Are You Intentional About Your Career?
Being intentional about your career helps you plan better . It also helps you to avoid distractions.
One of the aspects of my life that I am very conscious and intentional about is my career.
I know I used to jokingly say to myself “If I am as intentional in other aspects of my life as my career, maybe I will be in a better place”. This was my cue to be intentional about all the aspects of my life that are important to me. Over the years I have made a lot of intentionality in others but that is not the gist for today.
Let’s talk about being intentional about my career and what it means to me. Every year, I set career goals for myself (There was a year I honestly just went with the flow).
For me to set career goals for myself I ask myself some questions.
1. What could you have done better this year?
2. What do you want to do better?
3. What will help you achieve your short and long term goals?
4. Is there any certification you want to take next year? If Yes, why; if No why?
5. Is there any new thing you want to explore or learn next year?
Answering this question always gives me clarity and over the years, I have noticed that my career goals have become less (in numbers).
The intentionality here is that you are consciously ensuring that you are making an effort towards a goal; I remember telling my former manager I was interested in cloud security projects and this was right after I started studying about some Microsoft security process/product. I was only able to do this because earlier I had asked myself the questions above and I was lacking in cloud skills.
What does intentionality look like for me?
Intentionality for me looks like this;
Where am I and what is next?
I’d like to believe that this was easier for me to answer at the start of my career. I don’t know if it is the same for everybody As I grow in my career answering the question “What is Next” has become a bit tougher (I do find the answer. It’s just not as easy). For example when I worked in the Security Operation Centre(SOC), I knew I wanted to try something entirely different from the SOC when I asked myself this question.
What do I need to do to get to the “Next”
This aid my goal setting as I can Identify what skills or knowledge, I need to gain to help me get to the next phase of my career. If I need to talk to someone about the next phase, this is where I Identify that as well. I had earlier written about Learning and working, you definitely should read it.
What have I done wrong and how do I fix it?
I’ve made some wrong career choices and this helps me to evaluate them and also identify a fix if there is any. However, when there is none, this helps me become conscious of my mistakes for the future.
The intentionality has made me pay attention to the work I do and ensuring that I am working towards achieving my long-term career goals. I hope this helps you on being intentional for 2025.
Wishing you a great 2025!
“Don’t wait for the future to just happen, shape your future and live it “ - Patrick Cusack
Additional Read you may be interested in
Productivity Hack : Learn how to turn your day into Mini days
PS; I did not think I was going to write any newsletter before the year end . Thank you”@graciey” for the nudge.