This authored article by Alok Kumar – Managing Partner SCIKEY originally published in Education Times (The Times of India).

These days, job and stress have become two words that seem to resonate with one another. Often, people stress over their job and even get anxious about not having enough projects at hand. It has become rare for someone to talk about their love for a job. While this may appear unusual, it is a reflection of the mindset that people carry when they go for work. Understanding this difference will help one identify if an individual has a ‘job mindset’ or ‘career mindset’ while doing his/her profession.

Let us decode the puzzle – are we doing a job, or are we building a career? For those who are merely doing a job, the prime motive is almost always to earn for livelihood. We do a job for short term gain and outlook. We move on when we get a better deal, but finally, it is about investing in now without thinking about the future. Focus on gaining knowledge takes a back seat. This leads to slow growth and many a time, even job loss. We also have to acknowledge that most of the job losses impact those who are not useful to their organisations, and it always points out to people who work with a job mindset.

A job mindset indicates a mindset of working for a fixed time and not for the committed outcome. Such a mindset always pushes us to avoid taking any additional responsibility, instead look at opportunities to push our responsibility to someone else. Job minded people will rarely be happy with their work. They leave their workplaces angry and tired and find it difficult to create lasting friends at their workplaces. Values and culture are not a binding factor for job minded people. Their focus mostly remains for short term gains and on the next opportunity to make more money. Needless to say, as job minded people get old, they increasingly feel their jobs are a burden that they must carry to manage their livelihood. Job mindset impacts every aspect of their life, from professional growth to personal relationships.

Career mindset is different on several levels. It is about commitment and developing knowledge by taking more work, even going out of the way. For a career-minded person, there is nothing short term. They think long and keep their focus on the journey more than the outcome. Growth comes naturally to such people. Their bosses and colleagues like them and more often, are made part of crucial decision making. New responsibilities come naturally to them, and they are rarely without a job even for a short time. The most important indicator of a career-minded person is their enjoyment of their work. They leave their workplaces happy and look forward to the next day and enjoy their time off without stress. Career-minded people develop lasting friends and are always high in demand. They are the first to be offered the best opportunities and excellent salaries. They are the ones who go up to the top of the pyramid and become the leaders that the industry needs most.

You can also read: How to make the right career choice?

We must question ourselves every day if we are going to work with a job mindset or with a career mindset. If we stay too long with a job mindset, we might find it challenging to get a footing into the career track later. Our situations after that will keep pushing us for survival and making any effort to get into a career mode complicated. Thinking and working with a career mindset right from the beginning of their professional life is something; every professional should be doing.

Simon Sinek has very nicely defined the difference between doing a job vs. having a career. “Working hard for something we do not care about is called stress; working hard for something we love is called passion.” Let us work with passion; let us think of building a career.

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