A costly career mistake, what did I learn?!
Throughout my career, I made several mistakes masqueraded as total failures back then. Believe it or not, these failures are the share of anyone playing outside the comfort zone boundaries. Learning from these failures and embracing the conclusions is pure bravery, CareerHopper!
Leaving one job for another
Back in the day, I joined a company for a promising project. I passed the intensive interviews. Throughout the process, I met my future team leader who left the impression of the professional manager I want to work with. However, one week after joining my team, the promised manager was switched with a new manager and the project was declared a pilot with a deadline! Looking back with a clear eye of hindsight, it was a career hell trap!
Managed by a boss who didn’t choose me
That’s a pig in the poke, grasshopper!
If team leader didn’t interview you and vouch for you to be chosen among the rest of the candidates, don’t buy that stock! It is unpromising!
The importance of meeting the future manager throughout the interview process
In any interview process, the most important interview is the one conducted with the future manager.
The manager is supposed to have a checklist of expectations which she is supposed to have a good instinct to tell whether the candidate can fill them or not.
Passing this interview means that the odds will play in favor of your career. The candidate will start with a non-empty list of advantages. Even if that list is empty, the manager will see the glass full half. The candidate will onboard easily throughout that process if the employee-manager relationship is mutual.
After all, was it a bad choice?
The company I mentioned was a great workplace to work at. Moreover, it was a big career leap. However, I was blind to my blindness to see the imperfection of my choice competency:
1. I should have landed a stable project and a stable team so I can gain several years of experience.
2. Nothing bothered me about my previous employer except the fact that I wanted to enrich my experience arsenal so I could bring new tech-culture and new ideas out-of-the-box.
It starts with picking a bad choice and when the shit hits the fan, it becomes a mistake. Later, you find a solution in progress and after the issue is resolved, you will call it a failure with a learned lesson! That’s the nature of things and that’s why it is important to think of all measures before making a choice by thinking of the Why, why why and WHY one more time!
That’s the spirit, foot soldier! learn from the terrain’s mistakes up the mountain so climbing mount Everest will be easy!
Originally published at http://exhesham.wordpress.com on July 14, 2020.
