clarify your goals

By Jeff Altman, Big Game Hunter

I discussed the importance of knowing your goals when looking for a job.

Mastering the Mind Game: Emotional Preparation for the Job Interview

If you’re driving from New York to Boston, or Paris to Rome, or Brasilia to Caracas, and you don’t have a GPS or a road map, how are you going to get there or even know that you’re going in the right direction? It’s the same in your career, isn’t it? How to get promoted from a junior employee to a supervisory position? How did you advance from manager to C-suite? How to do it?

Most people have magical thinking and believe that if they are willing, wishful, and do the work well, that will be their ultimate destination. You can also do it with smart people and start interviewing people who have achieved what you want to learn about how they got there. This is a form of informational interview, basically you meet with someone, not to seek a job, but to seek information and advice. Some people make the mistake of meeting a person and thinking they have all the information they need to achieve their goals. You know, a person has his own unique way. But, instead, I want you to meet with multiple people and look for commonalities in their stories and unusual advice.

For example, if one person tells you that you need a master’s degree or special training, and another person says you can get an associate’s degree, which opinion do you think you should give up? Seriously? Most likely a coworker, right? Based on the information you have, once your question is answered, take action based on that information. This is the most important thing people don’t do. Don’t read and dismiss the revision as just another weight loss book or another self-help book. Take action based on the advice you receive.

When I was in school in New York to become a psychotherapist, I remember teachers at the college saying it was important to charge high fees for therapy services. His reasoning was that by paying a high fee you could afford to go there and help them get treatment and continue to help them.

He also said it’s important for people to pay because, ultimately, patients are more willing to act on the advice and insights they receive in treatment. Simply put, free advice is often overlooked. People make suggestions that may prompt them to take action. The same goes for you. One of the reasons I coach is to help people take action and help them achieve breakthroughs with my unique skill set (which I do have a very unique skill set after recruiting).

By viewing the advice you receive as valuable because you paid for it, and telling the person giving it to you what you’re doing based on their advice, you can help them feel like you value their opinion and that talking to you isn’t just a waste of their time. Many people do this because they can get free advice. They don’t take action.

So, I would just say, if you meet someone, keep in touch with them. Hire a coach because coaching is something you pay for, and a good coach will help you faster than a friend can give you advice.

Key career management lessons from The Shawshank Redemption

Photo by Gene Gallin on Unsplash

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