Today I had an interesting conversation with a young up-and-comer who felt his initial job choices might hinder him from achieving his career ambitions—and his current job was veering him slightly off course from that goal. His main concern can be summed up like this: because his current job, and past jobs, weren’t ideally fitting his career vision, he believed his future career options are limited—and as a result—his ultimate career goal wouldn’t be fulfilled.
Certainly, sometimes it can be disheartening when you don’t get the right opportunity that fits your career. But with that, there’s some cases where we get what we want and realize that maybe it wasn’t the best thing for us after all. The truth is, the person I met had an interesting and noteworthy point that I used to struggle with back in the day, but my experience has suggested that that perspective isn’t true—in at least some cases. What I’ve found is jobs that don’t fit your ultimate career vision can help you in more ways than you would’ve initially anticipated. Different jobs broaden your experience, and can diversify your skills. All aspects which can help you attain your career goal. So if you’re an up-and-comer embarking on your career path, think of those positions that navigate you along different channels you hadn’t planned for as the paths that can lead you where you want to go.
As an entrepreneur, you never want to limit yourself just to one skill. If you’ve worked all your life and decide to take the big leap of focusing on your passion and running your own business always be mindful of this: Treat your ‘job’ as a learning experience. Learn how a business operates and take the good out of it to apply it to your own career or business.
Understand that excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude. Regardless of your situation, or stage you are in your career. Stay positive and maintain a great attitude and it will lead you where you deserve to be.
Frank.