Get Career Fit, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 5 Construct

What plan will you follow?

‘Take the course opposite to custom and you will almost always do well.’

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Many years ago I heard Steven Bradbury speak. An Olympic speed skater, he famously won a gold medal at the 2002 Winter Olympics because everyone he was competing against in the final had fallen over. It was literally a case of ‘last man standing’. The media attributed his overnight success to ‘luck’. What they failed to report on was the years of planning, sacrifice and hard work that had brought him to that point.

Success doesn’t come easily to anyone. It involves thorough planning and determination.

Just how will you make your leap? Will you stay in your current role a bit longer while you prepare for the change, or will you suddenly up and leave? Many people stay in their current job until they have landed a new career, devoting their spare time to helping them land. Others quit and focus all their efforts on getting to the next destination. There’s no right or wrong. It’s a matter of weighing up the pros and cons and then constructing your plan.

Do you want a side with your main?

Some people do what’s called a ‘side gig’, ‘side hustle’ or ‘moonlighting’, effectively following what I call the ‘dual track’ approach to leaping. This means staying in their current role and starting work on their leap at the same time.

For example, a former colleague of mine was a communications consultant for a large company, while on the side she ...