Build Identity Capital as Your Most Important Investment
You may have wondered why there are people who can easily get and build their careers. On the other hand, you find yourself are struggling to find your best one. If you find yourself in this situation, you do not have to blame yourself as this is very common and many people just experience it.
The answer to your astonishment could be Identity Capital. Dr. Meg Jay, through his book The Defining Decade, explained Identity Capital as “the currency we use to metaphorically purchase jobs or relationships.” What is meant by currency here is the accumulation of education, experience, relationships, etc. which can be used as our capital or investment to get the best return in the future. The earlier we have that, the higher the return we will get.
To get everything in Identity Capital is not something easy and can be obtained instantly. You can start by following these tips:
1. Start your career in a place where you can ‘grow’. You can start with what you want to learn to find your first career. If you are currently employed, you can ask yourself ‘did I get the skills I really need’ or ‘how this job changed me from before I worked’.
2. Expand your relation. Instead of playing with the same circle, you can start dealing with people outside your discipline. The relation here is not limited to people who are at the same age as you, since you can also learn a lot from people who have much more experience.
3. Focus on yourself. We know that as social media evolves, many of us are comparing ourselves to other people’s achievements. This makes us feel insecure and try to get lots of ‘likes’ and validation from others. From now on, you better do everything for yourself because you are walking on the line of your own life which is exactly different from others’ lines.
4. Make your career as a narrative. With so many careers out there, of course we are confused about what to become in the future. If so, you need to make your career as a narrative of your life journey based on what you like and your skills, not as an achievement. There are ups and downs in every jobs. If you only make your career as a main goal, you may find challenges that will stress you out. Remember, even in someone’s dream job, he/she will definitely find boredom.
About ⅔ of our lifetime wage growth happens within the first 10 years of your career. If you are still in it, congratulations! You just need to live the narrative of your life while taking it as an effort to build your Identity Capital.
-Northern Ingo-
