Issue #2: Dealing with our career "curve balls" and building Resilience.

Dear Reader,

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In this edition, I thought we can discuss career "curve balls"- those unexpected, unforeseen events that we all face in our career journeys.

The whole argument on which I premise this edition is this.

Let us not overthink career curve balls as "failures" or "setbacks". Have faith in yourself and believe in your journey. You are born to shine, to thrive and your work doesn't necessarily define who you are.

1. Defining your intrinsic sense of self-worth. Don't let your current job, title and current role define who you are, as a professional. Remember, your intrinsic "self-worth" and "self-esteem" far outweigh any other designation or title you will acquire. You are who you are. No job in the world and no promotion or salary increase can change that. Plain and simple.

2. Becoming "more" than the sum total. You are more than the sum total of your past and present job titles, grades or salary levels. Do not get caught up (in your head) on these self-limiting yardsticks. A simple way to remind yourself: Me > my Job + my Title + my Pay check + (you may want to add your own!).

3. Constantly re-invent, re-skill and re-define your career. In the post-pandemic world, your ability to stay relevant will be defined by the "value" you bring to the table. The more skills you acquire which are fungible and transferable across a broad range of industries, the more "in demand" professional you become.

Which also means if there are certain certifications that are looked upon as relevant and highly sought after in your chosen field, you should work at getting these. Asking your Employer to sponsor these may also be a good way of showing you are invested in your career.

4. Taking calculated risks. Your career graph will rarely be a straight line. At various instances, you will get an opportunity to move vertically, laterally, horizontally, side-ways or even just hop on to an exciting offshore project.

For some of us, family and kids' schooling will be among the factors that will also define and determine the stages in our career trajectory when we will be able to say "yes" or "no" to that dream job you have always wanted. And that is okay.

As long as you are making some progress in your mind and are convinced this new venture will add to the overall career plan you have in your mind, go ahead. As they say, it is not always about the destination. You might as well enjoy the journey as well!

5. And finally, build "Resilience": Remember, the future of work that will emerge after the pandemic will require all of us to "build back better."

Jobs and careers and professional workers will become more decentralised and distributed.

There will be a premium placed on attributes like empathy and compassion and employees and management teams will expect their Leaders to "lead with compassion" as the world will need people who can help us "heal" after this crisis.

Net net, we will all need the fundamental ability to stay calm, focused and centred. We will be called upon to bounce back and build an "inner core" that helps us bounce back, repeatedly, from crises. Either as future waves of the pandemic. Or as career curve balls, building your muscle of "Resilience" will become the single most important ability that sustains you and differentiates you and makes you stand out and ready for a purposeful career.

That's it for this edition.

If the ideas here resonate, drop me a note at my email, follow me on my Twitter and leave a comment below. Every comment matters to me a lot as it gives me ideas on what to focus on in the next edition.

And just in case you are interested to read some of my fiction and what is going on inside my head in these challenging times, you are most welcome to head over to my new blog on Substack called Hesitant Sunshine.

Stay safe as we continue on our journeys to build back better, with purpose and resilience!

My very best!

Kapil Chaudhary

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