The sand under my feet

For a couple of months, I have been having this nagging feeling that my job and career may not be as secure as I thought it would be. Taken that I am working for an MNC which is infamous for their hire and fire policy, I am not supposed to feel comfortable enough in my job that I can take it for granted. But recent developments in my organization and the plight of a close friend made me wonder, am I adequate to survive? Can I grow? What am I missing?

In my previous organization, my astute manager used to give me two feedbacks, which I have to agree to. One is that I am not aggressive enough in a competitive environment. The second is that I lack the bigger picture, though I am good to focus on a particular issue and execute with laser-sharp perfection. Apparently, I am lacking both the most important soft skills that are needed for growth. To an extend I recovered from the 'aggressiveness' aspect of it. I can put up a non-emotional fight and convince the other side of technical discussions and designs. The second thing is really really hard to come by. That is when I tried to get a mentor who is shrewd and enlightened to guide through my stagnant career.

My lead started helping me with this. The points she made were thus. To get a bird's eye view of things, you need to start approaching the entirety as a solution and not as a requirement that needs a design and coding to solve. One needs to know where the component fits in the entire product and the impact that it makes. I can start this reading the available user-guide documents. Once you have an idea of the product, you need to know what are the similar products that are in the market and what are the solutions that they offer, as well as the new emerging technologies in the domain. For me it's security. Basically, I have to read, a lot of technical stuff, something I am not used to.

The next one she pointed out to me was that I have to do the whole thing in the same amount of time I have left with me. Just because I have to learn more, the days are not going to grow long just for me. There comes the need to be efficient at work. I need to cut the time spent on 'stuff' that are not a necessity - basically social media. I am planning to use the 10mts technique and slowly improve my efficiency.

She added one more point. If I am so worried about my job, I should be prepared with the latest technologies. The best way to do this is to take online training.

Now I am left with 14 hrs and I have to make the whole thing happen!!!
I can't think of a castle when sand under my feet starts slipping away. I need to build it when I am still standing on a firm ground.