Don’t let someone else dictate your career path

Do this instead…

Knowing who you are and what you stand for is a key element of a purposeful career — David North

Many individuals often fall victim to the wrong career path — either because they were seduced by its prospects, followed the crowd, or encouraged to follow in someone else’s footsteps.

But for most (not all, but most), this can lead to a disappointment futher down the line as they follow someone else’s dreams rather than their own — rather than playing to their strengths, interests or motivations.

This is something that University of Birmingham alumni and Leadership Consultant, David North has learnt over the years. But by ensuring he followed his gut instinct, he went on to achieve a sense of personal and professional fulfillment.

So we caught up with David (one of our alumni and leadership mentors), who shared some insights into the highs and lows of his career and his key learning experiences, which we hope will help inspire you to chose the right career path for you. Keep reading for some crucial words of wisdon;

Explore your options

David starting to think about his career during his final year at the Univeristy of Birmingham back in 1975, where he studied Economic History.

He considered graduate training programmes in banking, accountancy and insurance, but deep down he knew that these were his parent’s aspirations, not his own. Instead, David new it was important to make his own choices (which he was reminded of later down the line).

So David continued to explore his options, attending career events and listening to professionals working in various sectors. He interest was peaked piqued by a speaker working in people management at Coventry City Council as he talked about his role and experience. So David went on to apply for a number roles for local authorities before landing a role on a graduate training scheme with a County Council.

The role taught me the importance of having a broad sense of direction, encouraged me to explore options and to keep an open mind. So if you’re not sure…keep looking.

Top Tip: The University hosts a number of employer and alumni events throughout the year, where you can hear from a range of professionals working in various roles and sectors — open to both current students and recent graduates.

Work out what energises you

After ten years in local goverment, David found himself working for an insurance company — not because he was attracted by the industry, but the role really excited him.

Finding work which inspired and excited him helped him understand that it is critical to find a job that respectively boosts and drains your energy because energy is the key source of personal resilience — and you’ll need plenty of for a successful career in the 21st century.

David was reminded of this when he accepted a senior generalist HR role and was later flattered into believing he could manage a Programme Management office during a major transformation. These two moves took him well away from his familiar ground and it didn’t feel right. He went against his gut instinct and endured a miserable time in his working life.

That’s not to say a bad experience isn’t a purposeful experience though — he used these bad experiences as a catalyst to take the leap and start a consultancy business and focus on areas of deep professional expertise.

In any career you have highs and lows, the important thing, is to understand what’s behind the difference and to act accordingly in the future.

Top Tip: Not sure what your strenghts and motivations are? Why not attend one of our career planning workshops.

Make sure the timing is right

David worked for the insurance company for 20 years — a lot longer than many of his peers who went on to do consultancy work after 5–10 years. Something that David was keen to do, but only when it felt right.

At that stage of his career, he wasn’t seeking more autonomy or to satisfy the need to run his own business. Instead he had family, security and a particular lifestyle that was more important to him.

It’s essential to know yourself and to make career decisions when you’re ready, not when everyone else is doing it.

Top Tip: Considering a career change or further study but not sure if it’s the right time or move? Why not talk things through with one of our career experts.

Listen to others

One of the reasons David continued working in a corporate role was because he enjoyed leading and developing his team, but he learned after a few painful experiences, that he needed to really learn how to listen to others.

Once he had mastered this skill, he stopped measuring his value by his own achievements, but by his teams. By doing so, he established a reputation, not by design, but by his actions — helping to propel his career forward.

Never give up on your dream

It had been a life-long dream for David and his wife to live and work in the USA, and because of David’s persistance of persuing that dream, he was able to spend 5 years there — an experience he described as a career-defining and life-changing.

He achieved that dream because he kept pursuing the idea with the company he was working for, and when an opportunity presented itself he jumped at the opportunity. This was because an industry-chanding merger and acquisition of a large US subsidary created presented an opportunity to David, so he pitched his business case and gained the support of some influential members of his network and he made it happen.

Build a diverse support network

Don’t underestimate the value of having a diverse support group around you as you navigate your career. By this, he means a network of people from different backgrounds and with different experiences and insights to share.

Draw on them for their valuable technical perspectives, those who can connect you to other people, and others who will challenge your thinking and mindset.

Top Tip: Building your network can be daunting, especially as many of us are working remotely but there are things you can do, such as attend our LinkedIn workshops or attend one of our employer events. We’ve also got lots of helpful tips on our blog and website.

Be proactive

David drew on his experiences from the past 45 years and the nature of work and carees in 2020 is very different from 1975, with organisations expecting you to navigate your own career. As a consequence, David very much believes that being proactive in upskilling, developing your personal agility, being flexible and open to development is an essential requirement to succeed.

But he felt that some things haven’t changed — with the foundations of a satisfying journey being; know yourself, stretch yourself, build a network of good people and be proactive.

If you let someone else manage your career, you may be disappointed with the outcome — David North

We have hundreds of mentors like David who have volunteered their time to help you find a career that suits your strengths and interests. By applying for one of our mentoring schemes you’ll be paired with a mentor with expertise in your chosen industry who will be on hand to provide advice and guidance so you can more confidently kickstart your career. Applications are opening soon, so don’t miss out on this great opportunity.

Alternatively, you can apply to be paired with one of our mentors, such as David, and gain advice and guidance from an expert working in your area of interest. Applications open soon!