The saying: “I am looking for a better paid job, because my budget does not tighten” is not enough

I was very interested in the concept of conscious career planning. Maybe because I have a feeling that where we work is largely the result of luck and chance. Because rather little – at least at the beginning – depends on us, it is the result of reflection and planning.

DARIUSZ UŻYCKI: It is hard to expect young people who have just finished their studies to know what they are good at and what work will bring them joy. Therefore, it is not surprising that at the beginning of their careers they often change employers – even once or twice a year.

But at this stage it is worth analyzing what we didn’t like in these places, what we learned there, and how it influenced our value as an employee. You have to think about it in order not to spend your whole life thoughtlessly in one place, because “there was a nice atmosphere”. And to regret the missed opportunities too late.

What about professions where there is no possibility of vertical development, you can only develop horizontally? For example, what is a teacher who wants to teach, but does not dream of being a school principal, supposed to do?

Development is not only about promotion – it does not have to be up. You quickly come to the conclusion that you do not want to perform managerial duties, but rather become a specialist in your field. You can realize yourself across the board – then the development will be, for example, a transition to a larger company or an international environment. We ourselves should recognize what development means for us, create criteria for ourselves. In this case, let’s not rely on the judgments of other people. Because following the opinions of others is a trap.

Example? A dozen or so years ago, someone who would publicly admit that he wants to take up computer games would be labeled a “weirdo”. Today, such a declaration will not surprise anyone.

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Let’s imagine that I am, for example, a kindergarten teacher. I love my job, but my earnings do not allow me to cover the rising cost of living. What am I doing? First thought – renegotiating my salary or I am looking for sources of additional income in the kindergarten where I work.

Rightly. We start with the simplest scenarios and only complicate them later. The ideal solution is to come up with your own proposals and bring them to the boss. We risk nothing by doing so, we can only gain. If the boss does not agree to the proposals, he will not allow the raise, he will not see the possibility of additional income, then we go outside. We are looking for kindergartens that are in the area – so as not to make a revolution in life related to longer journeys or moving. Perhaps private kindergartens pay more – so we narrow down the search to such institutions – we make a list of them and visit them all consistently. Not one or two, but all of them – thanks to this, we have statistics on our side, which increase our chances.

In order not to drown in the crowd of people who report to the headmaster of the kindergarten, I would offer him demonstration classes – if theater is my strong point, I would do classes in this style.

This is in line with the idea of ​​taking the initiative. It is common to come to the employer with a problem, not a solution. Saying at the recruitment meeting: “I’m looking for a better-paid job, because I’m not enough for the first one” is not enough. Before the meeting, it is worth taking a closer look at the kindergarten’s offer, reading opinions about it and presenting your own proposals for the interview, which will be able to bring something new to this place. The person on the other side of the desk, even if there is no vacancy at this point, will remember such an enterprising person and invite him to the meeting again when he has a position to fill.

Come back?

Yes, but not insistently.

It happens that the employer with whom we were interviewed publishes an advertisement later. Apply or acknowledge that if he knows about us but has not responded, he is not interested in us?

The worst that can be done is to give up, discourage and offend the world. We resend our CV and remind ourselves – that we were already at the meeting, but then he was not looking for employees. We can go a step further – instead of sending your CV by e-mail, deliver it and thus remember your face. Perhaps the headmaster of the kindergarten will see us and enlighten him about the impressions we once made on him.

Let’s be like the water that flows into every crevice, doesn’t give up, uses the possibilities, not like a battering ram that hits one spot and nothing comes of it. Statistically, this is the greatest difficulty – finding systematicity, tenacity, strength not to give up. For some it can be difficult because they are shy, introverted, focused on work, not on advertising themselves.

For years, I have been working in the internal security services, but I do not know to what extent such an idea does not result from the romantic vision of such a job shown in sensational films. Because working in movies, series and TV programs is presented in a highly idealized way. In fact, I would probably die of boredom spending hours observing and analyzing thousands of e-mails.

If something is our passion, the chances that, for example, the cakes we make will turn out to be a commercial success, are greater. Because we will not be discouraged after the first failure, and our customers will notice the uniqueness of baking. If it is fever and lukewarm water, the sum of televised illusions, we will have to put more effort into our work, and eventually we will get discouraged.

Ads that encourage people to work, for example in the army, show the wind in their hair while flying in a military helicopter or driving a tank. And the reality of this profession is physically and mentally hard work, often in Spartan conditions and dirty. The wind in your hair is 10 percent of being a soldier.

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I understand correctly that you adhere to the principle that you need warmer feelings for your work?

You don’t have to, though it’s worth it. We should be aware of what work is for us. It does not have to be a place where we fulfill ourselves, because we can also fulfill ourselves outside of it. Then we honestly do our job at a certain time, earn money that satisfies us, and after hours we devote ourselves to passion. We have to determine for ourselves where our center of gravity will be.

