Being the 90s Part 2: Career Path Planning & Personal Development

@enjiewliew just shared with me on these infographics of the 90s working class traits that relate to me. Agree in some of the points which I had been experiencing since the start of working life. I am always keen to start my own startup at some point, but I wish to gain some market experience before doing so. In the meantime, I am also consistently gathering resources for the next leap which I am looking forward to the most. While working at my goal and getting more and more clarity at what I am going to do for the society, it is good to learn more about us especially my own generation, the 90s. it is important as this is the generation that will soon be taking over the world and becoming leaders in the next decades.

This is the continuation of the first post I posted today. Now, the next topic of discussion would be career planning whereby each of us would definitely want to have a good career path and get to higher income status. However, we need to start at some point which is definitely someplace where we need to get our hands dirty and do the groundwork. In most cases, doing groundwork means:

1 – Repetitive work which is essential in long term like keeping records, working on drawings, checking through details, working on procedures, following up, and etc. (in my field of work and I think this applies to almost every field). Despite the repetitive work looks redundant in some way, it is essential as it keeps a record on what we are doing, and it is a standard procedure for us to make sure our work output is in good quality as well. This is what I am lacking at and is focusing to improve this part of me this year. Undeniably that these tasks are utterly boring in some way and some time with a limited perspective, I may overlook and not able to get the expected output. Therefore, it is important to set a gauging parameter for these repetitive works and be aware of progressive development.

2 – The more remuneration we get, the higher the responsibility we take. This is a relative consequence as the more the company paid us, the more the company expect us to perform. While I am talking about more, it is not in quantity literally but in quality. If it is just the increase in quantity, then it is wise to think over whether we position ourselves correctly in the company. It is important that we are aware that time is the only limited resources we all have. With around 10 hours of time available for us to utilize in work, we need to cleverly make good use of the time given to us. When we work only on quantity but not in quality, the leverage that we have is super small and not worth in the long run. What we should be aiming for is something small but impactful in the long run, which in return will create more value for the company as well as higher remuneration for us. Therefore, it is important that we need to be clear in our career path development.

3 – Know what we want and fight for what we want. Being an employee or an entrepreneur, it is essential to know what we want and willing to fight for what we want. In my case, I had made some suggestions on what I going to do to my boss and let him understand how I can provide value through these series of actions. With that being said, it is important that we have the virtue of patience to keep hustling and wait for the fruit to grow. Without the element of time, we cannot be achieving the expected output in a glimpse of an eye. Therefore, set our target and fight for it by doing those repetitive works daily and keep compounding the effort. I am sure that in the 2nd quarter of the year, I will see more changes in myself rather than the current state I am in. To be honest, I am still in the midst of adaptation and learning as much as I can to perform as expected by myself.

Again, back to the slide. It advises us, the 90s to be aware of our own growth in the company. If we feel that there is no future in the company, then it is good to leave and get to a better one. Nevertheless, it is important that we must spill out our own career path planning to the company before judging the company has nothing to offer. We are both entities that should strike an equilibrium for a mutually benefiting relationship. Thus, it is important to get our goals clear and have an action plan laid out. As for me, I have several goals that I am clear about and with a simple action plan to implement. In the meantime, I am always on the move to improve the goal and the action plan so that it is more precise and effective for me to get a bigger impact.

Images credit to Nomazon