ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2006 > June > 20 > Entry
Wherever you go…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
…Look in the mirror.
On one of those days where I felt the ‘world wasn’t my oyster,’ someone said something I’ve never forgotten, ‘Where you go, you go.’
With every job change, you remain the constant in the equation.
You may be able to change your external environment but without changing yourself, it may only be a new address rather than a new outcome.
I believe the workplace requires us to face ourselves. It’s easy to look at what’s wrong with your employer’s products, training, strategy, boss.
What’s difficult is to ask ourselves how we have contributed to the undesirable circumstances?
Years of supporting others’ career transitions has taught me that real change begins from the inside.
If you don’t learn the lessons you need to in each job, you can count on having to learn it in the next one. If you don’t take criticism well, you’ll find you work for another critical executive.
If you fear authority, you’ll end up working for a control freak. If you have a hard time saying no, you’ll end up in a company where the mantra is “yes, when do you need it done?”
Your professional life gives you a classroom to gain new skills. With enough practice everyone can learn the job related tasks of closing the books, making the deadline, building a better product, or selling more widgets.
What’s hard is acknowledging your own areas of improvement. People often leave their job (or their job leaves them) because they need to grow as a person and deepen their understanding of both their gifts and their gaps.
Next time you think about making a career change, ask yourself what you could be running away from.
If you think the answer is you, learn more about how you can change yourself and your behaviors so that you can get more of what you really want, exactly where you are now and wherever else you go.
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