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I had an MBA student at the Warsaw School of Economics, whose passion was sailing. The axis of its development, planned for several years, was participation in subsequent – more and more difficult – regattas, the culmination of which was to start in the famous Sydney-Hobart races. This man wanted to be part of better and better crews. Work was a parallel, supporting and financial issue.

And he did not want to lead to a situation in which he could also swim for profit?

Not. He wanted sailing to remain his springboard. Because passion should take our mind and body out of work.

Before our conversation, I was thinking about planning. I set myself quarterly goals that I hold myself accountable for, but they relate to health, home affairs, and finances. I am also a vacation planning master. However, I do not make professional plans.

Dwight Eisenhower, two-time US president and commander in chief of the campaign on the Western Front during World War II, said: “The plan is nothing, planning is everything.” You have to have your plan or we will be part of someone else’s plan. Planning is proactively adapting to the variables on the way to the goal. Because we will not predict everything. The goal itself may change. In 10 years our profession may no longer exist, but we, seeing what is happening, will manage our career in such a way that we will not disappear from the labor market at the age of 40 or 50.

Planning also includes managing your salary and expenses wisely. Live in a sustainable way – don’t spend more than you earn. And with an increase in salaries, we should not allow for an equally dynamic increase in expenses.

What is the most common mistake we make in terms of career?

We are convinced that something will happen by itself. The likelihood that Bill Gates will call me and say that he has heard of me and send me a plane to meet me is slim. Instead of waiting, it is better to take the initiative. Unless someone consciously (!) Wants to live passively. It is also okay, as long as such a man does not linger later.

The second mistake is the lack of consistency – we light up, but the fire goes out quickly, because I sent three CVs and nobody replied, I wrote ten e-mails and nobody responded.

The third point is the conviction that the world is hostile to us. This is nonsense, because we are indifferent to the world at best. So if we meet him and show that we have an idea, it may turn out that the “cosmos” will start to favor us. But it is us who start this process, not some cosmos from the fairy tales of motivational speakers.

There are people in high positions who dream of dropping everything and opening a guesthouse in the Bieszczady Mountains.

I meet such people – in most cases these visions are rubbish. When someone tells me that in a decade he sees himself in the Bieszczady Mountains in his own hotel, I ask what such a person is doing today to really be in his dream place in a decade. If he saves money, does more hotel courses, looks for land for a guesthouse – that’s OK. Most, however, do nothing to bring them closer to the plan.

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It happens that after many years in a high position, someone decides to take a less profitable job, but one that loves to pursue?

There is such a person sitting in front of you. After a decade of being a managing director of two consulting firms, I told myself that I don’t want to be anymore. When the head hunters found out that I was back on the market, they flooded me with offers of high-level management positions that I was completely uninterested in.

High-level managers already have bought flats, paid loans, educated children, their financial needs are lower than a dozen or so years earlier, they can consciously allow themselves to lower their earnings and do something else. So they become consultants who decide when, for whom and how much they work.

The outstanding tennis player Serena Williams would most likely become a manicurist. And I do not want to invest in a chain of salons or a line of varnishes, she loves to “make stripes”.

I think Serena Williams has so much money perfectly invested that at the end of the day she decides what she wants to do with her life. She can easily become a manicurist – and she will not have to work chord to survive, only by choice. Of course, the world will try to put pressure on her, but if she doesn’t give in to the pressure, she’ll get her way. She doesn’t have to do anything anymore, and she can do anything.

What to do when we implement our plan and it turns out that this dream employer and dream position are a big disappointment?

Life itself happens anyway. A sense of disappointment may result from misdiagnosing the place you wanted to go. At this stage, you can consider whether it is worth working at this point – because it will create new opportunities for us in some time and will allow us to develop. This must be considered. Like anything to do with a career. If we do not see such possibilities, it is better to admit your mistake and find a more appropriate place.

Let us remember that the market dynamics today is such that our stable work situation may cease to be like that overnight. In times when it is good, it is worth building a network of contacts that we will be able to use when the need arises. Because companies merge, restructure, bosses change. And it’s not a question of “if” but “when”.

Dariusz Użycki – Executive Search consultant, lecturer at Executive MBA studies (CEMBA, MBA-SGH). He conducts mentoring processes for the management staff. The author of the book “Are you the one who knocks?” concerning the development of self-reflection and strategic planning and implementation of the path of own development. Co-author of a number of publications in “Harvard Business Review” and “Przegląd Corporate Governance”.

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Ola Długołęcka – an editor who can find inspiration for a topic in a blackened eye. He carefully watches people and listens to their conversations. Walking calm and organization. A longtime admirer of Robert Redford.