Okay… so not one of you filled out the survey to suggest a topic. This leaves me to select a topic all on my own. Good luck. This breakfast, I’d like us to give a shot at discussing a topic that has been on my mind quite often recently. That is: Parallel Lives – Finding your doppelganger in a different industry or career.
I often wonder about what would have happened to me had I grew up in Winnipeg or Toronto instead of Calgary. Would it have dramatically changed my life? Very likely. It’s fair to say that if I didn’t grow up in Calgary, I would probably have picked an industry that isn’t oil and gas. Who knows, had I grew up in Vancouver, I probably would be opposing the energy industry. Could you even imagine? What if I grew up in Winnipeg or Toronto? In Winnipeg, I could see myself still being a mechanical engineer, but perhaps I would have pursued a job with Richardson or StandardAero. If I grew up in the 6IX, I could see myself wanting a job with Royal Bank or Rogers Telecom. The question I have for myself is, would I be the same type of employee? What’s stopping me from moving to a new city tomorrow and trying out my skills in a completely different industry? Working for a gas transmission company isn’t my dream job. Growing up, I had higher ambitions than that. I wanted to be a racecar driver or astronaut. Sometimes I like to make believe that I am in fact, working for NASA or Red Bull Racing, to keep myself motivated and competitive at the workplace. I pretend that I’m working on something more exciting to keep that childlike spirit alive. What skills am I using in my current job, that could possibly transferable to my dream job? Or to take things further; if I were to get laid off tomorrow, and I am left to find a new job, how/where can I look to take my existing skills, and apply them in a competitive way?
So the leading questions for the breakfast on Tuesday is two-fold. I’d like us to discuss and share our doppelgangers.
- What was your dream job growing up?
- Do you think about what skills are transferrable from that job to your current one?
- Is there a doppelganger job out there for you?
- Can you think of any jobs which use the same skillsets as your current one?
Early Birds > Late Worms 