How a deck of cards echoes your career game

I don't know about you, but one of lockdown little blessings has seen a return to family card games. It took us a while to get there. Maybe 2 months in, with the odd game of rummikub for 2 (not my forte) slowly evolving into 'Declare' as a family for a couple of rounds most evenings.

I've often said that you need to treat your career as a game, not planning one step ahead but at least 2. That isn't to say don't also go with the flow and see what opportunities open up organically, but, if you don't know where you're going how are you going to get there? Sheryl Sandberg talks about careers these days being like Jungle-Gyms. We've heard the term squiggly career (coined by Helen Tupper and Sarah Ellis). There are a number of other possible game analogies for careers these days.

What struck me about declare recently was just how much the start was about strategising for yourself rather than competing against other people. Sure, there's an element of that but to begin with, all you have to go on is the hand you're dealt. Who goes to the table first is almost irrelevant. And at the front end of the job/role dance, you can only benchmark yourself against you - and maybe the job description.

Let's be candid. I found my flow with this game. I do well at it but for me it wasn't about the winning - it was reclaiming that time with family that gets lost in the daily grind. With the pace slowing down, I really didn't care who won however like with any hobby or habit, you can only get better than you were the day before and my learning of the development of my own strategy is another reason to keep playing.

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Author

Rupa Datta is a career gamer, happy to show you how to play it