One of my Twitter CFO friends, Scott McPherson, blogged about the leaky faucet concept in businesses. It just so happened that I read this on the same morning a plumber was heading my way to fix an annoying leak in my shower faucet … so the article really resonated with me. Particularly this line …
Basically, that tiny leak had the power to turn into a huge nightmare.
Is your career analogous to a leaking faucet? It is if you just landed that new CFO position, and things are going great so why, you ask, waste time thinking about your career? Except that, it’s important to remember that you are only ever between searches. And the moment you forget that, your career can quickly become the small drip from a leaky faucet.
The tension is palpable. The warning signs are everywhere. Good friends are caught in protracted, painful job searches. Drip. Drip. Drip …
And yet, it is easier to focus on today and the fact that you are fortunate to have a job. But what about tomorrow? Drip. Drip. Drip …
Remember the CFO I mentioned who had a great job one day and was walked to the door the next … with no inkling the end was coming when he walked in the door that morning. His drip turned into a full-fledged nightmare in less than 12 hours.
Getting proactive in managing your career can save that tiny drip from turning into the nightmare of unemployment. With a strong value proposition, marketability is at its highest when you are sitting inside looking out … and the people who need to know about all the great things you’ve done, know about them.
If you are unemployed and your search has been non-productive for awhile, perhaps it’s time to call a professional. If you continue doing what you’ve been doing, it is likely you will continue getting the same results.
Drip. Drip. Drip ….