The recently concluded semi-final match between India and New Zealand during the ICC Cricket
World Cup did disappoint lot of Indian fans who were looking forward to yet another world cup win by the Indian team. Team India was in top form and both the batting order and bowlers were
delivering top class performance in every match. However, what transpired during the semi-final
was purely a bad day for the team and doesn’t make the team unworthy. Such is the story of our lives and our careers too. You may be doing exceptionally well and suddenly your career may take a turn which you have not anticipated. Should you look for alternate career in this case? Should you plan a Career 2.0 to start all over again?
Here are a few recommendations if your career is struck somewhere and if you need to re-start all over again:
1) Continue V/s Exit: I recently met few candidates who were applying for careers in Defence and
after three attempts, they were now planning to exit and pursue a different career alternative.
One of the candidates told me sir, “it’s important to know when to exit. I have invested three
years and every time I got rejected at the SSB stage”. Now I cannot invest any more time of my
career, hence I am changing my career track and pursuing something which I think I can do
better.
2) Strengths V/s Weaknesses: Often failures give us lessons which can be very insightful. If a career path is not working for you and if you have spent time analysing your failures, maybe you
already have discovered your strengths and weaknesses. It’s important to build your Career 2.0
decision based on your strengths. This will make you confident and improve your chances of
success.
3) Job V/s Entrepreneurship: A good career is not just about a job. Every few years, based on
industry trends lot of new businesses are created and old businesses get churned out. For
example, few years before no one new OLA and UBER and how they would change the face of
local transport in the country. Likewise, there are apps which are changing the way products and
services are consumed or delivered. If your existing business fails because of market forces, you
can evaluate opportunities in newer industries to start your Career 2.0
4) Fresher V/s Experienced: If you are a fresher, then Career 2.0 can could mean switching your
career mode or tracks. For example, if you were preparing for IAS and couldn’t get selected and
now you are planning to start looking for a job – Career 2.0 approach will be different for you.
However, if you are a woman who have taken a career break for family reasons and is now
planning to return to work, because your children are grown up then your Career 2.0 strategy
must be different. .
5) Old Business V/s New Business: Sometimes, it’s possible that an existing business must be
closed because of lack of demand, regulatory guidelines and change in business environment
and so on. In this case, the Career 2.0 model must be planned basis the skills, knowledge,
experience, resources and expertise the business owner carries to plan next business.
Sometimes promoters jump into lucrative businesses only looking at potential returns without
having any idea of business nuances of that segment. This can be fatal and can damage the
interest of promoters in the long run.
Hindi version of this article appeared in Dainik Jagran.
