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	3 Steps to a Better Career - Teo Wee Seng

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3 Steps to a Better Career

By Dr Teo Wee Seng

Imagine this:

	25,000 people were retrenched last year

	40,000 of the job loss in the last 5 years will not return to Singapore.

	The current unemployment rate in Singapore is 5%

	Over 40s find it hard to get a job

	New graduates take an average of 8 months to find their first job

	These and more gloomy reports flashed across the media in Singapore almost every other day. For once in a very long while, government ministers, unionists and the economist agree with each other and point out the seriousness of the current and coming economic scenarios.

I for one can smell the anxiety in the air among many people. Am I secured in my job? Am I in the danger list of those over 40s?

Let me share 3 tips on what we can do to prepare ourselves from falling into the hit list.

1. Know where you are today.

While driving in Australia on holidays, I was busy looking out for road landmarks and driving intently, as it was my first time in Australia. After half an hour, I know I was lost. I did not know where was I on the map.

To begin our journey for any career future, we must first know where we are today. Some areas for soul searching include:

	Our professional experience – what are our skills and knowledge experience

	Our Family and Personal demands – time demand, etc

	Our Financial needs e.g. debts to service, mortgage to pay, our financial reserves in cash or stocks or property.

	Once we know where we are in the map, then, it is easier to journey to any desired destination.

2. Know Where You Want To Go.

If you know where you are but do not have a map. Then it is as good as you have arrived!! How do we draw a map? Let me share 3 considerations when drawing a map:

	Take a broad or long-term view. According to your needs, draw a map that that big enough but with intermediate rest points. For example, when I drive up to Malacca, I will mark 2-3 stop points for refreshment, for reorientation.

	Passion, what do you dream of doing is a good starting point to draw a map. What are some of your children dreams? Who are some of the role models in your life?

	Some people think of career in terms of promotion and climbing up a ladder. This while it is true is only one dimension. Depending on your needs, you life stage e.g. how old you are, you can plan for a lateral move instead of always looking to climb up. Remember , in a pyramid, the higher the level , the lesser the vacancy!! So consider a lateral career goal. By lateral move, I mean a move to a new business areas, a change of job function etc.

	The 3rd way to plan for career is to consider a downgrade. No one can always keep going up. There are times and seasons in our life where we need to take a slower pace as we progress through different life stages. People downgrade for different reason whether for semi-retirement or in preparation for a different position later or just purely for some sabbatical rest.

3. Don’t be a NATO (No Action Talk Only)

So plan to get there. A journey of a 1000 miles begins with the first step. When I was in the army running my IPPT, I always drag the 2.4 km run, it seems endless. But once I start the run, it gets easier, all the anxieties, the discomfort, the inertia just disappear after the first step.

Conclusion

	Some people are lost because they don’t know where they are.

	Many do not have a map.

	But many more have a map and do nothing about it.

	You are 3 steps from a better tomorrow. The choice is yours.