Off late, a lot of people have written to me about how frustrated they are with their job, reporting managers, work pressure etc and are totally demotivated to carry on.
Do you find yourself in a similar situation at times?
Well, being emotional is natural but letting emotions drive your decisions is not a good practice. In the heat of the moment, don’t end up making decisions that will lead to a downfall for your career.
Through the Ask Vishwas video series, I take an honest dig at two important questions that most professionals are struggling to find answers to.
Q1: I am a senior project manager with 12 years of work experience and I see a lot of youngsters taking lead on projects and the management also seems to prefer them over senior folks. How to deal with it?
A lot of people have been facing this problem and let me tell you, there is no shortcut here to hard work. The major issue here is that most people who have 8-10 years of work experience have lost touch with ground reality. In today’s world, there is immense competition and unless you keep yourself abreast with the latest technologies you risk being outdated.
At such a senior position, it is very important that you constantly unlearn, relearn and upgrade your skills with the growing demands of the market. If you fail to do so, you will soon become a dinosaur story.
Use your experience to your advantage. When you club your rich experience with the latest skills and technologies, you become a profitable asset to any company. With this killer combination, you are bound to be the top choice over any young talent that joins the company.
Strive to be a thought leader! The minute you find yourself getting into a comfortable position it is time to take up a new challenge.Your valuable experience of dealing with customers and bringing in revenue should be put to great use.
Never become a burden to the company. You need to justify your cost and billable hours and the only way you can do so is by staying as relevant as possible to the current workforce demands. And don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something! If even after 10 years of work experience, if you are required to get down to ground level to get things done, just do it! Don’t think it is out of your scope of work or responsibilities. Sometimes, fixing things at the root level helps in a smooth execution of the project. So never hesitate to go beyond your call of duty!
Q2: I am so frustrated with my current job and manager that I want to resign right away! Is it a bad idea to quit without having another job offer at hand?
This is a very frequent question and it is just surprising to see how so many people want to quit their jobs only because of their manager. Yes, it is 100% natural to feel emotional at times, but I personally feel that one should never quit especially without having another job.
No matter what, you need to always look at de-risking your plan. In the heat of the moment, if you decide to quit and send in your resignation letter, then you are just creating a more stressful situation for yourself.
You may think that you will be able to find a job while you are serving your notice period, but the stakes are just too high here. Instead of finding the next best job, you will be forced to settle for anything that comes your way. Your negotiation power also comes down.
Always remember that when you shift your career, you always have to take it to the next level. If you become impulsive and just resign, you might end up choosing a job that might take your career on a downward spiral and that could be terrible.
So, if you are having a problem with your manager, I would suggest that you set up a personal one-on-one meeting with him and share your thoughts. Be candid about the problems you are facing and together try to find a solution for your problem. Quitting should always be your last option!
People are more receptive when you honestly share your concerns. Don’t fear from having a dialogue with your management team. Be proactive and when they see your enthusiasm, the company will never want to let you go.
So yes, don’t just quit… everything in life deserves a second chance. Make things happen because the best is yet to come!
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