We have all heard people telling us that being loyal and sticking around in a career shows perseverance and is rewarded in the long term and on the flip side have heard we should only be at a place that respects and helps us grow and not be afraid to switch jobs. So what’s the success recipe?
18 year old me, just starting out university in an international country thought she knew all the answers and looked at a fancy job at a large bank as the end goal - it pays a lot, has a global reputation, there’s plenty of structured room to grow, so what could go wrong I thought.
However, as soon as I stepped in I learnt very quickly there’s a lot of things beyond that - the culture, the people, your particular team, opportunities available to you and the list goes on. Your coworkers are people you will be speaking to more than most of your friends and family so being in a toxic environment will harm your mental health. Secondly, you are constantly growing and learning about yourself and the growth accelerates when you land your first job. I realised that you grow out in a few months for some places, others a few years and some never, and either of that’s completely okay. While, securing your first job you might compromise and think of it as a one way street that you will take any role you get but eventually it is a two way street and you need to evaluate your return on investment - making sure the time and effort you are providing for the role letting you achieve any personal, career or financial growth or any other factor that’s important to you.
I’ve worked at Citibank, Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, QS, co-founded a startup which started out as a passion project all in the matter of 4-5 years, and I now have an interesting and engaging story that ties all of these things together. Trust me a lot of this was a random walk with me just following opportunities and being proactive. The first big change in my career from banking to consulting was scary because I made it stressful for myself by over analysing exit opportunities, earning and a million other things. Ultimately, I followed my gut over the numbers and looking back that was the best decision I followed through with.
As a natural introvert, an international needs work visa, and a woman of colour trying to navigate a career predominately occupied by men I didn’t have many role models that I could look up to and feel they are similar to me. I never even thought I would enjoy consulting which I assumed is an extroverted job, but I was wrong. Consulting is helping people solve problems, listening to them, managing stakeholders, working as a team, analysing data and there’s a lot in there that is beyond just being good at talking. The only reason I was able to discover this is I forced myself to open my mind after my first banking experience and applied to a broad range of roles. If I hadn’t been open to a random walk I wouldn’t have landed the opportunity.
If I could tell younger me one thing it would be “don’t stress so much about making sure each of your steps are relevant and will add to your end goal - everything you are doing right now is adding value and shaping you without you noticing, and your end goal will also likely grow and change over the course of your lifetime alongside you”.
My advice to everyone reading this is don’t look at others ahead in the journey and feel like you’re not good enough, or try to emulate others. Instead, focus on what makes YOU unique. That’s what employers are looking for and that’s what will help you navigate your opportunities to the best of your capabilities. The main thing to remember is be hungry, curious, proactive and never stop creating exciting new opportunities whether it’s trying to find your own thing, learning a new skill, exploring a new country or just supporting a cause you feel strongly about. You don’t know where and when they’ll pay out, nothing goes to waste.
Whether you end up in one career or company for 10 years or change 10 jobs doesn’t make your success better or worse. In fact alongside effort, luck is a large factor that will decide this - finding the right managers, opportunities in a particular sector, right company culture, visa regulations and redundancy are a lot of factors that are going to be outside your control anyway so don’t be afraid to also prioritise your person circumstances when making career decision. For anyone feeling that they are trapped in a bad employment situation because of visa or other concerns, remember your own mind is the biggest trap. Trust me more opportunities will come your way as soon you decide to take the leap and put the effort in, and in the short run it’ll be stressful but in the long run you will be grateful you put yourself first.
Now when someone asks me in an interview what my long term career goal is I say “I want to be at a place that allows me to grow, empowers me, I’m surrounded by people who challenge my thinking and inspire me as opposed to saying I want to be in this sector or this employer”