What is a Career Survivalist?

To answer the question, what is a career survivalist, we have to move backwards in time, when species on earth started evolving. It was a time which best manifested the inherent quality of every living and breathing organism to survive all odds and the fittest of them all survived. Our careers too present a lot of volatility and demands struggle at almost every point. In such a scenario, the person who had foreseen the change and has prepared oneself accordingly, endures till things get back to normal. They are a rare breed of people and are called career survivalists.

What are they?

Perhaps the most striking feature of career survivalists is their understanding of and adaptability to change. They are the kind of people who, without relying on anyone else, carve their career completely based on their own effort. Hence whenever there is any volatile situation they know their way around and can acclimatize to the changing conditions. A career survivalist is a kind of person who is extremely skilled in whatever he/she does and instead of focusing on any single matter, concentrates on honing his/her skills in every field related to the job.

Why Are They a Rare Breed?

When you ask someone what is a career survivalist, the first and obvious answer would be that they are people who can sustain in all kinds of working conditions and are almost indispensable for any organization. There indeed are a very few of them, who work as a survivalist, in a particular position. The basic reason behind this is that it takes a lot to make ones career as a survivalist. Things like relentless efforts, always looking ahead and continuous contingency planning are some of the traits of a successful career survivalist.

Be one of them

To be one of them the first thing you have to keep in mind is that change and survival are circular processes. There’s no start or end to the process. A continuous and never ending effort is required to take yourself to that level. Always remember that there are no survivalist jobs, but survivalists on jobs. What is a career survivalist may be a difficult question to answer, what is more difficult is to be one. Always evolving, always trying, always walking the extra mile, attending every single meeting or presentation, continuously networking are just some of the ways to be like one of them.

There are a number of books, blogs and articles written which try to find out what is a career survivalist or how one can become like them. Many case studies have been published in journals which talks about their personality traits. It is noticed that they follow very basic principles of focusing on honing their skills and learning from every possible source. They don’t have any secret formula. What they have is a dedication to go to great lengths to acquire every possible knowledge that would not only keep them ahead of time bout would also make them completely indispensable.