The Hindu Business Line : No tears for failures

Rule 5: Loyalty vs job hopping: In the 1970s and even later, people thought a lot before taking up their first jobs. Those days, if you switched jobs you were thought to be disloyal.

Today, job hopping is on. The loyalty is not to the company; it is only to one's career. This is not to suggest that you should do a hop, step and jump every year. Every hop should give you a wider appreciation of organisational working, widen your horizon, improve your skill set and take you closer to your big goal.

Rule 6: One time vs life long: If you think that your education ends the moment you qualify as a CA/MBA you are wrong. Here's why. Earlier, the availability of knowledge in the world doubled every 50 years. Later it started doubling every 15 years. Today it doubles every three years. So if for three years you don't update yourself, you will become a museum piece!Stop learning and your career is over. Worse still, most of this learning is outside the classrooms. So learn the art of "learning to learn".

Rule 7: Adam vs Eve: Years ago man ruled the world. Women restricted themselves to the profession of medicine. Today women are cracking into male bastions, populating the corporate world, like never before. All this means that you will have woman as your peers, boss, or coach. Or you will have to mentor them. This will call for a mindset change.

Consider this sentence: "Woman without her man is nothing." Once upon a time, people, woman included, would have punctuated it as "Woman, without her man, is nothing". Today, people, men included, would punctuate it as "Woman, without her, man is nothing". That's the mindset change.

Rule 8: Winner vs runner: In the career market, success is eulogised; no tears are shed for failures. The world recognises you, appreciates you, admires you, adores you and fawns on you only as long as you are a success. The moment you slip up, it mercilessly forgets you. "Don't talk of your labour pains; show us the child" is the credo. If you whine you are dismissed as a whiner, not a winner. Your motive therefore should be towards only one signpost: Success; continued success.

Send in your queries to CareerCrossroads@gmail.com.

http://MentorQA.blogspot.com

V. Pattabhi Ram

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