First of all, here is my letter to my future self (at nearly 40 years old). This is the final career planning letter I wrote to myself. At the end of this post you will see my takeaways from this process including the things I found out were important to me.
Edited for privacy.
Emily,
Fifteen years from today, you will be 39. I never realized before how close 25 and 40 were. But at the same time, so much can happen in a 15 year timespan. So, as suggested by one of my workplace mentors I have decided to write a letter to you, my future self, about where I hope to be after a 15 year career. The five and ten year letters took a lot of thought to write and this letter is more of the same.
In fifteen years’ time, I hope to be one of two things if I remained with my current employer. Option A, be in the management stream. Option B, be a senior analyst of a dynamic area with the option to do external work as well. Either of these options should see me at or above $$$ with benefits. The money at this point is hopefully going to a mix of retirement saving and purchasing of life experiences (also known as travel).
At this point in my career, I want a variety of opportunities available to me: external requests, advisory services, statistical analysis, human resources, and whatever else can be thrown my way. But, I want to have the capacity to delegate and thus choose which of these I work on. I have seen many people in my career thus far fail to delegate and they end up stressed and unhappy with their work. I do not want to lose my passion and drive even if it means letting go of control (and I like control).
If I switch to my back-up career then I hope to be successfully established as a business analyst either full-time or as a consultant. Or I hope to have broken into the supply chain management field to apply sustainable and profitable practices at all levels. With either of these options I hope to have a flexible schedule. A full schedule is fine, but I want it to be on MY TIME.
I am not going to lie part of me feels like I will fall short of what I wish for in this letter. But it is up to me, or rather you by the 15 year mark, to get there and I can make my future what I want it to be if I work at it.
Emily Marie
July 15, 2015
Click here to see the five year letter
Click here to see the ten year letter
So, three letters and fifteen years of career building forecasted, what have I learned from this experience?
First, I learned what career paths actually interest me. This was the primary goal of me seeking out a mentor in the first place. No one I am close to has gone the office job route so I had no idea of what career paths were out there let alone which one I was interested in. But after writing these letters I got a better sense of what directions to take. I ended up with two major options: go into management or become a better analyst.
The management stream will allow me to diversify my work more and exercise some control BUT there is chance for dealing with conflict and not so awesome situations and I don’t know if I am ready for that. Regardless, I have started looking into management by talking with my mentor (a manager herself), attending information sessions, and other career development activities where I can ask questions about this work stream. So far this route looks promising and the more I learn the more I think this is the way to go.
The analyst stream will allow me to delve further into my passion for data but could limit opportunities for diversity of work since this route tends to favour specialization. I think this comes down more to how much I am willing to push for opportunities outside my regular workload. And to be honest, I will push and I will push hard! I am already looking at some opportunities in event coordination, information management, and more. Just dipping my toe in the water to see what works for me but I have more direction now than I did prior to writing these letters to myself.
Next I realized what is important to me for ANY job. There are always things that a deal breakers for us and I did not realized how much these two factors weigh my decisions regarding career progression. Diversity and Positivity. Those are my job must haves. A job must be able to offer me diverse activities or opportunities to keep me motivated. I like to spread my wings and explore new things so my jobs should reflect this. But I also need to keep in mind that opportunities are for those who discover them and that means I need to do work to FIND said diversity.
Positivity to me means an encouraging atmosphere, a collaborative team, and a happy me. An encouraging workplace means that not only am I pushed to do my best but my teammates have the same. This means we all progress and support each other as a collaborative team, something that is not always found in jobs, trust me! I have worked in an environment before where credit was not given to those who deserved it, coworkers trashed each others work when talking to other people, and frowns were more common than smiles. I am NOT going to go back to an environment like that. And a happy me is important too. I need to be sure that I am happy, healthy, and have a good relationship with my husband. If this piece is missing from the puzzle then I will not be performing my best in my job.
Finally, I realized that I am a complex person that apparently cannot decide between flexibility and stability. But really these things can work together. I want a flexible working arrangement one day so that I can enjoy what life has to offer but I also want a stable home life where we don’t have to worry about money. I can have both but I have to work to carve a path to get there and it may not be easy. Flexibility and stability can co-exist, but one cannot outweigh the other. This means carefully building a career that allows for this balance, and this is work I am willing to do.
So if YOU are stuck and cannot figure out your next career steps, pick up a pen and paper and start writing. You will realize what is important to you and start getting some ideas. The best part, it all comes from you and goes towards building the future you.
