RISK - Chapter 2 - Taking the Next Step

A dream comes true is always something we anticipated for. But what comes next? Many people are looking forward to find something better...like a better job. Though year 2007 has come to an end, but do we need to put our career to an end too? The answer might be populated with YES and NO and even MAYBE. Frankly speaking, the normal reason working adults like us who are taking the career risk to switch jobs are very common....

- current job not challenging
- boss does not pay well
- time to look for something i really like to do
- people ciao..so i also wanna ciao

Familiar with those reasons? We rarely hear people say "I won lottery so I do not want to work" or "My husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend are supporting my retirement plan so I want to quit". Sometimes working is just another past time for each individual or else we ended up spending 8-10 hours aimlessly. Even the riches people on world need to work. So what is the BEST reason to change?

The answer comes back to "whether it is worth taking the RISK or not?". When we want a change, we have to be very determined to carry on. There are always obstacles along the way. Dealing with them make us grow. My colleague did told me that why people still driving even they knew it would be another traffic jam in town. Life goes on no matter what the obstacles are. If we cannot change it, we must get use to it. If we can change it, make a choice and find a solution. We are living in a circle. We use to do something again and again. We use to take the same route to go to work and come back to work. Hence, either we make a change or we carry on. Taking a career risk is the same. If you take it, then expect the unexpected from the new place. If not, stay with the current one and be adaptive. Just remember to give ourselves a very strong reason when making a decision.

A dream comes true means you have another dream to make.

to be continued....

RISK - Chapter 1 - Career Risk

The year has finally comes to an end. Before it hits 31st, I thought of re-launch my blog again. May be it is times to speak out after 2 months of silence.

The topic of this feature will be on RISK. A simple 4 letters word with a big impact of each individual or an organisation. Indeed, I have got myself involved in this area since I took my career path in a local bank. Talking about risk, it does not apply only on financial risk but also on career risk, relationship risk, liability risk etc etc.

If you ever thought of it, the very first time you signed your employment contract, you are actually putting your life in a risk. How risky it is depends on the job you are taking. You are not sure how the job environment like, how the organisation works, how much times you need to pick up the workload, how long your probation will end and many more. No one ever thought of these little things when they apply for a job. What they normally have in mind is more to how much money I can earn to support my existing lifestyle. Sometimes, I told my friends that what you learnt from university is just a passport to the working life. The fact is 100% true. If not, please challenge me on that.

Your job will be the one that shape your career path. Your role in your company will determine who you are in the coming next 5 years or so. Your attitude to work will be the key to your success. But all you have to do is taking the RISK to be more persistence and consistence with what you do. I have heard stories from fresh graduate. The normal feedback from them for leaving the job are "Company pays very less", "Company no good", "Too much work", "I cannot stay back late" and it goes as long as the traffic jam in Federal Highway. It is only when we take the RISK to really explore what they have in the company that makes our future much brighter.

The question is more to the level of risk you are taking. The more experience you gained, the lower your risk will turn out to be. I understand that some people feel like they do not want to waste their time on sometime that does not turn out good. That is fine, so we need to question ourselves again on what best for us. Switching a job is also a big risk to take as you need to re-establish the whole interconnection again between colleagues.

So start to measure your risk level again. Big risk comes with big return but only with proper planning. So think again and set your career risk level now.

Stay tune. To be continued.......