A New Gig and the Benefit of a Solid Legacy

With the downturn in the Oil & Gas Sector, I found myself unemployed - and have been for the past couple months.

It took awhile for it to filter through my network, but eventually the right people found out I was available and their unsolicited recommendations to others outside my network lead to me receiving a call about an opportunity that wasn't posted on any Job Board, and it was a perfect fit - leveraged all my past experiences, skill sets, and capabilities.

The reason I'm posting though is to provide a spot of advice to those young-bloods who are at the dawn of their careers. Every day you are at work, you are writing a page of your legacy and with every person you meet, you are developing your network.

Your legacy will not be written by your potential or your capability (important as those are, don't get me wrong). But, what is really important is what you are doing now, how you are doing it, and how you are treating those around you - at every level in the organization... that is what your legacy is going to be built upon. People are going to remember you for what you 'did' not what you 'could have done' at any moment in your career.

Combine a history of quality work, a solid work ethic, a high level of professional integrity, and character with a 'maintained' and nurtured network of people that you have interacted with (from supervisors, to accounting, to the receptionist, to vendors, to customers) and you will have a solid legacy that you can depend on and that will help guide you to the next opportunity when your current one dries up.

This is so important, especially for me being non-degreed. If I cold-apply through a job board, or mail in a resume, for a position similar to what I've been doing or will be doing, it would get immediately sent to the circular file simply because I don't have a degree. It wouldn't even get to the hiring Manager, who could see past that, as the unknowing HR person would toss it for not meeting the basic criteria.

Anyway, I'm getting overly verbose. So, going to summarize. My latest opportunity came solely through the unsolicited recommendations of past associates because of a solid legacy. So, young-blood... before you send that terse e-mail, or be rude to a coworker, or submit a less-than-quality work product - remember - it is going to become a part of your lasting legacy, and it will be remembered.

How do you want your legacy to read? It's up to you, as every day you're writing a new page.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Be well, going to be offline for awhile whilst I relocate and get settled in.

JavaHead