Risk. The more you take, the more you make. Conversely, you could end up losing your shirt. This is something you accept as a part of the investment process.
Which is why financial planners advise a judicious mix of instruments to hedge risk. If only you could do the same to your career.
Because those days of secure jobs you could bank on are gone. Today’s job market is as likely to throw pink slips at you as a salary slip. And this is something you have to accept—things are only likely to get worse.
If you don’t lose your job because of an industry churn or because of mass lay-offs, you could lose it if you mis-time a career switch. Or you could end up demoted if a sought-after transfer does not work out. But if the gamble you take pays off, you could win in spades. The trick is in knowing when to cut your losses and when to stick on. As in your investments, it all depends on how much risk you think you can afford to take.
Compounding the problem is the fact that the job market, like the stock market, is notoriously fickle. An industry that is feted this year could find itself in the doghouse for the next 12 months. The way out for you is to equip yourself with diverse skill sets and experience.
invested two years of his career trying to consolidate a prudent dealer network for his company at its Indore office. But he was the victim of office politics, and his job profile was changed overnight. “It was a demotion,” says Shendurnikar, who quit the company to start a snack food business with a friend.
A year later, the friend vanished, leaving behind debts of Rs 3 lakh. Shendurnikar moved to Mumbai, hoping for greener pastures, and for the next two years, tried out a variety of temporary jobs. Finally, a low-profile job selling insurance at Max New York Life helped him find his feet again. A promotion, salary hike, a new job offer and Shendurnikar was back on track. Today, he is sales manager, Aviva Life Insurance. It’s something like finding a multi-bagger after a series of unfortunate investment decisions.
The most common way of dealing with a job loss is to head back to your comfort zone. Says Pravin Tatavarti, managing director, Allegis India, a staffing solutions firm: “Soon after the 2000 dotcom crash, a lot of people had lost their jobs and investments. These people went back to their original professions like banking and marketing.”
As we’ve already said, you have nothing to rely upon but your skills, so make sure you spend time and money in honing those skills that will always have a market. When you invest a large amount in a single mutual fund scheme or company, you track its every movement, don’t you? Or at least make sure you read all that is written about it.
It’s the same with your career. Keep an eye on market movements; you should be able to read the writing on the wall and move out before you are directly hit by any adverse movements. If you’ve cut your losses and quit before you are fired, don’t make a higher salary or designation your immediate priority when you re-enter the job circuit.
Five years ago, when Delhibased Sarvesh Kumar switched over from print to electronic media, he had to compromise on salary. “But it was an investment in a new skill set,” he says. Dividends came a year later when he bettered his salary with a new job at a leading television channel.
Kumar says: “Despite average jobs, I could survive because of proper financial planning. My new job and increased salary will enable me to fulfil all my dreams.” A bad job is a bad investment.
Financial planner Michael P Haubrich of the US-based Financial Service Group, writes: “When looking at the return on life, if your job is a non-performer dragging down the rest of the assets in your life portfolio, such as relationships and health, then we need to make some changes in that portfolio too. Failing to do so could jeopardise your other life goals.”
