Career Transition Tips # 5; The Importance of Focused Approach
In this five article
series on career transition, we have already seen the importance of accepting
the change from military to corporate ( click here), the
overwhelming benefits of starting early in career transition ( click here) , the importance
of doing self assessment ( click here ) and the
value of networking ( click here) . In this
fifth and last article, we will see the importance of
following a focused approach during career transition and the requirement of
bridging the gap between the possessed skills and the required skills for a
particular career to find the right opportunity in the corporate
world. Here, I would like to highlight upon a tendency or rather a
practice that is generally followed across the board in military and that
hinders our chances of finding the right career opportunity. In
military, The diversity and the varied nature of job allow you to qualify for a
number of career options during transition; you can be good in administration,
HR, or security besides the technical field that many of us are
mastered in. Therefore, most of us remain indecisive till the very end of our
military career about which field is most suitable for us post retirement. On
the contrary, in the corporate world, people have specializations in one
specific field wherein they acquire skills pertaining to that field, do
relevant certification courses, and acquire mastery of that specific field.
Also, If a job opening is in field of HR, the recruiters are
looking for an individual who is competent in HR profile and the knowledge that
one has of other domains such as security doesn’t have any weight-age or very
less, if at all any, for these recruiters. In their language, for other
domains, they have different people working and they are thus focused with the
skill-set required for one particular domain only.
We may think that
remaining flexible allows us to enter the corporate world with a number of
options to choose from but the fact of the matter is sooner or later one has to
make a decision as to which particular domain one wants to enter into and
sooner we make the decision, better it is. Let’s understand with the help of an
hypothetical example of two candidates as to why it is important to pick
the right field early and thereafter apply efforts to become competitive in
that field. Two years prior to retirement, Lt Col A did his detail
self-assessment of skills, carried out analysis of various career opportunities
available, matched his skills with various careers, seek professional help, and
after adequate brain-storming over a period of time, decided that HR will turn
out to be the most suitable career path for him. Thereafter, once decided, he learned
more about HR and contacted a few of his friends already in this field. He also
networked with a few top professionals of the same field and realized what is
necessary to fill the gap between his present skills and required skills for a
competent profile in HR. He also studies the profile of a number of
professionals in the field of HR and noted the common courses/certifications
done by all. Thereafter he crafted a road-map on how to be a
competent job seeker in HR profile ;a plan that included the skills
required to be gained, certification courses needed to be done and knowledge
required to attained. During his interaction with the senior HR professionals,
he realized the importance of an MBA degree from a top b-school and hence
decided to give GMAT well in advance,while in active service only. His profile
on his resume and LinkedIn was also very much align with the chosen field of
HR. He also joined a various HR specific groups on LinkedIn and actively
participated in various discussions. Whereas Lt Col B was happy
with the fact that he has a number of options to choose from and hence can
apply for any job in the corporate world when he retires. He neither did any
course or preparation for MBA nor gained any specific knowledge
pertaining to one particular field. He prepared a general resume from the
available template resumes on web and uploaded that on various job portals and his
LinkedIn profile.
Out of Lt col A or Lt
col B, whom do you think have better chances of a progressive career field.
While candidate A adopted a very focused, tunnel approach , which is in line
with the approach followed by successful corporate professionals in
that field, candidate B adopted an extremely general approach and is ok with
any opportunity that comes his way. In about 10 years time, it is highly likely
that A has climbed from middle management to top management whereas
B has changed a few jobs and now feels stagnated in his profession. It
is extremely important to understand that , in today’s highly competitive
world, planning for future career will do us no good until we have the
necessary skills to compete for these jobs. Until we decide which
career we want to choose, it would be extremely difficult to gain skills
required for that particular career. Many of you would be
surprised to know that even b-schools are known for their specializations and
hence if someone has chosen the field of consultancy, INSEAD has to figure in
the chosen b-schools list, or entrepreneurs would prefer to be in
Babson. The corporate world demands that you be specific and specialized for
one particular job; your familiarization with others is a secondary issue but
the primary and the most important remains is your competency in one particular
field.
Even for candidate A ,
it is mandatory to remain current and up to date with the required competencies
and therefore remain in learning mode through opportunities available in
institution or through own endeavors for optimal performance in the current
role and for any contingencies such as change of job. How can we afford to
ignore the corporate requirement and remain convince with self-held opinion
that it’s good to remain flexible till the very end and choose any field that
comes our way. For those who find it extremely difficult to choose
which career path is most suitable, A better option would be to pursue an MBAdegree ( click here )from a top b-school immediately after your transition and decide there
in b-school on which career path to be taken.
How did you find this
five-article series, If you liked the articles, kindly press the
like button ( click here) and share with your friends for creating awareness among the
military community and for empowering each one of us to confidently face the corporate
world, helping in seamless transition from military to corporate.