職場上的最大差距是你選擇工作而他選擇事業

zhuanlan.zhihu.comLarry Wang王承倫：看完這篇文章，你就可以跳槽了?

zhuanlan.zhihu.comLarry Wang王承倫：老婆掙得比我多？So What？?

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Are You Mainly About A Good Job,

Or A Successful Career?

When considering a new opportunity, do you mainly think job or career? The answer to this question is quite important. Because if it』s job, you』re likely to find yourself in less appealing, less attractive situations over time. But if it』s career, then your ability to achieve greater success and a brighter future for yourself is much more likely.

Why are so many lost and frustrated?

I give a lot of talks related to career success. Whenever I do, I show everyone the cover of my first career development book for Chinese professionals, Know The Game, Play The Game, where there』s a picture of a maze. I then tell the audience 「Unfortunately, this maze represents the career situation of too many people here in China. They』re lost and frustrated. They feel trapped. They don』t know which way to go or what to do. Despite their talent, effort, and desire, they can』t seem to achieve the type of success they seek.」 As I say this, half the heads in the room will typically start to nod up and down.

Why is this happening? I mean, this is an exceptional market and period of growth and opportunity. In fact, it』s historic! In addition, there』s an ocean of smart, hardworking people here. So how can so many be unhappy and unmotivated with their career situation? Why are so many falling short of their potential and not achieving what they feel they』re capable of?

Too job-oriented

A big reason is they』re too job-oriented. They』re too short-sighted in how they view things. They focus too much on just today. They don』t think about how to build and achieve a successful career. Because they approach things in this way, they don』t make the connection between the job situations they choose today and how these determine their ability to capture better opportunities and join better situations in the future. Many don』t even know what a successful career looks like, let alone what it takes to achieve one. It』s no wonder why they find themselves in dead-end, life-draining, soul-sucking situations.

Job description. Title. Salary. Benefits. Office location. For instance, if you mainly pay attention to these things in the opportunities you pursue, then you』re too job-oriented. I』m not saying these aren』t important. Of course, they are. I』m saying that they』re not the things that most impact your career development, help you build your achievements, and allow you to attain your career objectives.

Don』t be short-sighted

Actually, starting your career, it』s natural to be focused on just getting a good job. Thinking about your career is likely the farthest thing from your mind. It』s too far away. But the reality is, success is built over time. Where everything you do and are a part of today affects your ability to attain what you want tomorrow.

Up until my mid-20s, I never thought that much about my career or future. I had a good job, and that was good enough. It paid me a good salary and gave me a good lifestyle. I had time to do many other things outside of work. I remember thinking, 「My life is pretty awesome!」

But slowly, surely, as time went by, the job became less interesting and less satisfying. I wasn』t engaged in what I did every day. My job became just the thing I did to make a living. Eventually, I reached a point where I felt empty and unhappy. I saw no bright future for myself. Where I was carefree before, I began to care more about being a successful person. A big part of that was being good at something that mattered to me. And doing something that I felt good about. That』s what happens as you get older and start thinking more about your future.

Anticipate your future

While talking to a very senior HR executive recently, she said, 「The problem is that most people only care about having a good job. They don』t really think about their career or future.」 I told her that I also noticed this from talking to many candidates. Until, that is, they realize that caring only about a job isn』t getting them very far. Or until they realize how much a successful career affects their ability to achieve many of the things they want in life. Including their ability to be happier and feel more fulfilled.

Career development. Platform. Fit. People you work with. Available resources. Transferrable skills. Building achievements.These are the things that people who try to pursue a successful career pay more attention to. They』re the things that most help you to develop yourself so you can capture bigger, better, more attractive opportunities later on.

For many people who realize this too late though, it』s tough. They don』t see the future coming. So they find themselves without the skill sets or confidence to pursue something more interesting and meaningful to them. Or the ability to capture better opportunities and get into a better job situation. It』s a terrible feeling discovering these things too late, and feeling that you don』t have very good career prospects ahead of you.

Yes, getting a good job is hard enough. There are many considerations and challenges just to do this right. Figuring out how to achieve a successful career is even much more difficult. But if you don』t want to end up feeling frustrated, disappointed, or desperate about your future, if you don』t want to run into career dead ends or find yourself doing something that you』re not interested in, then I strongly recommend that you put more thought into what it takes to achieve a successful career, rather than just get a good job. That way, you can avoid having to tell someone like me, 「I』m really lost/unmotivated/unhappy in my career, what do I do?」

Join Larry Wang』s upcoming workshop on the topic How To Figure Out What Kind of Career Will Best Fit You on 3/31. For details, just click the picture!

Do you view your career differently now from when you were younger?