Navigating career and life’s pathways

Many people believe that their professional path is linear and resembles a series of stages they must do in order to advance in their position when they first begin. But the reality is far from that, no two people have the same path and what works for one person may not be the best course for another. What I'm trying to imply, I believe, is that the more adaptable and willing we are to change, the more satisfying the journey becomes and the more rewards we receive that we never even considered.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend a virtual session by Sarah Spear , who is a member of 谷歌 Canada Strategy team, and it was such a pleasure listening to her career progression, her perspective on career paths and life lessons accumulated along the way.

Sarah’s journey really resonated with me as I too had a similar path when I started my career. Just like her, I too have had a passion for learning and have always made it a point to upskill and learn new things to the best of my ability.

After four years of working, I took a step back and decided to enroll in business school for an MBA. This was particularly challenging because going back to academia after a period of employment is not always simple. The preparation itself is an enormous task and it takes so much effort and resilience to go back to the basics. Sarah talked about taking the GMAT thrice and difficulties with math, and I had instant flashbacks of my traumatic experience with the quantitative aptitude component of the selection test.????

Sarah rightfully mentioned “Sometimes you feel like you can achieve something, and it's just like, how are you going to take those different angles to get there.” Deciding the goal is one thing, but the numerous other steps required to begin the journey is a whole different angle and one needs to have that sincerity and relentless focus to get there.

Sarah talked about a few life lessons, and they really resonated with me. They are applicable to everyone and are not restricted to a specific business or domain, which is why I could really connect to them.

???“Some of the most rewarding work experiences are the ones where you don’t get paid”

In fact, jobs without compensation might be among the most rewarding ones we come across. Its is important to choose a line of work that aligns with our passions and interests. Rather than choosing money as the primary focus during the initial stages of our careers, the goal should be to learn as much as possible and interact with experienced minds as this is something that will benefit us in the long run and help us in career progression. These experiences give us the opportunity to explore our passions, learn from experts and gain irreplaceable skills that are so important for our formative career years.

???“Invest in yourself and never doubt your abilities”

Sarah mentioned that “doubt kills more dreams than failure will” and I couldn’t agree more. Sometimes the only thing that keeps us from chasing our dreams is the fact that we doubt ourselves and get so caught up with the ‘what ifs’!

It is so important to know your inherent strengths and weaknesses and just go after what you want. We have to prepared to put in extreme amount of efforts and be ruthless in the pursuit of our goals. There shouldn’t be any space for doubt, as simple as that. After eight years of work experience and an MBA, I could have doubted my decision of quitting and deciding to pursue another postgraduate program and could have kept thinking about the multiple scenarios, instead I chose to have faith and went after what I really wanted and began the George Brown College journey. I am not saying that I have achieved what I wanted to, but at least I am one step ahead of where I was, and that’s progress to me!

???“Enjoy the journey NOT just the destination”

Sarah pointed out that we frequently become preoccupied with "what is next" and fail to appreciate where we are. This is valid not only for our personal life but also for our professional lives. Constantly focusing on the end result frequently causes one to overlook the tiny victories and joys. It is very important to enjoy the moment because we may not get the same amount of time later I our careers to savour those little things. Sarah mentioned that there will be times when career will take a backseat and that is alright, and I couldn’t agree more. In my own case I left a steady career behind to come to Canada and pursue a postgraduate degree. I chose to focus on the experiential aspect of this phase because I may not get this kind of an opportunity in future. It is just a matter of perspective.

??“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone – having the right attitude is always the key to success”

This is true for almost every aspect of life. Some of the best experiences in life happen when we do things that are beyond our version of ‘normal’. At the beginning it might feel hard and even unrealistic at times, but when you look back and connect the dots, that’s when you realize how far you have really come. I think all we need is a little faith and the right attitude!

I also got an opportunity to discuss with Sarah on how I should progress into strategy roles, more specifically digital strategy roles as that is something one normally gets into after a few years of work experience. Sarah was kind enough to mention that little certifications along the side definitely help in building the critical thinking aspect and basically building the ability of how to resolve a problem. She talked about how strategy and consulting roles are essentially generic and the same thoughts can be applied across multiple industries. What matters is the ability to resolve the issue in the simplest of ways. This definitely stuck with me, and I'll keep it in mind when I advance to marketing strategy positions.

Endnote

This was an extremely informative talk and I particularly liked it because many parts of my journey are quite similar to Sarah’s and it gives me a much needed sense of confidence and relief that things do eventually work out. We just need to believe the timing of life!

Heartfelt gratitude to Sarah Spear for sharing these life lessons and Professor Lori Nave for enabling this interaction.