[Closed] The `"What do you want from work / my career" question?

How old are you?

My line is now "to pass on my skills / knowledge / experience before I retire"

Take a long hard look at it, look at the progression paths ahead of you, where you are and what you want from life.

Sounds like it's a tough question that you need to answer.

I get asked this occasionally. I use generic "I wish to improve myself" lines.

The reality is "I wish to overpay on my mortgage".

I have to do this year on year.

I figure that with the dirth of GPs nationwide, they are VERY unlikely to fail to appraise me if I don't write "I wish to be the best GP in the world, I will train and study for 34 hours a day, 8 days a week etc etc"

This year I have put that my aim/PDP is to "remain happy to be GP for next year, and that my own survival relies on factors above and beyond pushing myself to constantly improve year on year"!

DrP

A job/career is a means of earning an income. An income is a means to purchasing a lifestyle. I want a job to pay enough to fund the lifestyle I want to live, notwithstanding the usual compromises you need to make e.g. spending 10 hours a day at a desk in order to earn the income to try to live the lifestyle in whatever spare time I have left.

It's a dog chasing its tail thing.

A job/career is a means of earning an income. An income is a means to purchasing a lifestyle. I want a job to pay enough to fund the lifestyle I want to live,

It is also possible to do something that rewards you in more ways than financially, stops you going mad and engages with you. I would say I actually enjoy what I do most of the time and find it rewarding but flexible enough to let me do mostly what I like to do.

If you're going to spend 30-50 hrs a week doing something maybe you need to think a bit more carefully why you are there.

Personally for me the difference between a job and a career is that the career should be a journey that can take you to more interesting places.

@TJ - 45.

Interesting post from Mike. I moved into Sales and despite it being a harsh learning curve and tbh a lesson in growing up, I'm now realising the responsibility I've been given and the ability / success I have to do that job which others saw and put faith in, when I wasn't sure.

Last night I have a well received industry talk to a group of CEO's in a subject area that I'm less than familiar with. This is potentially the start of a new area to sell in, and the fact that I got the opportunity to do that, it was well received and now needs planning and establishment with partners provides another challenge on top of my core business.

I enjoyed that, and perhaps will I'm bemoaning "Sales" next time I'm pressured when behind target it is a very flexible and varied job, albeit with pressure.

Lifestyle wise I'm not yearning for anything save the ability to make some mortgage overpayments as a buffer to whatever life throws at me.

So, I've no need for change, am not eager for a grandiose job title nor do I need a new shiny watch. However I'd like my family to experience the best I can provider and my kids the non-spoilt opportunities to develop successfully.

Hence the question.

" I am actively seeking opportunities to kill again without fear of being apprehended by the authorities"

I have to do this for me and my team. I think there are 3 routes:
1) I'm in the right role - I have stuff to learn in my current role, I enjoy it and there's room to develop, etc etc
2) I'm interested in moving to a similar role elsewhere in the organisation - same level but extending skills more broadly
3) I want to move to the next level upwards

Something for everyone here I think?

I don't miss this cr@p in the slightest... left the world of pdp and objectives for a measly 2% for being a good boy BS...
Self employed now and my objective is to earn good money with the bonus of gaining massive satisfaction from making my clients homes more beautiful than when I started.

So glad I don't have to put up with that sort of corporate bullshit and HR type speak at times. Can't you just go to work and do your job anymore?

To avoid getting strong armed into a management role for as long as possible.

I subscribe to the axiom 'up to 30 you have a career, after which you have a job'. Any 'development' for me is where the next contract is. I'll stick in Higher Education as it feels like you might be doing some small good rather than making people I don't like richer.

That's enough of a work plan for me. Hitting 50 this year, I'm more interested in everything outside of work. Priorities I guess.

wrightyson - Member
So glad I don't have to put up with that sort of corporate bullshit and HR type speak at times. Can't you just go to work and do your job anymore?

perchypanther - Member
" I am actively seeking opportunities to kill again without fear of being apprehended by the authorities"

That seems to show a lack of ambition. I would maybe focus on exponential growth in the number of killings perhaps by recruiting a team of like-minded professionals to work with you. I'd also think hard about 'without fear' as a phrase. Maybe emphasise future-proofing your operations by, for example, building close relationships with 'the authorities'?

i aspire to rise to my level of incompetence.

