career.htm

Notes on Careers

From the 40 year career (Irrational Excuberence blog)

• Don't think of your career as stints from IPO to IPO
• Focus on growth and engagement over time; measure your career in decades
• Focus on a small handfun of things that compound over time
  • Pace
    • Pace yourself, don't burn out
    • How long of a vacation does it take to not feel anxious about coming back
  • People
    • Are you building your network? If not work at a larger company for a few years
    • They will be there for you throughout your life; become referrals, new opportunities, etc...
    • Approach each new role with the intention of building a network of folks you know and work with well
  • Prestige
    • Prestige can be a lubricant
    • You can manufacture prestige by producing great work, blogging, sharing your projects
    • Leverage your success in a role to a role thats a bit bigger
    • Deliberately sharing in your blog, writing for others, publishing books
    • Prestige can be the result of deliberate, intentional action over time
  • Profit
    • The best roles can be only accessible if you're already financially stable; that is you can interview, take your time talking with companies
    • For some people it can take 10 months
    • The key is not getting rich but creating flexibility for yourself
  • Learning
    • Spend 4 hours a week thinking about the future, then let that thinking compound over time
    • Each year set personal and professional goals; you can learn deep or learn broad. You need ample space for both
    • Each year identify two new things that you're uncomfortable with and do them
    • Do enough to maintain your habit of learninng
    • Learning doesn't only come from doing new things, it comes from reflecting on the things you do. You need space to reflect