Am I In The Right Profession?

This real life story of Sudesh (name changed) is one many from us can relate to.

Sudesh was a star performer at the Bangalore office of an MNC, heading Customer Service department. Though not having multiple degrees in his kitty, he was an exceptional performer throughout his tenure.

After company leadership underwent a massive change following recession, the decision to downsize Customer Service department was taken, rather almost entire department was obliterated.  Sudesh was retained on account of his incredible record and was moved to Creative Services department.


Sudesh though not totally thrilled at the prospect, went ahead with full gusto into the new profile. But even after giving more and more of himself to his new work, he wasn’t able to perform the way he used to, in the Customer Service department. 
The traits and ideas did not come to him naturally, required for a job like this. This slowly started to leave him unsatisfied and frustrated. After a couple of months, he was on the verge of mild depression.

Too bad for a person of  his caliber!

Our experts asked him simple questions, like- What is your idea of having a good time with your partner or where do you enjoy your most?

Sudesh answered, going to our same favorite place in Whitefield and eating our same favorite Kadhai Paneer and Naan. 

After a couple of more questions, his preferences made it clear to the expert that he is good with process oriented detailed work. He is unable to cope up with this new job because it requires multitasking and thinking outside the box and this is not this strength. 

He was suggested to take up more research oriented role. Sudesh moved to another firm as a Customer Services Head and as expected began to enjoy his work once again.

Due to our individual nature, we are better at certain kinds of jobs and are not so good at others. 
A major chunk of our waking hours are spent while we are on the job. 
Needless to say then how crucial it is for us to properly evaluate our intrinsic strengths and choose a profession where we can apply those traits. 

If you are confused- which most of us are-it is a good thing to seek advice from experts or take career tests designed by renowned psychologist to identify your core competencies.

This story is based on real life cases handled by Dr Jacob Raju. We have changed the names to respect privacy.