I don't really understand why we always seem to need to be developing our selves. I seems to be seen as a bad thing to be happy with your lot and not strive to get to the next level.

If I stay in this job I want to do it well so will try hard and try to learn to do it the best I can, But I don't want to move up and get more responsibility and pressure. I struggle with the pressure now.

My wife and I earn decent money, we can afford to do stuff, but I think my kids would be happier with happy parents than stressed loaded ones.

That seems to show a lack of ambition. I would maybe focus on exponential growth in the number of killings perhaps by recruiting a team of like-minded professionals to work with you. I'd also think hard about 'without fear' as a phrase. Maybe emphasise future-proofing your operations by, for example, building close relationships with 'the authorities'?

Appreciate the feeback. Perhaps we can touch base for a one-to one on this?

Bring a shovel.

I aspire to

31 and asking my self the same questions.....

currently work 5 on 5 off in africa and truth be told ....hate going to work.

BUT its the best job in the world at the end of my 5 when im coming back to the uk so its a double edged sword. it pays well but the quality of life over all is pretty poor imo and not condusive to a couple of life goals id like to nail down before im 40....

Im looking at various options - even going back to retail management which will mean longer hours/less money but being at home which is beginning to fall into being a very important thing what with family planning and all that jazz...How ever im very reluctant to spend my life sitting behind a desk all day looking at paperwork.

im struggling as all ive ever known is fixing shit/Supervision of fixing shit/running shit offshore and a couple years of shop management.

Choosing a career sucks.

In my last appraisal i wrote "i want to move into sales and applications" - as it would be my best shout for getting back to a job in aberdeen where i live and minimal travel/certainly less extended trips.....

I've never been comfortable saying what I really think which tends to be 'I can cope with doing this job at the moment, by which I mean I don't want to put my head in the ****ing oven every night, and I don't really want to cock that up by going for some sort of promotion or gain new skills which might mean my situation changes. Therefore I just want to turn up, do the job you're paying me for, and go home.'

It seems like these middle-management social-climbing types think that if you don't have a plan to become CEO in the future then you're just not trying hard enough and should be laid off at the first opportunity.

Ideally, I want a job that is low stress and allows me to pursue my academic interests, but I don't think that exists.

If I stay in this job I want to do it well so will try hard and try to learn to do it the best I can, But I don't want to move up and get more responsibility and pressure. I struggle with the pressure now.

There is nothing wrong with being Fred from accounts all your life.

We prefer to refer to him as "He Who Must Not Be Named from Accounts"

the career should be a journey that can take you to more interesting places.

Sweet Jesus, is it you that writes those motivational posters?

[img] [/img]

It seems like these middle-management social-climbing types think that if you don't have a plan to become CEO in the future then you're just not trying hard enough and should be laid off at the first opportunity.

Until now, that's how it felt. At the risk of seeming niaive its now being made clear that it need not be the case e.g. Sample made of two of my colleagues being that one is happy to want to earn as much commission as possible before he retires, and the other to pay off his mortgage within 5 years -neither want management roles or progression.

Hitting 50 this year, I'm more interested in everything outside of work. Priorities I guess.

Same here, just want to get the next 5 years over with as painfully as possible then it's time to go.

I don't need any more money, I don't need development, my job has some interesting variations, so leave me alone please.

Then be honest, this is how the system falls down, rather than being honest people try and bull shit their way through these things. There is nothing wrong with being Fred from accounts all your life.

Oh I'm always very honest. This is not always a good thing.....

My boss knows how I feel and he respects it. I had a bit of a wobble a while back so he knows that i'm just not feeling moving up to next level at the moment. I'll never say never though, just needs to be at my pace.

My last job the annual review had a box for next steps: Develop in place. I always ticked that one.
Had ambitions when I was younger, but they were knocked out of me by successive shitty jobs/manangers (mainly managers), then redundancy over 50.
Wow, try finding a decent paid job in your 50s where you don't have to show how ambitious you are. Impossible. Now on the same salary I was in 1999. Ooh, what a career.

its about maximum pay and benefits for least amount of effort.

its a balance and only you can decide where on the scale for any particular role you wanna be

See differences between job and career, you can just turn up and do the same thing for the rest of your working days. Or you can work with it to develop

I have managed to do that. From humble drop out chemistry student to labourer to running big construction projects single handedly, all without once writing down what I need to achieve. All I want to achieve is more money (standard) and to turn out a quality finish, I still genuinely care about the end result and want to hand over quality buildings, which i think is key to my role.

