Choosing your next career move
This is an edited transcript of Episode 006 of Design, In Confidence, mindfulness & design podcast with Stefano Bellucci Sessa’s learnings on creative confidence, emotional intelligence, and mental health.
How do you mindfully choose your next career move?
Many times I’ve asked myself:
- “Should I stay in this job, or leave?”
- “Should I apply for this job?”
- “Which job offer should I accept?
- “Should this freelance collaboration become a full-time contract?
I struggled a lot with these questions.
I started asking them to myself late in my career, after staying too long in my first job. I feel guilty that I wasn’t aware of all the compromises I was making.
This sense of guilt created a vicious circle – I didn’t want to make compromises anymore.
I started staring at my next career move or project, and like Frodo from The Lord of the Rings stares at the One Ring, I could hear a voice:
Your next project needs to be perfect.
To break this vicious circle, I accept that every choice will come with some sort of compromise.
The framework I used helps me accept them, but also acknowledge the benefits.
The framework of the 7 rings
The framework helps me compare my current situation with potential next career steps, so I can make an informed decision.
It makes me think of 7 different aspects:
- People
- Anecdotes
- Learnings
- Requisites
- Impact
- Finance
- Passion
They are obvious – that’s why we might take them for granted, instead of mindfully paying attention to them.
And that’s why I like to call them “the seven rings”, to remind me of that are…. “preciousss”, but hold so that “there is no one to rule them all”.
Extreme focus on one will bring sacrifices on the others, impacting in the short, medium or long term on well-being.
I’m won’t suggest which ones are more important than others, or to give importance to all.
Pay equal attention to all the impacts of a career choice on your life, and then mindfully decide their importance.
Their importance to you, in this moment of your life.
Don’t give too much importance to me either
Don’t compare yourself with others, and me.
I’ll be using examples from my life, aware of the privileges I was born with and those that earn with time – including the savings that help me start the ‘Design, in Confidence’ podcast.
I share my examples to bring to life how you might use the framework for your specific situation. For example, in different moments of my life:
- I didn't make Finance compromises,
(e.g. a salary was too low for my needs) - I made Finance compromises for a trade-off on another ring
(e.g. a low salary, but there were many Learnings opportunities) - I made a temporary Finance compromise
(e.g. a low starting salary, but aiming to have a pay rise soon) - I compensate for the Finance compromise with another ring
(e.g. volunteering but limiting the effort required)
Let’s take the time to mindfully pay attention to each ring then.
The Finance Ring
The loudest ring since society always talks about money, costs, and investments.
The Finance Ring is an example of how the Rings are not black and white, but on a spectrum. In this case, the spectrum goes from “Money, can’t buy happiness” and “ Money is power”.
- Yes, money can’t buy happiness, but it helps
Obvious to say, but remember to fulfil your basic: needs, eating, breathing, a shelter. But to also use money to invest in the other Rings.
Like paying for a course to Learn something new.
Or the peace of mind of not needing an additional job in your spare time – so you can spend it with People.
Or take a sabbatical to focus on a passion project (like a podcast 😉) - Yes, money is power, but power is nothing without control.
I won’t spend too much time here – It’s basically what all the cheesy or serious movies show you, with a guy focusing on money and undermining the rest of their life and their loved ones.
The People Ring
The People Ring has two different aspects:
- Culture
Working with nice people brings to better teamwork and a sense of belonging, while disking colleagues is a big compromise.
I personally (and fortunately)had the opposite problem – colleagues that feel like friends or a family, that became a disincentive to leave when a job started bringing too many compromises.
It’s ok to leave colleague-friends.
If they are friends, and your next job gives you a good work-life balance, you will meet them anyway.
- Career progression
Sometimes we collaborate with someone for future career moves.
(e.g. a client that might become an employer, a good networking opportunity, or a company that looks well on your CV)
In the case of having that company name on your CV, the People Ring overlaps with the Anecdotes Ring.
The Anecdotes Ring
The Anecdote Ring reminds me that current and next career moves are the credentials of future career moves.
If you want a specific job in years, you might require you
- have worked with specific People
- have specific Learnings
- can satisfy specific Requisites
- have achieved a specific Impact
- are on a specific Finance level
- have Passion for what you do
I go into detail about the Anecdotes Ring every time I write about portfolios.
The Learning Rings
The Learning Ring is one of my favourites. I tend to learn from anything, but sometimes this mindset doesn't make me realise whether I’m making compromises on the Learning Ring itself. For example when:
- I’m learning things I don’t need
- I’m learning something I already know
- I missing better learnings on a different project
The Learning Ring is the one mistakenly compromised by many.
We learn a lot at school or during an internship. But later in our careers, we get used to our jobs and do not realise we stopped learning.
This risks us to make our ability to satisfy the Requirements of future projects.
Some environments might leave more room for learning than others (like startups, or having a good manager) where compromises on the Requirement are more accepted.
The Requirement Ring
Most of the time, you’re going to compromise between how much you will learn and how much you’re really required to be able to do the job.
But the Requirement Ring goes beyond ability.
It also includes effort and time.
Those depend on the location/schedule of the activities and the expectations from the stakeholders (and yourself).
Not making compromises on the Requirement Ring (e.g to make less on Rings like Learning, Finance, or Anecdotes) is typical of under-resourced projects or with the mentality “Fake it until you make it”.
I’m a fan of doing things that are “Good enough” – but making extreme compromises on Requirement Ring, impacts negatively on wellbeing and the next Ring.
The Impact Ring
The Impact Ring has two different aspects:
- Agency
Is the project likely to be successful? It’s not easy for many to understand (and admit) that a project isn’t feasible. Too many compromises on the Impact Ring come in projects “set up to fail” (as a consequence of compromises on the overall Requirement Ring), - Purpose
Is the scope of the project something you care about?
Will you be satisfied when the aim of the project will be accomplished?
In a world with many big problems (from social injustice to the climate emergency), I do want my Impact to be part of the solution.
For years, I didn’t make any compromises on this Ring, but my life has changed. And it’s okay, this framework will help me compromise mindfully, managing my wellbeing.
Sometimes making extreme compromises on the Impact Ring are useful.
This happens when instead of the project’s purpose, you have your own purpose on any other rings (e.g. focusing your attention on Learnings).
For example, Passion projects.
The Passion Ring
I wasn’t really sure whether to add the Passion Ring – it feels dependent on all the others (like well-being or work-life balance).
However, many people do projects “just because they like to do it”.
Something makes them passionate about it.
Something abstract.
That’s why I left the Passion Ring here a little bit undefined. Maybe I will define it in future.
Or help me define it.
Let me know how you mindful design your next career move
You might find these more useful than the 7 Rings
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