A job can be a major part of a person’s life, but it does not always decide what comes next. Career paths can change as people discover new interests, take up different opportunities or simply realise that their earlier plans no longer fit.A LinkedIn post about Iswaryaa G P has started a conversation around this idea after she moved from a corporate career at Deloitte to work in content and storytelling.
Iswaryaa ‘s career move
Iswaryaa worked at Deloitte for over three years before moving into a new professional role.On LinkedIn, she described her previous job as her “dream job”. Her bio reads, “So I quit my ‘dream job’ at Deloitte. Now, I’m a content & growth strategist at TownScholar, a brand storytelling company.”She also wrote, “Also, create videos about anything and everything I want to talk about.”Iswaryaa completed her schooling at SSM Lakshmi Ammal Matric Higher Secondary School and later graduated from PSG College of Technology.
Woman quits ‘dream job’ at Deloitte to become content creator
What happened when she was asked about her future
Chennai-based founder Jaya Shakthi Kannan shared the story on LinkedIn after asking Iswaryaa about her plans for the next five years.“She left Deloitte to become a content creator. I asked her, ‘What’s your plan for the next 5 years?’”Her answer was direct.“I have no clue.”Iswaryaa explained her reasoning by pointing to how quickly her own career had changed.“One year ago, I never imagined I would become a content creator. So how can I predict what I’ll be doing five years from now.”
Her six-month approach
Instead of trying to map out the next five years, Iswaryaa is focusing on a shorter period.Kannan wrote, “Instead, she is focusing on the next 6 months. Do her best. Learn. Explore. And whenever an opportunity comes her way, grab it. Today, she is already getting opportunities in movies, hosts, TV and web series.”The experience also made Kannan question whether long-term career plans can sometimes become too fixed.“We often create a fixed 5-year or 10-year plan and keep moving like a horse with blinders. But what if there is a shorter path?”
The examples Kannan shared
To explain his point, Kannan referred to Jack Ma, Arnold Schwarzenegger, C. Joseph Vijay and Reed Hastings.“Look at people like Jack Ma, Arnold Schwarzenegger, C. Joseph Vijay and Reed Hastings. They started with one thing, evolved into something else, and eventually became great at something nobody could have predicted when they started. Maybe we don’t need to know exactly where we’ll be in 5 years.”He then shared the approach he believes can help people deal with an uncertain career path.“Have a direction. Plan the next 6 months. Keep your eyes open. Grab the right opportunities. And evolve.”Kannan added, “Your first step doesn’t have to define your final destination. Sometimes, the unexpected path is the one that takes you somewhere extraordinary,”He concluded the post by writing, “My best wishes to Iswaryaa G P for the journey ahead!”
LinkedIn users react
Several users responded to the post and shared their views on career planning.One person wrote, “The key takeaway is that having direction doesn’t require having the entire path mapped out. Focusing on the next six months while staying open to unexpected opportunities can create room for meaningful growth.”Another commented, “This really resonates. Sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves to have the next 5 years figured out that we forget to focus on what we can do well today.”A third user wrote, “The 6-month mindset makes a lot of sense. You can’t predict every opportunity, but you can control what you learn, what you build and how well you execute right now. Sometimes that creates the next chapter for you. Wishing her lots of luck and success for what’s ahead!”Disclaimer: This article is based on information shared in a LinkedIn post and publicly available statements from the individuals mentioned. The Times of India has not independently verified all the claims made in the post.Thumb image: LinkedIn/Iswaryaa G P