Connecting The Dots Of Your Career

When I was a kid, I loved doing the connect the dot drawings. Sometimes the pictures I found in the books were boring, so I’d make my own, but I always made sure to press down extra hard with my pen on every dot I made. I loved a clearly defined, dark dot to trace my lines between.

Big and small picture thinking is something I like to hop back and fourth on. I have a nice, big imagination, but also can lose myself in the act of small tasks where I concentrate on one thing. Developing a good career is a mix of both of these ways of thinking and acting. I picture it like connecting the dots in a coloring book. If the dots are not clearly defined, well inked and distinctive, the over-all picture will never take shape because you won’t know where to go next and you won’t be able to trace back your previous actions and decisions.

Sometimes I’m not a fan of talking about my job or my career. I have a tendency to get so wrapped up in what I’m doing, that the macro points usually don’t make sense to people not familiar with the industry. Plus, after I tell people about my professional skills and where I got them, it is almost always followed by a “wow, you’ve had so many jobs!”

I can guarantee that nobody is as aware of my dozens of jobs as myself. I’m not particularly ashamed or proud of it either.

I leave (and encourage others to leave) a job when I either:

A) Have exhausted my options to learn in ways that will benefit me

-or-

B) Cannot stand my boss or the work I’m doing and determine staying any longer will be detrimental to me personally or professionally.

Option A has happened to be much more than option B in the last 12 years or so of me working. I’ve hit glass ceilings or been presented with opportunities such as college, a new job elsewhere or simply the ability to work on my own several times and usually my over-arching sense of progress takes president over the responsibility that some folks seem to project onto employees to stay put regardless of greener pastures.

Option A has always left me and my former employers relatively happy or content with the parting of ways. I literally focus so hard on developing within a job, that I rarely consider how my actions, attitudes or posturing might be perceived when it comes for promotion time. I am always more concerned with the work, producing quality in my output and getting along with my immediate co-workers.

I am not and never will be the kind of guy that works himself up the ladder at one company unless there’s a unique opportunity  to bond with my employer on a strategic, but also friendly plane. Instead, what I expect to do is bear down so hard and intently on every single project and role that I fill that I leave a distinct mark on the organization. That’s my “dot.” I also consider the relationships I make in and outside of work my dots.

Option B sucks to deal with, but sometimes you just can’t judge how a job or your professional relationships are going to pan out ahead of time and despite your best efforts, these situations need to be aborted sooner than later, rather than prolong them out of a sense of “owing” something to an employer. I’ve experience relatively few Option B’s, luckily and I’ve always found that moving on swiftly after separating is a good call. You don’t need to be ashamed of it!

I think this image of connecting the dots for your career is a good way to look at it. It doensn’t assume that everyone needs to hop around like bunnies and it also doesn’t assume that you’re a bad person or employee if you don’t stay at one job forever. Just as long as you bear down as long and hard as you can at every spot your find yourself in, you’ll have a beautiful pattern to look back on soon enough.