What is your motivation to move forward after your position is simply gone. You are laid off. Tomorrow you won’t get up. shower, and drive to work. You’re still a qualified engineer but, what do you do now?
We are all motivated by a variety of different job incentives. They could be new titles, better projects, bonuses, the job well done, pictures in a trade journal, pride of beating the deadline and sometimes just the satisfaction of becoming the one who solved that challenging problem everyone else dropped the ball on.
The thing is . . . you don’t have that job anymore!
Daniel Pink writes about the need for all of us to become a “Free Agent”. The corresponding concept of injecting action into that freedom is not only essential, but as unique to each person as the abilities they have achieved. Any seasoned worker “disposed of” by corporate America can attest that thought processes by experts on any subject are never exactly the same.
Quick, everyone in the room who’s in charge of you, raise your hand! Your hand had better be raised because even though you didn’t know it before, the boss of you, is you. It’s official. Quote me if you like. As of the moment you read this, the boss of you, is YOU!
Now, I can’t issue you any certificates, credentials, awards or diplomas. Not only am I not licensed to do that, but it’s not necessary. Nothing has changed. You have always been in charge, but like most of us your decision, clearly valid for a period of time, was to work for someone else. It is now time to seize this opportunity in disguise to create the brand new elite corporation of “You”.
This does not mean you have to invent something, start an international corporation (Unless, of course, you want to!). This means that its consolidation time for the wealth of your life experiences, your jobs, volunteer work, special interests and just things you like to do. You are not your JOB; you are the person that chooses what work you do.
Short-term choices available today may seem limited when you need to find a way to pay bills before the end of the month. Those choices, however, need not be “final”. Emergent need to fund the mortgage should not be confused with a career path. Long-term controls are possible; we just don’t see them . . . yet.
Confucius said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." True enough, but that first step and all the rest that follow are often not that useful unless they create the right path. To find that right path for you will take a little work. First we need to determine who we really are.
Examining your values, core philosophies, your talents, skills and your interests can be complicated. Finding how all of those attributes overlap, then deciphering answers is the secret to a targeted search. We find that a questionnaire format that steps us through this distillation process is beneficial. Search the web or books to find one you resonate with. Most major authors and service companies have them. Do it, in detail, with honesty.
And THEN . . . we’ll talk next week about where to go with your answers. This is just the beginning!
K.B. Elliott is a Detroit area contributing writer for Nexxt. Having worked seats on both sides of the engineering trades for over 30 years gives a unique perspective to the work search process and the varieties of successes to be had.
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