• "Recipe for success: Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing." - William Arthur Ward
• Stars have high buoyancy. When you push their heads down under water, they will bounce back with equal or more force and resurface somewhere else - Madhavan T Gopalachary
Majority of the people in the world are looking for the right job or the right fit. The higher or lower the personal KSA level, more difficult it is to find the right job. That is, it is always difficult, if one falls in the top 20 or bottom 10 percentile. The average people, in the middle 70 percentile, are those who provide the bedrock of stability for all organizations. They are mostly a satisfied lot, provided you take reasonable care of them. There are many successful people heading large organizations today. Their background and experience will rather surprise you. Very few start and stay with the same companies and make it to the top of the pyramid. It is almost impossible to plan your career path if you fall in the top 20 percentile. When you join an organization you will find that there are some things you like about it and there are some things you don't. When the dislikes are more, you tend to change. But as the saying goes the distant grass always looks greener. You will soon find that you may not have landed at the right place and with the right job after all. You start all over again. Many become rolling stones in the search for the right job. You keep on chasing the right job to no avail. It is like chasing a crooked shadow or a mirage.
However, you must quit your present job only when people ask 'Why' and not 'Why not'. Some organizations may not realize your value when you are around. Think very carefully on various options, choices and the questions that will be raised both in the entry and exit interviews before you accept the new offer and putting in your papers. Many organizations will offer you a raise because they notice your presence only when you resign. However, I would not recommend you stay back, even if the present employer offers to match your salary by a suitable raise or the position or both. The reason is not far off. Your new employer has made an offer and you have accepted it. He has identified your potential while your present employer has taken you for granted or is complacent. Both will not be acceptable to stars. Moreover, you just cannot go back on your words. It is not ethical. Such things spread around very quickly and your reputation will be tarnished with the thickest tar brush.
Stars are generally an impatient and temperamental lot. Patience is not one of their virtues. Some are abrasive. Some egotistical. Some outspoken and straightforward. Some autocratic. Some very demanding. Some conceited. Some self effasive. Some humble. Some aggressive. Some assertive. All get dissatisfied and frustrated very quickly. All are generally bold and restless. All are ambitious and tenacious. They keep asking for more recognition, challenges and money, though not necessarily in that order. However, only 1.6% of the stars have the right blend of KSA, talent, wisdom and maturity to become great leaders. Stars need mentoring more than anyone else. In the past, mentoring was not well known or practiced. Even when practiced, it was informal and not organized based on individual needs.
It is gladdening to note that progressive organizations are taking to mentoring in a big way in recent times. However, the practice of organized mentoring in many organizations is far from satisfactory. Mentoring has to be done by trained, experienced, mature, capable, talented and skilled people and not by anybody under the sun. Identifying some slightly more experienced persons as Mentors and allotting a few people under each of them and calling them Mentees or Protégés is not Mentoring. In that case it is just one more flavor of the season and will fail. Identifying stars is easy. Identifying mentors who need not necessarily be stars is a problem.
People who are stars do not leave overnight and under normal circumstances. There will be enough signals before that and only mediocre managers will not spot them or ignore them either out of conceit or arrogance or complacency or all of them. However, if a star resigns because he or she has better prospects elsewhere, no problem. Find out the reasons for leaving and take corrective action. Many organizations take no action after exit interviews and file the papers never to be seen again. How many CEOs read such papers? Why do pathologists conduct post mortem on dead bodies? The same guys will complain of high attrition. In that case why have the exit interviews? Let him or her go in peace but substitute immediately with another star or one in the making. This act improves the morale and motivation in the existing staff. People down the line know that they have something to look forward to and need not keep waiting for someone to be kicked up or kicked out. Stars will not wait for the cows to come home on their own.
Very few people have found the right job and fit in their careers. Only a lucky few have the total freedom and independence to choose their jobs and career paths. Since we all spend one-third of our lives working, this can be distressing, frustrating and lead to anxiety and stress. But it is in your hands to overcome such feelings. A perfect job is a mirage. It is beyond doubt that finding the right job and fit is more a myth rather than a reality for the majority of the working people. The 1% luck factor plays a crucial role in one's career. Being at the right place, at the right time and to get the right job is a matter of luck. However, that alone will not make you a success. You need to work very hard for it. You will never die of overwork. If you complain of overwork, it means you are not managing your time well. It is managing you. When you feel physically tired or rundown, take a short break. You will comeback bouncing with more energy.
Having said that, it is possible for the right job to find you. For that you need to excel in whatever job you do and build a reputation. If the work does not interest you and you have no choice to change for some personal reasons, then you must take more interest in the work allotted and make it better for you and the organization you work for. Someone at some time notices your potential and rewards you. Of course, it may not be the organization you work for. That is the way the cookie crumbles for some.
© Copyright, Written on March 20, 2008. Without prejudice. All rights reserved
Finding the right job - a myth or a reality? - To learn more about this author, visit Madhavan T Gopalachary's Website.
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Madhavan T Gopalachary
(Visit Madhavan's Website)
Madhavan Gopalachary, nick name "madgopes"
(g pronounced as in go) given by IIT
classmates, is a Mechanical Engineer and
an alumnus of Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras having passed out
specializing in IC Engines &
Thermodynamics.
He has nearly 35 years of experience in
the Corporate World. He started off as a
trainee and handled sales, marketing,
manufacturing, product management, profit
center management, strategic planning and
corporate development including R & D in
various organizations and at various
levels before becoming a CEO. His last two
professional assignments were at CEO level
before embarking to start management
consultancy business on January 01, 1998.
He has worked for British, Swedish MNCs as
well as very large Indian business houses.
He has spent a large portion of his time
from June 1998 till date in East African
Countries practicing as an independent
Management Consultant.
More details can be obtained at the
following web sites:
mmg.name
/mtg.html;
mmgconsu
lting.biz/
Madhavan's articles can be accessed at www.madgopes.com
.
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