Ungar led a national study on resilience among 20-somethings that found people least equipped to deal with change were the obsessive planners, those who were career- or goal- oriented from an early age but were unwilling to deviate from those goals when the situation required it. “When you’re 25, the information you have to assess your career is very different than when you’re 18,” Ungar says. On the other hand, those more willing to take risks and experiment were more likely to find a satisfying career path. Ungar calls it the “risk-taker’s advantage.”

Here are some strategies to create your own risk-taker’s advantage.

Rationalize

“If around the lunchroom everyone is saying ‘It’s pretty dangerous out there,’ it begins a pattern of thinking,” says Ungar. Don’t be afraid to look around for other opportunities, or to update your skills.

Stockpile

Just because you’re open to risk doesn’t mean you’re stupid. “Even in good times, it’s wise to keep a reserve,” says Corinne Warwaruk, an HR consultant at Deloitte in Edmonton. If you decide to make a career transition, launch your own business, switch companies or migrate to seek opportunity, expenses can crop up.

Plan Ahead

Don’t get stuck in limbo because you can’t get a business loan or cover a couple months’ rent and moving expenses. And if you are going to make the leap into a risky financial situation, secure a line of credit with your bank before you jump.

Network

Studies done on areas hit by tsunamis show that the communities best able to recuperate have well-established social supports before the event, says Ungar. The same holds true for individuals. Keeping up a network of contacts and being a lifelong learner, Ungar says, builds a person’s ability to weather sudden change. Warwaruk puts it this way: “This is a great market for opportunity, especially the hidden market. If you do your research and you’re highly skilled you can approach employers… they’re always looking for talent.”

Leverage Risk

Leveraging risk by taking calculated chances can lead to positive long-term results. Routine procedures aren’t always routine. In December 2007, just days before opening, ski patrols at Castle Mountain, Alberta, were doing regular control work when they set off a massive slide, ripping out trees and crushing a lift hut. Setting off an avalanche is never 100 per cent safe, but in this case it paid off – the property damage far outweighed the risk to public safety if the unstable snowpack had been left undisturbed.

That’s the funny thing about risk. Every snowflake is different. As snowflakes accumulate and bond into layers, their properties change. Pressure, temperature and time form new relationships between them. You can’t guarantee how those properties will react. Sometimes you just have to pull the pin. U

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 1st, 2010 at 1:50 am and is filed under Career Track, First Job, Leadership, Work. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.