Don’t waste your time, the perfect career move doesn’t exist

Career decisions too frequently are built up to be momentous, but very few decisions are final.

In sport the referees and umpires are merely the first to make a call in a decision process that ultimately is determined by the interpretation of video evidence. Even then, it is contended.

In the legal realm we have all learned of dangers of prematurely condemning the accused who have been found guilty or celebrating the innocence of the person found not guilty, until every avenue of appeal has been exhausted. That can take years. Sometimes it is exhausting to get a decision.

In academia, students can appeal their grades. At work, claims can be made for unfair dismissal. Sport and the law, have long recognised the need for appeals processes because they recognise that decision-making can and often is, a flawed process.

Generally and traditionally, judges, referees, and umpires are recruited from the experienced and senior ranks within their respective fields. The adage that I used to be a cricketer until my eyesight failed, and then I became an umpire, contains more than a grain of truth.

So in many realms, important decisions are left to those that have been there and done this and that, seen a thing or two, and are not easily swayed by the tricks of the trade, appeals to emotion and other de-railers of good decision-making.

Much has been written about how to make good career decisions. Much of it is trite, simplistic, unrealistic and ultimately unhelpful.

Despite recruiting the sagest of sages, these arbiters can and do make mistakes. Even the video referees, get it wrong. In association football, there are more than many that positively hate the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system because it can look so subjective despite the technology.

Yet, we still expect individuals to “make” career decisions that have the potential to have profound impacts on their lives, livelihoods, mental and sometimes physical wellbeing, and their financial health.