I get these every year in teaching and used to hate them as I have no ambitions to take on a promoted post and just want to do a good job.

Now I quite enjoy the reviews as I've changed my mindset a bit. I view it as an opportunity to think about what I could be doing to do my job a bit better and what my employer could do to facilitate that. I'm also always really clear that 'do this thing that will eat into your spare time' is not an acceptable or realistic action plan so I avoid taking on extra stuff just to seem keen.

If the company is smart they'll use this as an opportunity to let you decide on which bits of your role to concentrate more on so you can be happier and better at your job.

I work for the Government. Last year I fastidiously completed my Development plan and make comprehensive notes on my progress. For this I was one of 3 in a department of 100 awarded with an 'exceeds expectations ' grading. For this I was rewarded with an actual pay cut, not just the usual real terms pay cut (pay freeze). This year I'm rather tempted to just leave it blank. 😕

YMMV etc

I just want an easy life.

My current job is easy and pays well, so I'm very happy with it.

I'll only change job if it's forced upon me.

That's my PDP.

I work for the Government. Last year I fastidiously completed my Development plan and make comprehensive notes on my progress. For this I was one of 3 in a department of 100 awarded with an 'exceeds expectations ' grading. For this I was rewarded with an actual pay cut, not just the usual real terms pay cut (pay freeze). This year I'm rather tempted to just leave it blank.

YMMV etc

That sucks - which dept? Normally an 'exceeds expectations' buys you a hefty 1% 8)

I can cope with doing this job at the moment, by which I mean I don't want to put my head in the **** oven every night, and I don't really want to cock that up by going for some sort of promotion or gain new skills which might mean my situation changes.

That feel a lot like me. Kind of content with pay Vs. quality of life etc...

Therefore I just want to turn up, do the job you're paying me for, and go home.

Pretty much.

It seems like these middle-management social-climbing types think that if you don't have a plan to become CEO in the future then you're just not trying hard enough and should be laid off at the first opportunity.

Not this one. Do a good job. Treat your colleagues right. Be a little flexible and you know I always make sure it comes back. Go home and have a good life. That's all I demand from my guys.

Last time I had to answer that question, it was:
[i]"I'm not really sure, so at the moment i'm concentrating on doing my job to the best of my ability"[/i]

My line is now "to pass on my skills / knowledge / experience before I retire"

Let's be honest most of this PD crap is just a way of getting you to do extra stuff "off the side of your desk" rather than developing yourself.

IME most of it is to give managers something to do that makes it look like they're mananging people.

My last review I scored something along the lines of 'consistently performs as expected'. Great I thought, let's end this conversation here then. Not so, my line manager wanted to set a development plan so I could move up to 'consistently performs above what is expected'. Got upset when I asked why I would want to do more than what was expected of me (and what I am paid for)? They couldn't understand why I would be happy doing what I am doing for the next umpteen years and not want to 'progress'? Well I have zero stress, can do what little work I have to do blindfolded with one arm tied behind my back and I get paid more than I spend. Why would I?

This is timely for me, currently staring at my own PDR/PDP

Finding it difficult to not be insanely negative. Perhaps I should put down "must work on negativity.. bet tough on negativity, and the causes of negativity"

*thinks* [s]regularly want to machine gun my place of work[/s] ...must work harder at harmonious relationships with colleagues

This year I have put that my aim/PDP is to "remain happy to be GP for next year, and that my own survival relies on factors above and beyond pushing myself to constantly improve year on year"!

hmmm, maybe not

Most people claim their top priority is money, but in reality it tends to fall down the list.

I'm always honest: it's in the top 2. The only other thing I want are new challenges.

But, as a senior manager (in name - pretty sure I'm middle management really) I'd be happy for people to work for me who give a shit but aren't desperate to climb the ladder. The challenge for me is to give them interesting stuff to do and to act as a filter for the senior management insanity that I have to deal with.

