I recall when I first found out about virtual easter eggs, the cool little treats developers sometimes hide in software, apps and games. What a nice way to reward insight, determination or just plain clicking about.
Recently, this got me thinking about easter eggs for our careers. If some of the good things that happen throughout our careers can be thought of as career easter eggs, is there a way to make more of them happen? Is it possible for each of us to sow seeds and help more delightful little breaks occur in our future? Not only is this possible, I reckon you’re already making it happen through every good deed, every willing effort and every attempt to do your best. This is the stuff career easter eggs are made of.
The kind of right stuff I’m talking about is the extra mile you go to do something well. The extra effort you put in to make sure a colleague, customer or boss goes away happy. The thank-you note you send when an interview doesn’t go your way. The dedication you show when you leave a company so your work and your reputation don’t suffer. The support you offer even when it isn’t part of your job. These are all great career deeds. They create good feelings all round in the present and some of them go on to create career easter eggs to light up our future.
Career easter eggs can take the shape of a call out of the blue when a new job comes up, a great reference that totally blows you away, an unexpected bonus, the opportunity to develop new skills you always wanted, the realisation you have a new partner or friend. None of us know where our easter eggs are buried or when they’ll show up but you can be sure they are there. Every good career deed has easter egg potential. Not every egg will hatch but that’s OK because it only takes a few to make all the difference.
Career easter eggs can happen to you
[Image courtesy of praktyczny.przewodnik on Flickr.com]
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