The Importance of Analyzing Your Opportunities to Reach Your Career Goal

Problem

"In the industry these days, you have these managers that state that you should own your career and you need to go and build it. But there's not a lot of support or examples around that. A lot of people gravitate towards structure. You go to school, you go to college, everything is structured and you know what to do to get an 'A'. Once you come out, that structure is gone and you can do whatever you want. People gravitate towards companies where there is a defined path to get you to the top. However, what I have found in my career that has been helpful is being open to all the possibilities in front of you. You have to think outside the box and take a look at every opportunity that presents itself. Every year I ask myself, where do I want to be in five years? It might not always be a direct-line path, but those zig-zags may be worth taking because you may pick up other skills or find other opportunities. You may spend your whole life waiting for that next perfect opportunity that may never show up, and you might get there a lot faster by taking these pragmatic opportunities that come up and you never know where it will take you. I never knew that I would work at Anheuser-Busch and live out of Belgium for two years and then live in New York working for Mackenzie and then move over to San Francisco. None of this would have been possible if I didn't take that first step."

Actions Taken

"Whenever people ask me what they should do, I ask them what's important to you? what makes you happy? Why is that your five-year goal? Do you want to be CEO? Is it because you want to be able to spend time at home with your wife? What is it? Will it help you reach your end goal? When I took the job at Mackenzie in New York I knew it was going to be awful with putting in twelve-hour days across the country, but I knew the trade-off was having a large, recognizable company on my resume to open up more opportunities elsewhere in the country, and that helped me get through hard times."

Lessons Learned

"It's far more valuable to be ready for the opportunities that will come up and be able to make the choices and then have your plan locked in. Come up with your steps and if one of those steps doesn't work out, the whole thing will be thrown off."