Reap Management Series(No 5): Five Ways to Refresh Failing Careers

Two weeks ago, we examined the reasons people fail as career employees. What are the signs of a

failing career? We mentioned five things that raise the red flag: being in a junior position at a certain

age; getting no referrals in a job in which you are supposed to be an expert; getting no responses from

organisations even after submitting your CV; being kept in the same level in your organisation for a

long time and not getting consultations on your skills even from independent people. As if some of our

readers knew what we had in mind, they asked what should be done by anyone not too satisfied with

his career journey. The simple answer is: get up and do something. Achievement is in the doing; not in

the thinking and certainly not in the saying. Here are the five things you can do to reset your failing

career on the right path:

1. Change Your Skills

Many people carry on with what I call obsolete skills. They are masters in a universe that is going into

extinction. Technology killed many white-collar jobs in Rustbelt America but many of the victims

blame China and Mexico and Barack Obama. A banking operations expert who was recently sacked

told me he was asked to go because IT had taken over most of his jobs. Yet, he has a degree in

Mathematics. Why didn’t he see it coming? How difficult is it to upgrade your skills in banking

operations (with your degree in mathematics) to competencies in the relevant IT areas?

Even with the same qualifications, change or upgrade your skills. The best way to do this is by

reading. What is the latest in banking operations, in legal or medical practice? What is changing that

my organisation has not taken notice of? How do I bring this to their attention and get their buy in? If

you are able to sell it to your organisation, you become the product or service champion. You cannot

however sell it if you don’t know it. If your skills are still at the same pedestrian level, it’s a no-no.

2. Rise Above Your Organisation

Many of us set ourselves below, or at best, at the same level with our organisation. We are just what

our organisation want us to be, no more, no less. The truth is an organisation is also on a journey just

the way your career is. Again, the journey is a race for the organisation just the way it is for you as an

employee. Therefore, the organisation is always in need of people that will make it win the race. And

only organisations that have people whose horizon and perspectives are above them (the

organisations) end up winning.

This is why the stars in the organisation are those who write the scripts. They are not just KPI

workers or crisis managers, they are the artistes for the organisation. They don’t wait for events; they

create them. If you don’t have perspectives beyond what your bosses or managers are sharing, maybe

you should be selling ice creams.

3. Network in the right professional circles

Maybe your career is failing because you are not treating it as a career. So, you work in your

organisation as a geologist? How many conferences of geologists have you attended in the last few

years? None! Who is the President of the Nigerian Mining or Geosciences Society? You don’t know.

Belonging in a professional network helps you get associated with a career. The fact that you work in

a bank does not make you a banker just the way not all employees in the hospital are medical doctors

or pharmacists.

Networking gives your career a strong profile, especially if you are good at the job you do. You

become a go-to person for facilitation at conferences, workshops and seminars. The industry knows

you and by extension, knows your opinions on issues. Networking has been found to be a huge

challenge to many career employees. Many doctors hardly know colleagues beyond fellow doctors in

the same hospitals or classmates in the College of Medicine. Therefore, their knowledge of what is

trending even within the profession is limited. When they run into career stormy waters, they hardly

know where to go. A very bad route in a career journey!

4. Get Rare and Relevant Certifications

In an opaque environment like ours, certificates say so many things. Pure skills may not just be enough

sometimes. I have seen many people lose career competition to candidates that are less skilful just

because the preferred candidate has an extra certificate in the same area. Please don’t get it wrong.

We are not recommending that you convert your bedroom into a shelf of certificates. But please

ensure that the one that puts a question mark on certain competencies and give an edge to some other

competitors are obtained.

Certifications help to refresh dilapidating skills, especially in add-on areas. If you are a financial

accountant for example, a certification in Advanced Excel or IFRS may just put you on a different

level from other Financial Accountants. Go for the rare ones. These certificates may be difficult to get

because the syllabi are demanding and the fees, expensive. Most times however, they are worth the

while.

5. Finally, Narrow it down and Specialise

Lionel Messi is only known for football and even then, only in attacking football. A generalist is a

rolling stone, he gathers no moss. Narrow it down and down until the space becomes too narrow that

only you, and maybe a few others, can fit into it. That is the winning formula in today’s world. That is

how blue oceans are created. Otherwise, you will only be operating as a tail of the tiger rather the

head of an ant. The latter is better. I have it on good authority, specialist doctors make more money

and move faster on the career ladder than general practitioners. And in any case, specialists are

general practitioners before they became neurologists or obstetricians.

When you narrow your career scope down to a sub-segment or sub-division of the broader trade, you

attract attention to yourself. A maritime lawyer is a lawyer in the first instance but he is also the go-to

lawyer for maritime legal services. The broader strategy is being very good at it and making it known.