A Successful Clinical Trial Management Career Starts With Your Vision
About 10 years ago, as I was moving jobs from working at a top CRO to a small biotech company, I decided to get crystal clear on my career vision. Until that point, I had stayed in roles at site and CRO organizations until I felt like I had outgrown where I was. Then I would job search, take a role that I was interested in and I received an offer for, and the cycle would continue. I was new in the industry and I didn’t know the importance of having a clear vision for my career or even how to do that.
Having a clear vision for your career and life, I would argue, is the most important act of self-care in your personal development journey. Without a clear vision, you will likely be looking to others for your validation and satisfaction, instead of looking inside of yourself .
So, what is a career vision and how do you create one?
The Importance of Your Vision
Your vision acts as your compass, guiding your decisions and actions throughout your career and life. It helps you identify what you are passionate about, what your strengths are, and where you see yourself making the most impact. A well-defined vision can lead to greater job satisfaction, increased motivation, and a more strategic approach to professional development. Another words, it’s a must-have in your career growth tool kit.
Reflection
To cultivate a strong vision, you’ll need to start by getting clear on your “why”. By uncovering the root of your desires and goals, you will better understand yourself and your potential.
Start by finding a quiet space where you can be alone for a minimum of 30 minutes. Put away all distractions. Light a candle. Turn on quiet & calm music. Set out paper and a pen.
Close your eyes and visualize the version of you that has “made it”. The version of you that has achieved the goals you dream about. The version of you that was drawn to this blog post.
Focus on how you feel...while working, in your role, with your colleagues, and at your organization.
Write what you see and feel in your journal, diary, or just on a piece of paper. Take your time and let yourself dig a little deeper than you may go on a day-to-day basis with yourself.
Consider asking yourself a few key questions:
What aspects of being a Clinical Trial Manager (or whatever role is your dream role) excite me the most? Is it the science, the project management, or perhaps the stakeholder management.
When do I feel in flow at work? What am I talented at and what comes naturally to me? These are likely things you receive compliments on and positive feedback about at work!
What do I want a typical work day to look and feel like? Consider your work day start and stop times, how you want to enjoy your meals throughout the day, and whether you’re willing to commute to an office or prefer to work fully remote.
What do I want life outside of work to look and feel like? Visualizing your future self can help clarify your aspirations and the steps needed to get there.
Be sure to save everything you write down in a safe place and make this visioning exercise a practice you return to often. Sometimes we only give ourselves permission to dream within our comfort zone, but this self-study allows you to explore desires for your life and career that you may not allow in your conscious mind.
Re-visit Regularly
When I first did this exercise about 10 years ago, I wrote everything in a draft email message in my personal Gmail account. I started with the dream title that I desired, wrote the amount of salary I wanted and some details about how I wanted that role to feel. Then I reverse engineered how to get from where I was at that time (a Clinical Trial Associate) to the dream role - more on that in an upcoming blog post!
I didn’t realize it at the time, but the vision exercise I did to realize my dream clinical trial management role was the first intentional step I had taken in my career growth. I felt centered and clear on where I was going and why, I didn’t get distracted by roles or opportunities misaligned with my path, and I could hone my attention on the skills, education and experience that I needed to gain to be ready for when opportunities would come my way. I knew where I was going , I kept my vision front-and-center of my day-to-day and I was in control of my future.
Make sure that your vision is somewhere that you will see often. If you like seeing things offline, maybe you write your vision on a post-it or a whiteboard where you will see it each work day. If you like tracking progress electronically, maybe you keep your vision in One Note or in a project management tool. How you keep your vision at the forefront isn’t as important as the consistency in which you re-visit your vision, which will translate to your dreams and goals.
Stay tuned for a future blog post on how to translate your vision to your goals!
