How did you end up at your first job? Let me take a guess. You had good grades and a natural aptitude for the industry you’re in. If you’re an accountant, you like accounting. That’s not entirely because some people just ended up at the first company that said yes to them. After all “jobs are scarce”

After my graduation I had two jobs offers; one at Uganda Human Rights Commission and another at Leather at Leather Industries Uganda. With forty eight hours to make a decision I don’t remember how I made the decision but a week later I was seated on my desk at Leather industries wondering how I ended up there.

All the career guidance I had this far wasn’t proving to be useful. If you don’t learn to make decisions early on in life it affects everything else in life.

While there is no formula you ought to have a framework beyond trusting your gut.

Let’s look at how you actually chose your first job or that promotion:

1. Leader/Team: Most people getting first jobs rarely know the leader or the team but when staying at the job that’s a huge consideration. You heard of the saying, “People don’t quit jobs they quit leaders” The same is true for staying loyal to an organization sometimes what keeps you there is the leader or the team

2. Company: Sometimes you join or stay an organization because it is a great brand with great processes with super SOPs

3. Tasks/work: Some joined Pharmaceuticals because they are a perfect match for the bio-chemical degree they have.

Whether you know it or not, upon self-examination, you will realize that you joined because of a combination of the above reasons or one. “So what now that I know why I joined?”

Firstly, you need to know the deal breakers. If you joined because of a leader and that leader is no longer there you need to decide whether you’re willing to work under another leader or leave.

Secondly if you’re a leader, you can guide those joining your team to find their true motivation for joining you. Once you know the right motivation you can then channel it the right way.

Choose your career, don’t let it choose you

So do I believe career guidance is dead? Not really, it needs a revamp. Not everything rotates around technical competence.