The MASK

With your professional wardrobe, you wear one more thing daily in your office. The Mask ( not face mask ). It's YOU which neither you want to be nor you could be. But wearing it, you pretend to be, what you are not actually.

For me, it's a lie which is not only acceptable in corporate but rather is expected one. Sometimes a person after some limit could not lie and that's why wearing this 'mask' is suggested.

What exactly am I talking about?
That is professional etiquette. People are used to with the 'wrapper' than the product inside. People prefers 'brand' over usability. It is like that only. You know you are lying but under the so called great title of 'professional etiquette'. And I call it 'the mask'.

When you just come out of your school, you are trained with dressings and the other certain skills, soft skills. But nowhere you know how corporate life actually works. Rest of the time, you 'buy' your wardrobe. But days passes, so the weeks and months and years. And you 'earn' the mask.

Still not clear? 

You are taught with manners, how to take responsibilities, how to work efficient and what not? apart from the essentials technical knowledge of required for your job. But, have you ever been taught for...

How to deal with work pressure?

How to deal with bad managers?

How to put yourself correctly in front of higher management?

How to discuss your performance while in appraisal meetings?

How to negotiate in offers made in your job switch?

And importantly, how to say no? for the things neither come from within you or you know it's wrong to do, but still have to do under pressure of managers.

We put ourselves under pressure all the time in fear of just losing the job. Because we have family, we have responsibilities, we have paycheques and we have lot to do's in our life. And under all this pressure, we just behave like a good person. We try to please everyone. We try to secure our job now and then. If we see within ourself, we all know, this is not the true 'I am'. But we must have to show ourselves like this by wearing 'the mask'.

When I realized this, I first figured out where this mask comes from? And I surprised to see, it comes from within me only and that's out of my fear. The basic of all these is fear of losing job and so the resulting upcoming uncertainties. Once I am aware about this I started working on it. What could be the possible chances for me of losing job? What are challenges further? And all those calculations. So, I started to study how to solve this questions and here are some of my findings:

First, search the job market, what's trending and accordingly skill up yourself at required level.

Second, search the job suitable to your interests and skills.

Third, making / updating your resume and cover letter and posting those to the potential employers

Once you start with this, you yourself would feel relax, confident enough. Your inner guts tells yourself, not to fear anyone for any reason.

For those, who can't leave their job because some restrictions, bonds, etc. First there is no need to fear anyone else, even your managers. You know if everything goes wrong, the possible worst case is that you just would lose your job. Nothing more than that professionally. But believe me, for no company, that is this much easy to fire you out just on single call of managers. There is lengthy procedure to follow where HR involves in the process and by that, you could have a fair chance to speak out what is going wrong with you. If you are not guilty, no need to fear. And still somehow through internal policies manager wins, you are given a fair period to quit which is called as 'notice period'. In mean time, you could find a new job.

But it's not that easy really. Next job is not guaranteed. So, if a time comes that you are jobless, you should have enough money with you to survive. Experienced people says, you should have funds for required basic and unavoidable expenses at hand which are equivalent to the amount of 6 months total expenses, at least.

Well to avoid all this, basically we should try that no such situation would arise. For that I suggest, don't wait for such a time to come when you need to search for a new job. Rather, and even your golden period is in force, keep track of job market. And if you find a really better opportunity, go for it. Because neither these golden days are ever lasting nor are that far away in your new job. So, while in current job role, keep an eye on possible 'would be' job role. And meanwhile, keep updating, upskilling yourself to beat others while applying your new job. This is really very essential.

Personally, first of all, remove that mask. Be what you are, be original, focus on yourself. Don't fear anyone. Your manager is not your life partner. So, instead of carrying him or her in your head just out of fear, leave him in office alone. Enjoy yourself. Not might be in your current company, but in outside world (in some prestigious companies) you are expected to be what you are. People like what you really are and not the mask you are wearing. Think yourself, how would you like a person - masked or unmasked? That's really and only appreciable in corporate world for long term. Think about your long run career instead of current company which either you will leave someday or company itself would just shut down.

For those who are freshers and yet to start their first job, I suggest, since day one, make your own personality at your workplace. Establish yourself being original, presenting what you are inside. And most importantly, be  honest with yourself.

 
#miPratik