We are the Champions

There are two questions that most young graduates entering the job market fear the most. The first is "what are your strengths and weaknesses?" because they simply do not know given their lack of experience and because they need a little help translating their personal strengths and weakenesses into workplace areas for growth or areas of strength.

The second is "Where do you want to be in 5 years." Many graduates and school leavers will giggle at this one and answer something like "I'd like to be working, thank you very much!" Another typical answer at companies is "I want to be in your role." Whilst a candidate may think this is flattering or reflective of ambition, it does not really answer the question.

The question being asked is "What are your career goals?" The interviewer wants to know if their company can help you get where you are headed, because they know that if you know where you are headed, it's only a matter of time, and they'd like to help you get there. If you do not know, then they will understand that you are looking at short to medium terms goals and will reposition themselves to enjoy that particular ride with you.

What every leader has found, somewhere along the walk towards success is that Champions make good companions.

Let's look at this more carefully: A Champion is someone who is a winner, and so one could look at this statement to mean that by associating oneself with champions, one will learn and grow in the areas necessary to become a champion too.  Whilst this is true, the champion I refer to is not this. The Champion I refer to is that individual or group of people who will back the visionary. Someone who will recognise your talent and your vision and because of a particular set of acheivements, skill or charisma, backs you.

In this sense, the Champion can be a referee - if you pick the right people to speak about your performance and if you are diligent in the impression you create with people by taking responsibility and really making a dynamic impact on your current leadership, your referees are your first line of Championship in any job race.

More important than the referee is the champion that truly sees your potential and with whom you retain contact throughout the years - these people will be waiting on the sidelines for a chance to make your dream happen and be a part of greatness. But they cannot exist unless you have a shot at greatness on any level. And greatness can never be a goal in itself - greatness is simply the colour of success, inasmuch as success can be measured by what you've done, who's lives you've changed, what bottom lines you've added value to, and how positiveloy your life has touched those of others. Every person's definition of success is different, but it will somehow involve who, and what you've done, and who and what you've been, in relation to the who and what you COULD do and who and what you COULD be if you arrived at the point where you are the best you that you could be.

The free dictionary defines success in its simple form; "the achievement of something desired, planned or attempted."

Can one really say that one has been successful without knowing where one is going? Can one look back on life and say "I succeed" without having previously estimated what success would entail?

Success, therefore, is simply pie in the sky when it has no Goals or vision attached to it, because it becomes un-measurable. (Ask any marketing strategist.) In order to succeed, then, one needs to have the following:


-Goals (a clear idea of what one will have done/ acheived/ become at the point of success)
-Vision (a mental picture of what life will look like at the point of successs)
-Strategy (a flexible, re-adjusting set of do's and don'ts that becomes the stepping stones towards achievement of the goals so that one's vision is realised.

I have placed Goals before vision because sometimes one knows what one wants before knowing what life will be like if one has that.

Taking this back to career-speak, we embark on our career because we have passion for a particular subject or activity. We want to spend time honing the skills of that craft. Our goals may change or we may shift direction once we feel we have acheived that sufficiently to say to ourself "I succeeded in it" (for measuring of success is personal) and this certainly accounts for people shifting careers. Like sugar dissolving into water, we saturate ourselves with doing that which we love until we are ready to enjoy it or move onto the next glass of water.

So what's your sugar? What's your passion? When you find your passion you find your inner truth, career wise. You discover the integrity of being true to your path and you begin to read ads more carefully, and apply to less vacancies because you know what you want and you are realistic about what you are worth. (read that again)

Let's say you love marketing. You love the idea of coming up with a strategy to put a company on the map. You ache to do the below the line and above the line calculation of steps towards making your company "great". You even worked out what "great" is and how it looks on the bottom line! Fantastic! What happens when you've done that? Do you retire? No.. although you've reached your goal (however long it took - short, medium or long-term), you are only edging closer to success, you are only edging closer to your vision. Vision is tricky because you only begin to get the vision when you start to taste the small successess of meeting your goals.

So take another look at that job ad - will it take you one step closer to your short-term goal (which might be "working in my area of passion - marketing") or will it take you one step closer to your medium term goal (which might be - "making a noticeable contribution to the world of branding") because you've carefully selected the company as well as the job you applied to?

I hope this has made you consider what your goals might be. If you are still having difficulty, take out a pen and paper and answer the following questions:

Short-term goals
what do I love most about my career choice right now?
How can I best excercise that passion? (In the next 3 to 6 months)
What do I do to get there - This is your strategy

Medium term goals
If I could imagine a next step from "you're hired" at this interview/ point of cv submission, what would that be?
- would I be promoted?
- would I take up an add-on study?
- would I grow the department I'm in, and if so, how?
At the next step:
- who do I invisage my network of influence would be (see upcoming blogs)
- what environment/meetings/projects would I be involved in?
What do I need to do to get there? - this is your strategy

Long-Term goals
What do I think my career ceiling will be?
Do I aim to the ceiling or will I be happy to "almost" reach it?
What would "almost reaching it" look like? (- where will I work (type of company), how will I dress/walk/talk, who will my associates/friends/colleagues be,how will I spend my professional and personal time?
Where will I live/work/play?
What do I need to change in my short-term and long term goals to get there?


A successful person asks themselves this about themselves. A succesfull career person asks themselves this about themselves as well as about the current title they hold at work.

A vision without goals is just a pie in the sky - it's Jack never conquering the giant because he's too scared to plant the beanstalk. Similarly goals without a vision mean you'll always be stuck without a map, somewhere between where you are and where you want to be; but you will definately end up where you're headed!!

Happy Job Hunting!