Career Pathing, Raketista-Style
You ever get that feeling like no matter how fast you're going, no matter how much you get done in a day --it's like there's still something missing? I've been getting that lately. It's like I'm running in top speed without a concrete destination in mind. Damning feeling really.
It's easier when you're in the corporate world. Your career path is pretty cookie cutter. You know where you're taking your party and you work to climb that goddamn corporate ladder like a madman. (I did that, by the way. Succeeded. And yesterday, had to use my old ECD cards to scoop my puppy's poop from the floor. There's a metaphor there somewhere.)
When you're a freelancer, it's tougher. You don't get an organizational chart to follow. You choose one road, see if it works out. If it doesn't, you shift to another road. It's spaztic, but linear. You experience and learn so many things left and right, but you don't really go in an upward motion.
Or so I thought.
After much brain-squeezing, I realize there IS career pathing in freelancing. All you have to do is take a step back from the mess of projects you've accumulated, and do a fresh start campaign. Choose your specialty. Revise your resume. Sell yourself with a brand new persona. Not just as a Jack of All Trades, but more focused.
Now this doesn't mean you'll be locking yourself up in a box. In fact, what I'm doing right now is coming up with several resumes --each with a specific super power. One highlights my strength as an advertising expert, another as a blogger extraordinaire, the other as a seasoned magazine writer, and so on. (I exaggerate, of course. ASC will not approve of such superlatives in real life. But you get my point.)
Suddenly, you have a compartamentalized folio! Organization exists!
It will be easier to peddle this variety of resumes to their specific audiences. Soon, you'll be getting more focused projects. More strategically, you can build your career (or careers, you greedy, multitasking dawg!) from there. This time, however, you're not aiming for a company position. You're aiming for accomplishments like being the Most Sought-After Freelance Creative, being the Most Awarded Asia-Pacific Blogger, the Most Talked About Magazine Columnist. The climb may be a little slow at first but if that isn't an upward motion goal, I don't know what is!
I still plan to keep my 'omnibus' resume on hand for my usual strike-anywhere clientele. But that's simply for survival purposes. If you want to reach a goal, if you want a real clear-cut destination... as always, all you need is focus.
It's easier when you're in the corporate world. Your career path is pretty cookie cutter. You know where you're taking your party and you work to climb that goddamn corporate ladder like a madman. (I did that, by the way. Succeeded. And yesterday, had to use my old ECD cards to scoop my puppy's poop from the floor. There's a metaphor there somewhere.)
When you're a freelancer, it's tougher. You don't get an organizational chart to follow. You choose one road, see if it works out. If it doesn't, you shift to another road. It's spaztic, but linear. You experience and learn so many things left and right, but you don't really go in an upward motion.
After much brain-squeezing, I realize there IS career pathing in freelancing. All you have to do is take a step back from the mess of projects you've accumulated, and do a fresh start campaign. Choose your specialty. Revise your resume. Sell yourself with a brand new persona. Not just as a Jack of All Trades, but more focused.
Now this doesn't mean you'll be locking yourself up in a box. In fact, what I'm doing right now is coming up with several resumes --each with a specific super power. One highlights my strength as an advertising expert, another as a blogger extraordinaire, the other as a seasoned magazine writer, and so on. (I exaggerate, of course. ASC will not approve of such superlatives in real life. But you get my point.)
Suddenly, you have a compartamentalized folio! Organization exists!
It will be easier to peddle this variety of resumes to their specific audiences. Soon, you'll be getting more focused projects. More strategically, you can build your career (or careers, you greedy, multitasking dawg!) from there. This time, however, you're not aiming for a company position. You're aiming for accomplishments like being the Most Sought-After Freelance Creative, being the Most Awarded Asia-Pacific Blogger, the Most Talked About Magazine Columnist. The climb may be a little slow at first but if that isn't an upward motion goal, I don't know what is!
I still plan to keep my 'omnibus' resume on hand for my usual strike-anywhere clientele. But that's simply for survival purposes. If you want to reach a goal, if you want a real clear-cut destination... as always, all you need is focus.
Comments
Post a Comment