Pitfalls every job seeker should avoid Part 1: Working with a visionless organization

Dear Job Seeker,

Imagine you were late for a job interview. So, you rushed to the bus park, paid your t-fare for the only bus available and just before you boarded it, the bus driver says, “I am a blind, but you have nothing to worry about because I have been driving this bus for the past 5 years”. Would you still choose to ride with him?

I don’t know about you, but except the bus is a self-driven one made my Elon Musk I would rather stay alive to attend another interview than ride with a blind driver even if he has 100 years of experience. However, while the case of riding with a blind driver seems scary, I cannot agree more with the words of Helen Keller that, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”

So, what is a vision?

Simply put, a vision is a clear picture of a desired future. It can also be referred to as the big picture which paints the possibility of a better and brighter tomorrow. Like a compass, a vision provides a road map to one's destination.

Without a vision, progress become elusive, passion dwindles, motivation ceases, and frustration is inevitable. As such, organizations that lack vision are invariably set up for short term successes (if any). Hence, except you don’t mind hopping from one visionless organization to another and having to explain why you resign every 3 months at your next job interview, then you shouldn’t be seeking employment with visionless organizations.

Below are examples of corporate visions of some global organizations:

 “To lead the delivery of a bold, new digital world to our customers.”- MTN

“The opportunity to make a difference to millions of lives every day.” – GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare

“We aspire to be the Standard of Excellence, the first choice of the most sought-after clients and talent.” - Deloitte

However, are corporate visions the only thing to look out for? You bet not. I would be sharing other things to look out for in upcoming posts. So, please stick around.

P.S. Kindly note that not all reputable organizations have their corporate visions written on their websites as some prefer to include only their corporate missions and values, and others state their vision without the label- "Our Vision".