitled millennial, we explore the different ways in which we can work around them?
We did a random mind sweep of our peers who are working in different organizations and tried to figure out from our interactions whether they’re feeling fulfilled and motivated in their current job roles, and not so much. I mean, only 1 in about 5 will say that they feel that they’re in the right place, doing the right thing and at the right time in their lives. Why is that the case? Is it that there a mismatch in the placements? Does the institution over promise during the recruitment process then doesn’t deliver during one’s tenure? Do people change their dreams and aspirations and the institutions don’t realize it and accommodate that transformation? Do people put in so much work but their reviews don’t capture that and as a result they get the short end of the stick? Is it self-inflicted, where you get into the market with unrealistic expectation or for the wrong reasons only to be caught in a quandary?
We thought of all the possibilities, and what we settled on is the one questions that makes up today’s topic, are you finding what are you’re looking for? Actually, maybe let’s start from the beginning, do you know what you’re looking for? Then if you do, are you finding it? If you don’t know, what are you doing about it? Please share your sentiments on the comment section and let’s start the conversation.
Not knowing what you’re looking for puts you at a disadvantaged point because you will settle for anything. For you, “anything goes.” Not to worry though, because we all started at this very point, not knowing. So if you don’t know, don’t feel dejected just yet, because it’s a significant stage in your career path. However, when you know what you’re looking for, you’re very intentional in what you do and even the moves you make. Your thoughts will be around, “I am doing this because…”
There’s something about giving reason to your actions that gives your actions a more profound meaning and insight and this translates to you finding motivation.
Why? Because you know what you’re doing is deriving some value either for yourself or for others. The problem only comes in when your current placement doesn’t give you the room or chance to be that which you know you can be. What’s your current situation like?
Stay Inspired,
Kawi