Crossing the Career Chasm

Growthhacking life.

Sometimes in life we end up in a tight spot. We may have had a great beginning, taking a job at a small company or startup, maybe we took some time off from college to explore life, everything was new and sweet. Then, as time passes, we need more in life; we want to cross into bigger and better things.

Sometimes this transition is easy and smooth, but more often than not we end up reaching a chasm. A place where we need to reach a little higher than we may be qualified for on paper; a place where we are vulnerable and weak. This is not a fun place to be, but it means a lot.

There are two results from entering this chasm: cross, or sink. Sinking isn’t the end of the world, but we would all much rather cross successfully.

Here are a few tips for crossing the career chasm from my experience:

1. Specialize-become an expert in a skill. Sacrifice knowing other skills to specialize in this one, and make sure it’s a skill folks need.
2. Realize that your target market, whether it be a perspective employer or perspective client, probably isn’t looking for the bleeding edge. They want refined skills, and a clear ROI.
3. This same market also wants references; what have you done? Who will vouch for you?
4. Realize you’re in a career chasm. This is most important, if you feel like you’ve been progressing and growing then when you hit the chasm you may feel inclined to attempt more progression and growth, what you need now is to hunker down and refine your skills.

This things are all very straight forward; there is no magic here, but it’s not always easy to realize where you are in the midst of battle.