- Behind The Wins
- Posts
- Design your career so you have options, not dead ends
Design your career so you have options, not dead ends
For less than 20 minutes a day!
Wassia Kamon
January 13, 2024
Read time: 4 minutes
Welcome to the second edition of Behind The Wins!
Today is all about self-reflection.
We are only a few days into 2024, and already we are faced with news of layoffs:
Citigroup planning to cut 20,000 jobs, according to the WSJ
Startups laying off over 5,000 people, according to Layoffs.fyi
Mind you, it is still better than the 278 companies that cut their headcounts last January alone. But as companies are trying to “rightsize” their operations and invest more in AI and other technology, what should we do as employees?
Think like CEOs when it comes to our careers!
Because:
If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.
So, here are 5 things we can do for less than 20 minutes a day! [Or 2 hours on the weekend, whichever way works best for you.]
Live strategically
Make time to reflect and plan for both the short term and the long term.
Journal your wins and your shortfalls every week. And, use that to create and update the things you should do now, in order to have you better opportunities in the future.
Look for how you can save money today and optimize your personal finances, in order to have room for better investments and cushion for rainy days.
Time investment: 30 minutes
For example, I keep to-do, to-learn, to-connect, and to-stop lists in my journal. One of my “to-learns” is writing creatively. Hence, this newsletter and why you are seeing more posts from me on LinkedIn 😉.
Why is it important for me? Because most accountants struggle with communication skills, both verbal and written. So as an accountant, whenever I challenge myself in this area, I not only get better at what I do now, but also open myself to more opportunities beyond my current job (Like getting paid to write for different publications, or being able to switch to a communication career later in life,…)
Get better at articulating your value
Set 15 minutes aside before your next 1:1 to jot down how you empowered success, how you help make or save $$$, and how you are being proactive about solving a problem.
This will help you better articulate your value and your impact, so you can stand out in the minds of those who can advance your career.
Time investment: 15 minutes
Lookout for trends
Set up a job alert on LinkedIn for your current and target role. Make time to read 2-3 job descriptions a week.
If you find projects/tasks/skills that interest you and that you never done, add them to your to-learn list!
If you find that your current compensation seems behind, do more research and start thinking about what you should do about it.
Time investment: 15 minutes
Network actively
Connect with recruiters and other people in your field every week.
Like or comment on posts of like-minded people to create new connections.
Ideally, have a 20-minute chat each week with a different person, so it does not feel off if you have to ask them for a “favor.”
Time investment: 30 minutes
Upskill regularly
Set time aside to cross things off your to-learn list by taking online courses, reading books, or spending time with people senior to you or working in different fields/departments.
Time investment: 30 minutes
Please guard the time you set to invest in yourself.
If you're working over 40 hours a week to help someone else achieve their dreams or collect their stock dividends, what’s an hour to invest in you?
That’s it for today. Thank you for reading!
Please let me know ⬇️
And, see you next week!
Cheers,
Wassia
