Long term job strategies

There are two considerations here: What you want to do, and how to do it.

What you want to do

This is career-based strategy, and picking your way through a career can be really tough. Your strategy is inevitably affected by the nature of your career.

You've got a target. It's a useful start, but it's not yet a basis for a strategy. Before you decide 'how' to do something, you need to be clear about ?what? is supposed to be achieved.

This is extremely important-

A career really is a lifetime commitment, and that commitment affects your whole life. Anything you decide to do must bear that fact in mind. Be realistic, and be honest.

There are risks. Even the goals can be illusory. These days it's quite possible to work towards a career which will have changed beyond recognition in ten years or less. The target does move. Priorities also change over any long period of time. The time factor is extremely important. You can get locked in to a lack of ability to change course because of your level of commitment, which has narrowed your options. That's dangerous. Worse, your original goal can become steadily more outdated.

Lateral thinking does help. You have to enlarge your thinking to make it work effectively, though. Think beyond 'the job' and 'the career'. This is a very personal decision, and it has to stack up in relation to your personal goals, as well. You could be many years older when you reach your goal.

Basic point: It just won't work if you can't commit yourself. If you have reservations, you probably have reasons for those reservations.

Understand your own feelings.

A few questions for yourself:

Is this really what I want to do? What about everything else? What about a nice life, for example?
Is this going to be doable, realistically?
What don't I like about this idea? (You can figure out what you don't like pretty quickly. It's a good guide to any long term commitment.)
What other options are there? (There?s always a few. Don't ignore them.)
Family commitments?
Relationships?
Risks, liabilities, cash outlays? (Make sure you know these, pin them down, and make certain you're covered.)

Let's say you're OK on these questions, there's no obstacles. You're happy with the goals, and you're sure you can achieve them.

Now comes the strategy, how to do it.

In military terms, strategy means your major, large scale methodologies for fighting a war. Tactics are the small scale methods. You need both. Good strategy can be defeated by bad tactics, and vice versa. This is about how you approach your objectives.

Strategy means logistics, to start with. You must have the resources to carry out your plans. You will need:

Time to do your qualifications, get your experience, get yourself properly organized. Time and strategy are inseparable. Make sure your time frames are realistic, and stick to them as much as you can.
Money. This is where your job really starts paying for itself. Pay everything upfront, don't burden yourself with overhanging expenses. Make sure any course fees or college degrees are completely covered, or covered to the point of being a minimal problem.
The right environment, where life isn't dropping bombs on you. Fighting the daily grind is a job in itself, get that under control. You must be able to operate effectively, do your courses, and keep your career out of the quicksand.
Maneuverability. You might find you have to adapt your plan to changed circumstances. Points 1-3 will help, but be sure you can deal with any extra work, or extra commitments. This is time and money management, most of the time, but relationships and other commitments have to be factored in. You have to be able to go around problems and obstacles, or you can find yourself seriously delayed, or blocked.
Intelligence. In a job or career, this means currency of information. Plans can become outmoded by changes. Jobs can cease to exist. You have to be aware of anything that affects your plans, ASAP.
Resources. These are like reserve forces. It's best to have some extra money for difficult times, and be able to take the shocks when they happen. Insurance can cover major costs, and saving money is always a good idea.

Tactics.

Be selective about your battles. Does this one need to be fought?
What's the quickest, surest way to get things done?
Which method minimizes risks and financial casualties?
Don't get into pointless conflicts.
What sort of support do you need?

These points can apply to going for a job on your path to your goal:

Does this job bring you closer to your goal, or not?
What can you do to make sure you get this job?
Is there any risk of a career setback because you don't get the position?
It can happen that an important job (like your first management job) is either so rare or so hard to get that you might have to wait for years for another chance. In which case you can be fully qualified, and getting nowhere. Tactically, that's not where you want to be.
?Conflicts? can include situations, as well as people. if the new job destroys your reliable time frames and upends your stable domestic routines for a few extra bucks, is it worth it?
Can you get good references, and bring a lot of support to your claim for the job?

You need to be ultra-alert when carrying out your plans, tactically and strategically. You can win a battle and lose the war. Your strategy and your tactics must be able to work together. If you're a 'people' person, your tactics in networking might be your best strategic asset. If you're a 'product' person, where your work is your greatest asset, that's your strategic ace.

Also important:

This is vital, and you should watch out every day for this problem:

Everybody has deficiencies, areas where they need to improve.

So do it.

You can sabotage yourself, and all your plans, with a few lousy incidents. You can come unstuck if your personal skills are creating problems, or if your product isn't up to standards. You can do yourself a lot of damage, if you're seen to be lacking in fundamental capabilities.

Consider a situation where you've done all that work, put in all that effort, and it all falls to bits because of one avoidable mistake. It's not worth it. Strategy only works effectively when it's carried out on a sound basis, and you can deliver the performance.

Long term job strategy should be treated as if it were a pregnancy.

The expected result is a healthy baby, not a camel.

Make sure that's what happens.

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