Do You Take Risks for Career Advancement?

If you play it safe in the current economic climate and do your work each day with no thought of career advancement, no one could blame you. Keeping the job you currently have is probably your focus and you may be thinking there is plenty of time to consider career advancement in the future. 

 

If this is your approach no one will blame you for thinking this way. However, people are taking risks and making career advancements and there is no reason for you to think that just because there is an economic crisis that you must settle for what you have. As someone has said, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Being cautious is different to being negative about risk. As you consider the impact of risk on your decisions, you can make life-changing decisions even when there is risk involved.

 

Risk taking is a very personal experience for most of us. Some of us will take risks emotionally, but we won’t take risks financially. Others will take financial risks, but avoid physical risks. Taking a risk for career advancement is both an emotional and financial risk, but as in all risk taking, once the hazards are assessed, and the appropriate actions taken to minimize them, we often can complete the riskiest of activities safely and then enjoy the fruits of our achievements.

 

How would you describe your risk taking? We can measure our risk taking willingness by asking ourselves if we are tend to be more cautious or more impulsive when we are considering different types of risks. Do we take a while to make decisions or are we more inclined to be impulsive? Do we impulsively spend money on a new electronics gadget, but give a cautious yes to going on a date with someone we have not met before? Do we happily jump out of a plane with a parachute attached, but would never invest money on the stock exchange? 

 

If you are considering changing your job, err on the side of caution, don’t be impulsive, but consider the advantages of taking the risk. If you chose to take this journey, you would not be alone on it. Many people have already done this. Some have left work altogether and opened their own home businesses, others have returned to study and up skilled so they can apply for work as better paying positions become available.