Stocks are down.  Companies are selling.  Jobs are scarce.  Well, except for high performers.   Those with high levels of education and a great track record within corporate America are usually safe in turbulent times.  Managers are always seeking those with unquestionable talent.  It would seem that for a select few, they have little to worry about when it comes to employment.  Right?  Maybe not.

Over the years, I’ve talked with many professionals about the steps they’ve made along the path of their career.  Mostly, I just wanted to learn what others have learned.  At first, I thought many of these super achievers had everything all planned out, working the system like a professional.  They knew what to do at every turn.  However, that was simply not the case.  Even the best and brightest suffer unexpected consequences. 

After reviewing many of these discussions, I realized that most of these career mistakes, or mis-steps, were caused by one of two factors: vision and emotion.  Both of these essentially blind them of the situation, relieving them of the ability to make logical moves.  Hopefully, by reviewing both of these factors, we can gain some insight that will allow us to avoid their gravitational pull.

Vision.  Ben was a talented engineer with ten years of successful creation of technology.  His dreams of becoming one of the best technical minds had been born from his thoughts and grew into a great career.  Having cleared the big hurdles in his path, he was ready to take on new ones.  These would have to be different.  They would push his skills in ways he never imagined.  Much like a great right-handed baseball pitcher who decides to become a left-handed pitcher.  Ben’s challenge was to learn more about the business side of corporate life.  He felt the quickest way was to cram as much information into his head as he possibly could.  Ben decided to get an MBA.  This would allow him to get into investment finance.  So, he enrolled in a top university.  He continued to work in the corporate world until he graduated.  With resume in hand, he set out to get that new job.  After a few interviews, his new career path was becoming clearer.  But it wasn’t we he expected.  The big investment houses were telling him that he needed experience before they could hire him.  They asked about college internships or previous investment experience.  He didn’t have it.  This was the most critical element in getting hired.  The MBA was just part of it.  How could he have missed it?  Somehow, he did.  Now, it was too late.  Ben never made it into investments.  He couldn’t see two years out.  He expected the degree would be sufficient.  It wasn’t. 

Ben eventually found a good position in another industry and has done well since.  But he wonders what it would have been like if he could have just understood how far his degree would take him.  Ben could have contacted several people in the investment industry to find out what the real requirements for employment were.  Networking is a requirement.  It’s the easiest way to learn.  It’s little effort with big returns.

Emotion.  Jenny was one of the best managers in her company.  She had proven herself many times over in the 6 years she had dedicated to the company.  Yet, somehow she didn’t feel she was rewarded for all she had given.  The late nights.  The long days.  The many accomplishments.  Her hard work and energy went out but nothing seemed to come back in.  These feelings began to drive her attitude.  She still did great things but she wasn’t devoted like she once was.  This attitude gave birth to new behavior when she heard the rumors about the sell of the company.   Thinking that things wouldn’t get better if the company did sell, she began to search for a new job.  After all, if they were selling the company, things were bad and opportunities would be scarce.  So Jenny found another company.  She interviewed with them 4 times before getting the offer and taking the job.   She had done her research. This was the company, or so it seemed.  About 6 months after she started, the honeymoon was over and the rumors had begun.  Jenny had fallen right back into the situation she had left at her last company. Except this time, she didn’t have enough time to create to create her defining star performer reputation.  Another 6 months after the purchase, Jenny was unemployed.  The two situations drained her energy, drive and passion for her work.  In an almost self-destructive manner, Jenny’s emotion drove her decision to change. 

Jenny eventually found work again but learned that emotion is a powerful force.  Her feelings controlled her view of the situation around her.  So much so that it blinded her abilities.  She was ready for a change, even if it only appeared to be better.  Career decisions, like many other decisions, are best made when you aren’t in a state of heightened emotions. 

These are stories from my clients.  They are highly educated people.  Most are high performers that accomplish great things.  They are survivors and find ways out of difficult situations.  But they still hit bumps along the path of their career.  The things that they experience are very similar to what many of the rest of us experience.   They learn from their mistakes.  Hopefully we can learn from them too.