How to find and identify the right opportunities: A lesson in how to learn about one’s self and forward trajectory.
By Victoria Reeser
This is a version of a piece written for me by friend Victoria, when I asked her ‘What am I doing?! And what should I do?’. Read my interview with Victoria here.
For most people, there are a few lucky times in their life when someone identifies the right opportunity that sets their life off in the right trajectory at the right time. An experience where, looking back, one may think that everything just fell into place, or was meant to be. I’ve experienced this a couple times in my life. Once, a passing comment about which university I would choose led to a years-long endeavour to join a university far out of my social league, that I am by far better for pursuing.
What about the other 99% of the time when no opportunities seem to be striking? The base is fully loaded by the opposing team and if the next batter doesn’t strike out, you fear you may lose the game. Or more mundanely, you are content where you are now, but want to feel confident you’ll seize the right opportunity when it comes your way. This is the list for those times.
1. Knowing the right opportunity for oneself takes training.
Most opportunities don’t arrive via email with a multiple step plan and expected timeline of events.
Instead, knowing which opportunities are right for you often means having a general knowledge about your ideal multiple step plan and timeline. Easy, right?
Absolutely not. So here are three primary sources from which you can build your knowledge of what goals you’d like to achieve:
Reading often and of varying types – fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks, religious books, news articles, ketchup bottles. Take note of what you like and dislike from characters, ingredients lists, etc.
Meet people in your and other fields. Networking isn’t just for people looking for a new job. Learning about people’s pursuits can help you evaluate your own, in addition to possibly leading to a new opportunity. Don’t forget to be nice to everyone!
Attend courses and other learning events. Like my friend’s friend who broke up with her fiancé would say, “Invertir en ti mismo” then take time off work to travel. And if you don’t believe her, there are many sources that say the best asset to invest in is yourself.
2. Don’t wait, actively search.
Now that you’ve come to a better understanding of yourself, there’s no excuse not to click on a company page that looks interesting, or to volunteer for a role in your company, or to pursue that hobby you don’t know will anywhere besides an avenue for stress relief. Ways to find these opportunities are luckily the same as the list as learning about yourself.
3. Some opportunities come at the wrong time.
It’s not uncommon for an opportunity you find interesting to come at a time you’re pursuing something else. The best course of action is to communicate gratefulness and that although you won’t be pursing that opportunity now, it is something you may be interested in doing later. I know people who were approached about a role two years before they finally took it.
Don’t forget to check in on interesting opportunities. Think of it like DMing your cousin that lives in a different state once a year to check in, or liking their post with them posing with a dog that you’re not sure if it’s theirs or a friend’s. Essentially, although you’re not completely sure what’s going on with them, you don’t want the opportunities to disappear entirely.
4. Sometimes the right opportunity is the one you’re currently pursuing.
Often, we’re constantly led to believe that we’re not achieving our best and we’re ignoring or are unaware of what we should really be doing in life. When those thoughts creep in, ask yourself, who got you to believe that? If the answer is someone on Instagram telling you about how they started a successful online business and will offer you the full story behind a paywall, maybe don’t take it seriously.
There is value in sticking with something. There is an opportunity to achieve mastery of something. Some people achieve higher paid roles by jumping between companies and go up the ladder – fine. Others have an identifiable skill that other organisations would value. They’re the ones that are more likely to be asked to consult or are poached.
Ask yourself:
Do I enjoy what I’m working on? If yes, you may want to keep doing it. If no, why?
What opportunities would be possible if I did build mastery in this field?
Are the cons to staying worth the potential pay-off? Could I achieve the same level of mastery elsewhere with fewer cons?
What are some opportunities in my current role I could pursue and how do I communicate that?
For example, my answer to these questions are:
Yes, I enjoy being an environmental economist. I can use the skills I learn at my company to go onto other pursuits I’ve identified as possible goals. The cons, though irritating, don’t outweigh the training and potential opportunities I receive, and because of the nicheness there are not many other places I would want to work at the level I currently am. I like a few parts of my role more than others and am interested in pursuing things I see others doing. I meet regularly with my boss to discuss this as my likes and dislikes are constantly evolving.
5. Pass it forward.
Now that you know how to identify opportunity, pass that knowledge on to the next person. Kindness pays itself forward, and if we want to live in a world with more equal opportunity, we need to create it. ∎