I recently read an article by Anisa Purbasari Horton about the questions that you should ask yourself throughout your career stages. The interesting thing to me is the change in how you think about your involvement and what you want to accomplish throughout your career. Here are some of the questions from the article highlighted at each career stage:
Early in your career you are likely asking these types of questions:
- “What do I want to get good at doing?
- “What kind of environment allows me to be at my best?”
- “How can I set myself up to get the best experiences?”
At Mid – Career the questions will change to focus on these questions:
- “What activities give me strength and energy vs what kinds of activities weaken me?”
- “Do I want to remain an individual contributor or be a manager?”
Senior level leaders may ask the following kinds of questions:
- “In What Ways Can I Still Make an Impact?”
- “How Can I Use My Learnings to Give Back and Help People?”
Notice the differences in the focus of the questions as your career progresses. You move from focusing on yourself to focusing more on others and giving back. This makes sense since you are still in learning mode when you first get started. Once you have learned more and gained experiences you will think more about leading others and giving back to those who are coming up behind you in the team or organization.
The importance of asking these questions also looks at the value you will get or give to others. As long as you are seeing that value you will continue to be motivated in your career. If that value starts to diminish for you, you may start to feel like a change is needed. Reflecting on these kinds of questions can help you think about your career at each stage and determine where you want to go with it. Depending on your answers, you get to make the decisions that are the best ones for you to create the career that fulfills you the most.