Does Luck Play a Role in My Career?

Seeker X: "Are they going to hire me today? I don’t think the interview went well. I fumbled on many questions. Their reactions were very vague. Maybe they were trying to avoid giving any hint, but maybe they actually liked my experience and saw potential in me? But they didn’t ask me much about my experience or skills. I don't understand how it went. It’s hardly clear what they were looking for, let alone whether I have those skills."

Employer 1: "Can you call Seeker P and tell him we are going to offer him a position?"

Employer 2: "HR just texted me that P has backed off. He is joining somewhere else."

Employer 1: "What about Seeker G? She was also one of our choices."

Employer 2: "I missed telling you, she is out of the process as well."

Employer 1: "Do we have any candidate available whom we liked?"

Employer 2: "Unfortunately, no."

Employer 1: "What do we have then?"

Employer 2: "Seeker X."

Employer 1: "But I didn’t even interview him very well. I thought we already had candidates we could finalize, and his interview was just a formality."

Employer 2: "Let’s call him one more time."

Employer 1: "Let us finalize him then and there. Ask the team to prepare an offer letter."

Employer 2: "What if he’s not good?"

Employer 1: "We’ll find out."

This scenario illustrates how luck can sometimes play a significant role in hiring processes. We're not suggesting the candidate lacked potential, but the result didn’t hinge solely on a skill-based evaluation. It was about being in the right place at the right time.

The candidate who never expects a callback gets shortlisted. The candidate without the perfect skills gets selected because they were at the right place at the right time. There’s often a significant mismatch between potential/skills and job roles.

Candidates hired for one thing might be asked to perform different duties due to situational demands, and they might end up liking it better.

Luck can have a big impact on our careers. We might find ourselves in the right (or wrong) place at the right (or wrong) time, which can have at least a short-term impact on our career. This has its positives and negatives. It might boost our confidence when needed or diminish it when we need it the most.

Such luck-based opportunities might be beneficial or not, so it's crucial to reassess after 6 months (or 1 year) to see if we're in the right place, gaining from it, and adding value to the organization. Then we can decide whether to stay or move on.

PS: Thanks for reading the article. Let us connect if you have a story to tell about yourself or anyone you know that involves a factor of luck in career-related prospects. Thanks again!