ENABLING OPPORTUNITIES

Not everyone has the same opportunity to go to college or attend the best universities, nor does everyone have the same access to job opportunities. Still, many opportunities are available that we might not recognize or take advantage of. How we approach these opportunities or respond to them can influence our career development.

Approaches and Responses to Enabling Opportunities

How do we approach and respond to enabling opportunities? Do we actively pursue opportunities and take advantage of them? Do we cheerfully accept opportunities when presented? Or do we resist or sabotage opportunities? Clearly, people approach and respond to opportunities very differently. Three factors affect the way we approach opportunities: (1) the value we place on ourselves, (2) the value we place on the opportunity, and (3) the fit between our aspirations and opportunities.

When a person places a high value on herself, she may be more confident about taking on new opportunities and more enterprising in entering into new educational programs, new assignments, and new organizations and networks. On the other hand, she may be somewhat cavalier toward opportunities, refusing to pursue avenues she feels are below her skills or capabilities. When a person places a low value on herself, she may be less willing to venture forth into new opportunities, fearing failure and disappointment. The concept of self-efficacy, which is addressed in Chapter 4, pertains not only to the effort a person puts into her job, but also to the effort she puts into pursuing self-development opportunities.

When a person places a high value on opportunities, she will presumably seek them out, try to learn more about them, and consider a wide range of choices. In addition, she will not burn bridges, being more likely to leave doors of opportunity open for future consideration by building networks and relationships. When a person places a low value on opportunities, she may be less interested in pursuing them and more willing to close doors. It can be a fatal career mistake.

When a person places a high value on having a good fit between herself and opportunities, she may be more selective and less flexible. Selectivity can work out well when the person is able to get the job she always wanted, but very often there are trade-offs for being too selective, such as remaining in a job with a lower salary or job benefits. Moreover, many highly selective people never get the job they want or must wait many years before an opening becomes available. Still, a bad fit is almost certain to result in disappointment, so a person should give careful thought when considering that next job opportunity and how well the job fits her aspirations.

Types of Opportunities

While some opportunities can be “purchased,” be obtained through networking, or become available under special programs, some opportunities are illicit or even false if the proposed benefits are misrepresented, are misinterpreted, or disappear. Still, most opportunities are achieved the old-fashioned way: they are earned.

Purchased opportunities are obtained by direct or indirect payments. Employment opportunities can be “purchased” in the sense that someone who can afford a good education will have better employment opportunities. And a person with financial resources may have the opportunity to create her own business or buy into an existing business. She can also accept employment opportunities that do not pay a high salary but will ultimately lead to career advancement, an option not available to the person living day-to-day constrained by her inability to relocate, her transportation options, or her childcare needs.

Opportunities through networking are available in high schools and colleges by joining clubs, committees, and special projects. Professional associations, community and alumni organizations, and political parties also provide broad opportunities to network that can lead to job opportunities. Learning the art of building networks and nurturing relationships is also good preparation for organizational leadership.

Generally, clubs, organizations, and associations require effort and commitment above and beyond normal schoolwork or job requirements, so a person must learn to work more efficiently in order to get everything done—an additional benefit that is noticed and appreciated. On the other hand, over-commitment and failure to accomplish expected work can send the opposite message of being unreliable or even incompetent, so learning one’s limits in order to make wise choices is another valuable lesson.

Affirmative action programs provide special employment and educational opportunities for women, minorities, and disabled persons. While there is a general range of opportunities provided to people in American society and some people do have better opportunities than others, there have been periods in the history of our country where some groups, most notably women, African Americans, and American Indians, were systematically denied access to opportunities.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlined protections against discrimination with the goal of providing equal rights and opportunities to minorities. The Supreme Court recently affirmed the legality of programs to increase minority representation based on a long history of inequality, but suggested these programs could some day be voided if true equal opportunity can be achieved.

Special enabling opportunities for the underprivileged might involve training programs or employment arranged by social service agencies. Special opportunities are also provided for gifted and talented students. Once employed, an individual can benefit from mentoring programs that help new employees navigate their new work environment and leadership development programs for employees targeted as future leaders in the organization.

Illicit opportunities—ranging from cronyism to benefits from sexual favors—are illegal or at least violate social norms or standards. Because quid pro quos can be used to improperly open doors to opportunities, there are codes of conduct that set out limitations on accepting gifts, using public resources or inside information, and engaging in inappropriate office relationships. The underground economy is predicated on the illicit activities of providing services below the market value by not claiming earned income and evading taxes and Social Security payments. The practice of employing immigrants who entered the United States illegally shows how an illicit opportunity that began as a minor event can evolve into a major social dilemma.

False opportunities can be the result of misrepresentation by an educational institution or employer, or they can occur from one’s own self-deception, misperception, or lack of information. Often, a person will think she is headed in the right direction but has misinterpreted working conditions or terms of employment or has failed to perform fact-finding about an organization.

A student might be awarded a degree without receiving adequate education, or she might be led to believe her degree will lead to a promising career, while the actual prospects for employment are poor. Once on the job, a person might be led to believe she is in line for a promotion, when a decision has already been made to promote someone else.

Ultimately, most opportunities are earned. While people complain about special privileges of the rich and famous, unscrupulous employers benefiting from illicit opportunities, or special opportunities for certain people or groups, even people in these situations must prove themselves once in the educational program or on the job. An opportunity is a door, not a guarantee.

Most successful organizations place a high value on their staff and invest heavily in employee development; they place a high value on providing developmental opportunities and a range of assignments for their employees; and they place a high value on having a good fit between a person and her job. While some opportunities may be purchased, or obtained from networking or special programs, ultimately opportunities must be earned. Organizations need to be wary about succumbing to illicit or false opportunities that may ultimately place them at legal risk or create distrust among workers.

Not all doors to educational opportunities are open to everyone. But neither do all opportunities depend on only the financial condition of the individual or her family. There are many ways to open doors to opportunities—prepare for opportunities through research and planning, set goals and identify how to achieve them, and seek opportunities and recognize them when they appear.

When opportunities arise, step forward and embrace them. Show gratitude to those who help along the way, and be diligent about not burning bridges. Often, setting the groundwork leads to future opportunities, so be careful to treat everyone with respect because the person slighted today may be the best resource for a new opportunity tomorrow.