12 years till I retire, not to foul up so badly that I get sacked. Zero chance of a technical promotion, zero desire to go into management (have you tried herding cats) and zero chance to utilise my current skill set properly and apprentices are basically being trained as card changing chimpanzees so my skills are not required, until the ex-apprentices hit a fault that cannot be fixed by a reset or card changed.

Actually 11 years 360 days left....

The `"What do you want from work / my career" question?

1. From work - enjoyment.

2. From career - as much money as I can earn while I still can. See point 1.

Simple.

Anyone says anything else different is lying or clueless ... 🙄

What do you want from work / my career?

Just to keep getting away with it before anyone notices really 🙂

Funny thing is in theory I am supposed to have an appraisal every year and do a pdp. I never have in over 30 years. Never once.

Ohh this is good..
I'm approaching yet another PDR, appraisal whatever you want to call them.
Utter utter waste of everyone's time.
I shall ask them to refer to the last 10 or so appraisals as they've wholly failed to help me achieve what I've wanted yet I seem to have been forced into things I hate..

Looking forward to it!

Cor blimey I love this time of year. PDR's are emphatically piss poor at assessing anyone's actual interest in the role they play within an organisation. I have to set and read 18 of them this year ( last year was 35) then they're read by my (side) vertical colleague (for balance and appraisal) then comments passed back to me to assess then pass back those "independent" views plus my own.. and record the whole lot.
To be blunt, I can tell what 80% of them will write and know that 100% of that is just generic corporate goo cut n pasted off the previous years PDR. The other 20% range from "engage more with the business" crap to "I need guidance to achieve my goals" as this is a recorded document my team know how to play to the rules all too well.
I reason to them that whilst it's a painful process, it's also an opportunity to step back once in a while to have a good hard think about both application to the role and whether you like doing it, or see yourself doing it all again for another year.
We get too involved and too caught up in daily "stuff" to be objective, this is one small way of finding or seeking objectivity.

I'm fairly blunt in mine, if I'm seeking a move or opportunity or oppose a directional shift I'll happily say so.

I have to do this shite and also inflict it on others, and enjoy neither thing. But, I can't believe there are many jobs you can just stand still without getting out of date, losing skills, whatever? And if you are doing something that doesn't engage you don't you want to move on to something that does? Either means gritting your teeth and doing something about development, maybe even with a plan god help us? If only I wasn't so ****ing busy...

So glad I'm self employed.
So much crap is spoken over these appraisals.
Speak your mind and you probably get labeled as 'not a team player' 'lacking ambition' etc etc.

Surely the correct answer is: "To reduce the amount of bullsh*t in the business" 😉

My appraisal - boss leans across from his desk: "You all right?" "Yep" "OK, back to work"

I go to work for money. Thats it.

It's a bonus if the people I'm working with aren't pricks.

As a freelancer, I am usually on a job for 3 months to 6 months so can suffer it if necessary. It's not always necessary though.

My appraisal - boss leans across from his desk: "You all right?" "Yep" "OK, back to work"

Many years ago I got involved in getting the small company I worked for through adoption of QA procedures. We were all a bit dubious but at the end of the day it put in place some excellent improvements in our processes. On the back of that we decided to go for IIP (Investors of People). When properly implemented the PD process which came out of that was indeed aimed at helping staff with their aims. It was their development and it was up to them what they wanted. If they wanted to do the same job for 20 years that was fine.

In recent years my Mantra has been to

A) Do something I like doing. SO even if it's hard work, it's not always bad.
B) As long as it pays the bills who cares what the money is.
C) To get to the point where I don't have to do it 5 days a week

I've got A & B, helped by a bit of luck
C is looking likely within the next year or so.

How people work in offices all their lives is beyond me. Yes I have tried it. Not nice.

Work for yourself- its like having a mortgage on a house that you will one day own

Dont work for someone else its like renting a house

Salaries dont make you well off

Pension Funds and Property make you well off (when you are 50+ and knackered they give you options)

I'm increasing flexibility and agility in order to broaden my market offering and I need to up sell private dances in order to optimize my revenue.

Really I want to chug about in an old land Rover mending stuff and that, but given I'm working in corporateshitsville that ain't happening.

