When it comes to career however, a regular check-up is almost unheard of. Instead, people wait until a devastating malady befalls them (i.e., they get fired or chronically depressed) before seeking a remedy.
This is sad. Regular career check-ups would save many people a great deal of misery and would probably make our entire society happier and more productive.
Once a year, at least, you should give yourself a career check up. It simply means spending a day or two taking a long, hard look at your current career situation and asking yourself some tough questions.
In most cases, it's best to do this with a spouse, a close friend, or a professional consultant who can help develop some objective insights. The ego identification we have with our careers often makes it hard to be honest with ourselves.
- First, ask yourself if you're really growing or if your career has developed into a static situation. Personal growth is defined differently by each of us, but in general we are growing when we are challenged and are learning things that contribute to our overall career goals. If, upon introspection, you find that your job has become a dull routine, it may be time to move on.
- Second, ask yourself if a decision you made when you were 18 years old dominates your career to this day. Over the course of time, our priorities change and we recognize needs in ourselves that we might not have recognized when we launched our careers at the age of 18. At that age, many people just need a job. Any job. Your needs are likely to go on to become far more complex,
- Of course, there are some people who have never bothered to define what their needs are at all and therefore might not be able to answer this question. These people have some extra work to do.
- Third, ask yourself if you're developing habit patterns that restrict your vision. Years of performing a certain function will cause you to adopt a way of thinking and acting that affects your attitude toward life and career. I have found this to be especially true among teachers, lawyers, and police and military officers. People who can think beyond their habit patterns are the ones who usually stand out in their fields.
- Fourth, ask yourself if you are as decisive as you were a year ago. You probably will need the help of a spouse, friend, or professional for this one. If not, it could be because career issues - overt or subconscious - are clouding your mind,
- Fifth, ask yourself if you are as capable of taking a calculated risk as you were before you started your present job. For many of us, the accumulation of material things and the need to maintain them force us to play it safe, or at least force upon us the perception that we must play it safe. Even if a mortgage is forcing you to stick with something unsatisfactory, it's healthier to admit that you do not like it than to pretend you do.
- Sixth, ask yourself if you are more comfortable or less comfortable with other people than you were a year ago. When we are discontented with our careers, we tend to become more reclusive. Perhaps a feeling of shame is associated with what we are doing.
- Finally, ask yourself if things could be better. The answer is always yes. The steps you need to take to make those improvements could seem unimportant - installing new lighting in the office perhaps - or they could call for a major career move into another field. It's like marriage. If two people have a great relationship, but don't work at improving it, it will go downhill. And the characterization is appropriate: You are married to your career.
In our society today, entire industries are becoming obsolete while new industries rise to dominate the economic scene. Everyone should be ready to capitalize on the possibilities by carving out a personal vision. Start with a career check-up.
