Career is like a Box of Chocolates

 

“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're going to get.” – Forrest Gump 

But, career is a different box of chocolates altogether. It definitely gives a lot of choice with the added benefit of YOU having a CHOICE of what to pick. 

You can choose to pick the same chocolate again and again – changing jobs but doing the same thing and/or rising in the hierarchy. But if you did not quite like the taste of it, go ahead, pick another flavor, and try it out. 

The job loss situation creates an opportunity for you to think along these lines; an opportunity to evaluate what you have been doing and what you would like to do

in yesterday's post about the Bears and Teddy Bears of your life; I concluded talking by your teddy bear people about what you liked about your past job and what you did not and what you would like to do next. This is where career change conversations come to play. 

Yesterday I was listening to a session by a Career Coach who spoke about Job change versus Career change and all through her 20-minute session, I was thinking about how a job loss situation is a perfect time to evaluate a new career path. That is if you did not fully enjoy the last job you were in and your job was already aligned with your passion. 

Now is the best time to pivot your career and evaluate different possibilities 

Even those who haven’t lost their job and have a stable one at hand, don’t be restricted by what you are doing. Consciously think about what You could be doing. You would have had opportunities to either work on different roles/tasks/responsibilities or work with people playing different roles. 

In those experiences might lie the time when you enjoyed doing something which was not primarily your own job. That has got cues to what you could do, what you could enjoy

Think about a career change

Take the conversation forward in your head and with the people around you on what other roles you could play and what other jobs you could do. 

One immediate benefit of this is that it helps you expand your job search. The long-term benefit is that it helps you expand your career possibilities and the trajectory of your career. And a #career change does not mean a drastic change either, you could shift your role within the same department, organization, or industry. Endless possibilities. 

Taking my own example. My first job was that of a software engineer back in 2000 – I was literally writing code. 2001 IT bubble burst resulted in my first job loss and I decided to take up a Training career. Did that for 1.5 years before embarking on MBA studies. Post MBA became a Change Mgmt Consultant. Enjoyed it a lot. On the way, even experimented with HR consulting. 

Covid hit my consulting career once again in 2020 and I decided to actively and consciously look at Coaching as a career option. I had been coaching people for more than a decade already as part of my job. Did my certifications and now I am a Life Coach, Business Coach, Team coach, and Job Interview Coach too besides already being a Behavioral Trainer and Change Consultant.  

Across 25 years, my career has pivoted by choice and by chance. There is still a common thread holding it all together. I have always worked closely with people, at an individual level. #training, #consulting, #coaching – it was always focused on people and helping them go to the next level. 

So think about it. Career change need not be drastic. Even a slight change in direction can lead to a significant change in the destination you reach. Don’t let your career be a game of chance, make it a choice. 

Remember, life is indeed a box of chocolates but you don't have to live in suspense about what comes next. You choose after careful thought on which is the next piece of chocolate you WANT to pick.

So this Valentine's season, explore the box of chocolate that you have in front of you. Enjoy!

#kmcc #takecharge #layoffs #coaching #jobinterview

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This is the third article in the ‘Job Interview Coaching’ series that I am doing.

I will be writing regularly on this subject (hopefully 4-5 times a week this month of Feb’2023). You can follow me to ensure you don’t miss out.

Introduction - https://bit.ly/CJI00  - the post about the inspiration behind the series

1st Article – https://bit.ly/CJI01 - Learned Helplessness and Job Search is akin to dating

2nd Article – https://bit.ly/CJI002 - Bears and Teddy Bears of Life

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