Really I want to chug about in an old land Rover mending stuff and that, but given I'm working in corporateshitsville that ain't happening.

You are me ? I fly around in shitty old planes fixing shit instead. It pays better. I save the difference ATM.

tjagain - Member
How old are you?

My line is now "to pass on my skills / knowledge / experience before I retire"

POSTED 23 HOURS AGO #

tjagain - Member
Funny thing is in theory I am supposed to have an appraisal every year and do a pdp. I never have in over 30 years. Never once.

POSTED 15 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

?

^^^

i'm starting to think tj and jamabalaya are one and the same jeykll & hyde type character...

I do wonder why companies still bother with them. Been a contractor for the past 10 years or so but wherever I've worked they seem to be a demotivating exercise for all concerned. Mainly because the management have pre-determined allocations of grading, no rewards or pay rises to hand out, and it's mostly used to determine candidates for redundancy. A low point in the year!

Despite having recently gone permie I still have a contractor attitude to it all. When I get bored of this job and want something different, or think I'm worth more, I'll go find something else to do.

Yes Bikepawl - both are correct. I was told a few months ago I would be having an appraisal. thought about it a bit and then decided that would be my line but the appraisal never happened.

Why are you stalking me?

Why are you stalking me?

It's your long, flowing, luxuriant hair, unfettered by helmetage.

It's like catnip for weirdos.

Salaries dont make you well off

Pension Funds and Property make you well off

Umm salaries fund the pension/property/investments.

Umm salaries fund the pension/property/investments.

Unless mummy and daddy does that for you.

I leave mine blank. The company will do what it wants anyway and they don't like my answers when they call me in for meetings. Last week I was summoned to the global hr boss office to explain why it was blank. Saying all the options on the table look ghastly did not go down too well. Also telling them that the job I do makes limited difference to me but the location and package do.
The most interesting job in the world is still crap overall if it pays nothing and you can't spend time with family or friends. Different things motivate different people but most corporations want to see a drive for ladder climbing.

To make it to the end of the day/career without being blown up.

Why are you stalking me?

Well, he is a panther. Probably comes naturally.

Aww FFS, just reminded me I've an appraisal next Tuesday.

Its going to be a balance of honesty and lies. They need to know a little, but not too much.

Curious thing for me, my previous industry I stuck out for 15 years, the current one is supposed to be the more rewarding, but in reality it really isn't. It's just a flippin ball ache and if I left I wouldn't miss it.

[i]Why are you stalking me?[/i]

Well, he is a panther. Probably comes naturally.

I like this: [i]I go to work for money. Thats it.[/i]

Thats it indeed....anything/everything else is a bonus or not, whatever the case may be.

tjagain - Member
Why are you stalking me?

POSTED 3 HOURS AGO #

I'm not, I was just curious. I can if you want though, I've got a bit of spare time.;-)

I'm a big fan of money. I like it, I use it, I have a little. I keep it in a jar on top of my refrigerator. I'd like to put more in that jar. That's where you come in.

Nothing to add apart from my pay rise this year, as a vaguely insignificant public servant, is £566.

Won't someone think if the [s]children[/s] crippling house renovation costs?

Won't someone think if the [s]children[/s] crippling house renovation costs?

A previous manager said "we all work to put a lot of Jan on the table". That still holds true today, everything else is just garnish.

I dream of £566 - a vaguely insignificant public servant.

I always disliked the side of this that I saw as corporate bullshit but felt there is value in taking time out to look at what you've done and what you want to do next or want out of your career. So it was valuable with a good manager and rubbish with a mediocre one.

After about 15 years working for big companies I now run a business with a small number of employees. It's a family business I didn't start up but I did introduce a very short and simple appraisal because I want to know the answer to the question, because I want to try to give people what they want out of their jobs and I want to know if they want to move on to do the kind of jobs I want done in the future. It's not an easy balancing act to get the process right but I like short and simple and I don't score people. However I do want some structure to make sure the conversation is useful and people are treated fairly. So far I think my team find this refreshing in comparison to not having it and I hope it'll make their careers more valuable to them.

Had my appraisal recently and this cropped up lol!
It essentially turned into me saying that with rising living costs, failing pound and competition paying more, I'm keeping my eyes open.