The Guru Nation Blog

Choosing Careers

Whether right off the campus or in transition, choosing careers involves a process of self-management, discipline and exploration. The good news is that many people can help you. More importantly, there’s a mentoring process you can engage in while choosing careers. It can provide a sturdy and secure path and a way to tap into others for guidance. Choosing careers is more about “you” than the career, and whether the “you” ends up in the right place and within the right culture. Here’s sound advice from Joanne Mealia, senior executive at IBM Canada, who has been advising young professionals for over 30 years:

“In choosing careers, don’t just stumble! Don’t just let it happen. At IBM, I had to take control in the beginning. I was at a large company but still in the process of choosing my career because I didn’t know where my talents would best fit. For me, choosing careers is like doing a gap analysis. Even if you’re in a company, you need to fill in the gaps; the gaps between what you’re currently talented at doing and the skills you want to develop to move to other arenas. Or, it’s the process of seeing a role you want, knowing what skills you may be missing, and taking steps to fill in the gaps.

I think in choosing careers you can find a mentor who can make all the difference but you have to choose and match wisely. Find a mentor who believes in you, but someone
who perhaps you can mentor or guide as well. A mentor relationship works better if you as the protégé can also teach something “new” or provide new insight in return.
At IBM, we saw that young professionals were talented technologists and they could mentor more seasoned workers.

Choosing careers becomes an easier process if you can arrange cross-cultural opportunities. At IBM we often refer to this as “re-invention” or continuous learning.
If you’re inside a company, seek those cross-cultural opportunities. If you’re still deciding what career is viable, consider cross-cultural assignments that can afford you the opportunity to experience business on different landscapes. Be bold. Be experimental.

While you’re choosing careers, ask questions. Ask of yourself and ask of others. What am I good at? What am I known for? What do you remember most about me?
Self-query and friend/colleague query will bring your talents to the foreground.
Then, choosing careers becomes a safer and more comforting process.