Today, I had two (virtual) coffee conversations about the same topic – careers. I am also writing this at the end of, what feels like, yet another long day, a very long week and somehow it is the middle of October already. The days are truly long, but the years are short.
Which brings us to the reflection about careers we had today – the essential question I discussed with my coffee partners was the importance of planing (the notorious “where do you see yourself in five years”-question), climbing the ladder and how great careers are being made.
If you know me, you know that my career is anything but a straight line. I honestly never made a career choice with much strategic thought but rather always optimized for work with was interesting, aligned with my values and believes, and which foremost felt truly challenging. I have no answer to your five-year-career question and I couldn’t care less about career ladders. What I do know though is what I want to do directionally, I have a very clear sense of purpose and don’t violate my values ever.
The whole COVID-mess makes many of us contemplate very fundamental questions around our careers. Now is the perfect time to reflect, reassess and reconsider. If the pandemic has taught many of us one thing, it truly is that years are truly short, whilst days can be grueling long.
Or as someone on Twitter wrote the other day: “I can’t explain this, but somehow Sunday, 9am and October are all the same thing now.”
Sharpen the axe my friends!