ARE YOU A PASSENGER OR A DRIVER?

A story is told of a man who gave out his car to his best friend to drive him for a week. The man was feeling a bit tired of always driving his car and he thought well ‘here is a friend of mine who is bit more daring on the roads and the way the ‘matatus’ have been pushing me off the road lately, I think he is better suited to drive my nice Prado’. Well he gave his friends his keys and let him drive.

The road to work and from work was to say the least horrendous; his friend would take the wrong route, bang his vehicle along sidewalks and overtake on hills. The man knew his friend was ruining his car but he had no voice and confidence to say anything. In no time at all, his car was in ruins and he had to start all over again.

The aim of this story was not to tell you not to loan your car to someone else but rather I want you to relate it to your career. I have noticed a trend that is fast becoming a nuisance to say the least. Many people accompany each other to job interviews or job search. I say well and good there is after all strength in numbers. But my main problem is when going to these important places, you let your friend, spouse or family member speak for you.

I met a young couple once, and I actually was left thinking I should have given the woman a spanking. At first I thought the man wanted a job until he kept referring to the woman for a quick clarification. I finally asked him, ‘who in this case wants the job?’ he answered that his wife was searching for one.

My next question brought me the desired result where I asked him if he was also going to do the job for the wife as soon as she got it and if she got it. I did get a complete set of answers from the wife who I must say wanted administration rather that the banking her husband was asking for. Talk about misplaced notions.

My advice is don’t let anyone ever speak on your behalf about your career, aspirations or goals. You are the driver of your own career. But you may say, ‘my friend is more outspoken and she has been my friend for many years. That is a thought for those whose careers are not important to them. And I bet you, no one wants to sit back and watch their ‘car’ being banged against sidewalks. So how do you drive your own career bus?

Step 1 – Take the steering wheel

I had a very interesting friend once who always came to me for career advice and she once came to me with red and groggy eyes and told me she had had it up to her hair follicles with her job as a personal assistant. She felt someone was driving her car and she was a passenger in her own career. I advised her to see everything as a choice and this opened her eyes to the possibilities.

Step 2 – Set your own route

Once you seat on the driver’s seat, question is where are you headed? Have you loved kids so much and you always thought the amount of time women spend searching for help is to the detriment of their careers and then you had an idea of starting your own daycare and someone told you engineering was the way to go. Yet you know that business is your niche. Then set that route for yourself.

Step 3 – Become a confident driver

If you’ve ever driven a real bus, you’ll know they are heavy and difficult to maneuver. Even once you’ve taken the wheel and worked out where to go, driving your career can be tough. These are the following stumbling blocks you will face once you decide to drive your own bus; Rejection, Resistance, Failure and Self-sabotage. Learning to drive the bus means developing the confidence to make your own choices, stick at your route and take advantages of the opportunities along the way.

The following are Questions to ask yourself…

o Are you controlling your career or is it happening to you?
o Which seat are you sitting in on your career bus?
o What would be possible if you firmly gripped the wheel starting today?
o How confident do you feel about making career choices?
o What obstacles do you face in driving your career bus?
o What driving lessons might help you be a better driver?

Related posts:

Kenya Jobseeker. Reasons You Should Never Get a Job.

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