Things I wish I knew about building a (successful) career

You may have already read my blog post on making careful decisions. This post is another in our series related to career and goal setting, and I hope you are able to relate to some of my reflections. Please do well to share with your younger siblings and loved ones. I believe it could save some a lot of time, effort and hopefully from regretful decisions.

I am sure a number of people regret some of the decisions they have made regarding their career choice(s). But personally speaking, I definitely regret my earlier decisions. I founded a whole project set out to encourage people in their career and life journeys because of this. Check it out on YouTube

So here are 7 pieces of advice I have picked up along the journey. If I had the chance to turn back time, I would be following this advice.

1) You have more than 1 interest

To be truthful, despite the fact that we will often pinpoint one job role that we prefer when asked the question, what would you want to be? or what type of job/role are you interested in? 

Most or all of us would like to be more than one thing. But most people (99% of the time) stay in the same job all their life.

Basically, what I am trying to say is that, you have more than 1 interest worth exploring and developing and don't need to settle on working in one sector your entire life.

2) Know your Strengths and Weaknesses

There is something famously called a SWOT analysis. It is a planning tool used by businesses and individuals to identify Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. My father made me do one for myself after I finished my Bachelors degree and found myself stuck. Not interested in pursuing a career in my field of study because I didn't feel I was skilled enough to apply for those jobs, sell myself well and let alone be hired.

Let me round this off with some advice, it's not too late or too early to do a SWOT analysis. You might have to repeat this a few times in your lifetime as your interests, skills and experiences are added to.

3) Prepare Yourself. Read about your areas of interest.

As I mentioned in point 1, you might have several interests and it is best to explore them before choosing one. Many people get the shock of their life when they attend their first lecture at university or read the course content of their chosen course. They get bamboozled by the heavy amount of technical lingo, theory and lack of practical opportunities to accompany the theory they are taught.

It is best to explore your interests by researching on the subject, looking into issues that affect the sector in real time, the skills you need for roles or skills you can gain as you climb up the ladder in that sector/field. 

Just cover as much ground as you can to make sure you know the industry you are going into, inside-out.

4) Role Models are important

It seems like the most common role models in today's society are the entertainers, rich men (Bill Gates, Jeff Besos, Richard Branson) and sportsmen. And this is from what I heard from the young students I taught.

Role models are important. And they can be close or distant. I find that public figures don't always do the right things...they often fall under pressure or are unhappy regardless of the size of their bank account. The closer your mentors are to you, the better the opportunities for one-to-one mentorship and guidance.

'There is little chance of falling off the wagon, when Accountability is your partner. '

(c) Quotes by Claudia 2021

5) Set goals early and don't be afraid to change them.

A word synonymous with goals is 'vision'. So I am saying "see things early and set up some steps to get what you see". 

Don't put yourself in a box though. Recognise that you are capable of being all you can be. Speaking of role models, someone I admire well is my brother Caleb. He is a creative and expresses his skills and talents through his multiple platforms. You can catch my interview with him on YouTube.

I digressed. But my point is, have a written vision with timelines for your life so that you can measure the distance travelled and the road ahead.

6) Real learning begins on a job.

It doesn't matter if it's a paid job, a voluntary job or unpaid forced job. Like the type your parents might force you to do at home. Applying your mind or your hands to something teaches more than reading or hearing about it. I understand that people have strong opinions about the 'education system' and among the criticisms is that, it does not teach anything that can be applied in the real world. I am not going to share my opinion on that. All I know is that, I learn better by experience (the 'doing' kind). And I am sure I am not the only one.

Speaking of experience, I would like to pinpoint these opportunities available for those in pre or early careers:

• Internships
• Graduate schemes
• Volunteer programmes

When I look at professional profiles, I can see the low uptake of these sorts of opportunities by BAME communities especially my black folks. We seem to follow the trend of university > temp job > temp job becomes full-time job. Then before too late we are side-tracked from what we intended to be in the first place; to whatever our hands find to do. I'm not speaking from personal experience to some extent. 

I have seen enough to compare how non-blacks get into their chosen career earlier and into leadership roles. Meanwhile, blacks take a while longer or a longer route to get there. Institutional racism plays it part but I think we should be smart and strategic in this regard too.

I feel very sad about this and I wish we could be more intentional about this so that we can enjoy the fruits our labour before we are older.

7) Be prepared to put your skills into your business.

Yesterday, during a book club discussion, I asked if everyone is supposed to or purposed to be a business owner and the answer ended up being 'Yes'. Your business might not necessarily be selling something, it could be providing counselling services, catering, baking, strategizing... writing...you name it.  

If you do it so well, why limit your life to the monthly salary and take safety in the prospect of receiving a pension after your strength is not as good as it used to be. I am not against being an employee, but I am all for 'minding your own business' as well. 

I hope you will be taking away some of my advice.

I thank you for taking the time to read this post. It is always nice when people share, comment or subscribe. Do Like, Share, Comment and Subscribe. And Come back again; there is plenty food for thought I have to share.

Till next time,

Happy Living!

Claudy xoxo