In many ways, a career is like a child.  It starts out small, and then grows up.  And much like a parent will put a lot of time and energy into making sure that a child will grow into a successful and well rounded adult, the same came be said for those who go on to “raise” a successful and well rounded career.  There are many parallels to be drawn here, so let’s look into how the advice of the parenting community cam be utilized in the formation of your career.

“Put Your Child Career First”

A lot of parents put their child first in their lives.  They, in essence, make their child the most important thing in their lives.  Now, I’m not advocating that you make your career the most important thing in your life, but I do think that it should be ONE of the most important things.

“Spend Your Time Wisely”

Having a child means that you will have to rethink how you spend your time.  Likewise, your career will require you to manage your time.  You will need to budget your time so that you can move forward in your career, and you will also have to spend time to improve on the necessary skills.

“Be A Good Role Model”

The parents of a child are the primary role models for a child.  So it is with your career.  Your career is an extension of you, as you will be spending a good chunk of your life working in your chosen career.  Your home life will affect your work life, and vice versa.  It is your responsibility that you learn how to keep your cool when things get stressful so that you don’t set a bad example for your career.

“Monitor Your Child’s Career’s Life”

They say that children are like sponges and that they will emulate the environments and the media that they are exposed to.  Much is the same with your career.  In order to build a successful career, it helps to seek out and mimic other people with successful careers.  Think about it, where did get your ideas for how to build a career?  Did you get them from someone who knows how to build one, or from people who are stuck working at jobs that they hate?  Don’t let your career be influenced by the wrong type of people!

“Read To Your Child Career”

If there’s one thing that just about everyone agrees on, it’s that reading to a child helps them to develop a love for learning and reading later on in life.  So if you are to build a career, then you should definitely “read to it”.  Immerse yourself in the writings of as many other people who have made a living doing what you want to do, and even those who have built careers in other areas.  By reading plenty of literature on the subject of career building, you will be planting the seeds for a successful career.

“Teach Them Right And Wrong”

Children need to learn the concept of what to do and what not to do at a young age, and the same is with your career.  Ethics are very important in any career, and if you learn to be good to other people and to make your living in an honest, decent way, then you will be much better off than if your career is the type that would profit at the expense of the well being of other people.

“Children Careers Need Limits”

No loving parent likes to punish a child.  But it is necessary to teach a child that there are limits that they simply cannot cross, and that there are consequences for crossing them.  So punish with a loving heart.  Likewise, there are times when your career will begin to get out of control.  Perhaps opportunities will arise that seem tempting to you, but will lead you astray from the true goals of your life.  When you career starts to get lead astray, realize that you’ve crossed the limits of your career, and “ground” yourself back to where you should be instead.

“Learn To Listen”

Likewise, you must be able to listen to what your career is telling you, much like parents need to be able to listen to the wants and needs of their children.  If your career isn’t going anywhere, it might be because it isn’t being given opportunities to grow.  So listen to what your career is trying to tell you.  If something is wrong, then maybe it is because something is missing in your career, and if you listen hard enough to it, you will find the answers that you need.

“Get Involved In Their Life”

You wouldn’t let your child go through most of his life without trying to stay in tune with what’s happening, woul you?  Of course not!  You want to know what is happening in his day to day life.  Such is the case with your career.  Are you making progress in your career, or is it on auto-pilot?  Are you making the money that you want or would you be better off making a change?  Are you getting all that you want out of your career?  If not, maybe it’s time to sit down and make real, concrete plans on what you’re getting out of your career and what’s missing, and work towards making it as fulfilling as possible.  Don’t just take a hands off approach to it, get involved!

“Have One Child Career At A Time”

Lastly, many people would recommend against having too many children in short succession.  Reason being is that it takes away from your ability to give your child the time and energy that she deserves.  Likewise, don’t spread yourself too thin in your career.  You need to give your career the time and energy that it deserves as well, and if you have too many things going on in your life, such as outside interests, organizations, or even other jobs or careers, then maybe it is time that you downsized in your life so that you start to truly focus on your career.  (Don’t take this as advice to get rid of any of your children though.)

Of course, nothing in your life is as important as your children, if you have them.  I don’t mean to come across as if I’m saying that a child and a career are equal in importance.  They, however, do have a great many things in common, and hopeful I was able to convince you of that.  So how well are you doing in “raising” your career?  Are you a responsible, active parent, or are you destined for family counseling (career coach) later on?

Image by: Michael “Mike” L. Baird.  (No relation)