Happy New Year and welcome to the new decade of 2010! This year I have not made one New Years Resolution. During the Christmas I eat my fruitcake, cheesecake and napoleons and for the first time in years, felt no remorse. I’m not joining the gym, not losing any weight and I’m not paying any personal trainers for session that I will not show up to. (Maybe these are my new years resolution).
In retrospect 2009 was a very difficult year for many. I think that it is safe to say that every industry felt the pain of economic decline. Thousand lost their jobs and those left behind were filled with uncertainty and less than optimistic about their professional future in 2010. Goals for career advancement were placed on the back burner as many shifted their focus into career survival mode.
The good news is that the outlook for 2010 seems to be a bit more promising, and even in the midst of shrinking job markets career advancement is attainable. Seemingly baby steps can yield surprising results like greater job security, a promotion, or a great job offer straight out of left field. The trick is to make ready! Unfortunately many persons will continue to miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
As you endeavor to reinvent your career in 2010 I invite you to be guided by the words of Whitney Young who reminds us that, “It’s better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”
The following tips below will also help you to jumpstart your career in 2010:
- Take Charge Of Your Charge Of Your Career, Because No One Else Will - This should be one of the first lessons learned from the massive layoffs and terminations that swept entire industries last year. Like never before in 2010 you have to become the CEO of You Inc. Organizations will be making major paradigm shifts and may move in new directions in an attempt to recover more quickly from the recession. You should also be prepared to do what’s best for you even if that means packing your “georgie bundle” and taking your skills and talents to another company.
- In 2010 think of yourself as a product – develop your career brand – Career/Personal Branding is essential to career advancement because it helps you to define who you are, what makes you great at what you do. It’s all about building a name for yourself and showcasing your strengths, characteristics and the skills that make you unique and sets you apart from the pack. Eg. Work experience, education and training, leadership skills, professional memberships etc. It helps to sends a clear message as to why you should be chosen over other individuals vying for the same opportunities. Branding is all about building an image that you reinforce with results.
- What are some of the components required to build a strong brand?
- Your name
- Your reputation
- Quality of your product
- Your performance
- Your image/appearance (Crucial for building credibility. Remember your image is sending silent messages, do you know what they are saying?)
- Your unique promise of value
In 2010 don’t be a wallflower, refuse to blend in. You are unique, one of a kind, step out of the box and let your inner brilliance SHINE!
- Conduct an internal audit – bring in the SWOT team. We’ve talked about this in the past, but surprisingly few people take the time to conduct an honest evaluation of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities available and possible threats to their career advancement. This week I want you to step back and take a good look at yourself, but through the eyes of your employer. From your employer or manager’s perspective what are your strengths? What will they identify as your weaknesses? Areas for consideration include:
- Education and training
- Work experience
- Skills and talents
- Attitude
- Technical knowledge
- Personal characteristics – (include but not limited to)
- Your personality – pleasant, nice, mean, wicked witch/warlock of the west, gossiper, all about me attitude, cut throat, whiner, slacker, brown noser, moody, go getter, introvert, extrovert
- Respect for others
- Ability to get along with others
- Passion
- Commitment
- Communication skills
- Organizational skills
- Ability to embrace /adopt to change
- Loyalty
- Team player
- Take responsibility for actions
Now ask yourself “what can I improve?” Then devise a plan of execution. Eg. Lets say after introspection you realize that lack of education and training is really what stifling your career. Make a list of the type of qualification you will need to push your career forward and develop a plan to receive the additional training, experience, certification, mentorship required to help you achieve your goal. Remember to develop a timeline with specific action steps require to accomplish each goal.
Grow Your Network – Why? As the economy begins to recover from this recession new opportunities will become available, but you have to be in the loop to hear about them. So join a professional organization or an online network and get involved. The relationships that you build can help to provide valuable career guidance and insight to trends and opportunities impacting your industry. Make sure that you attend all the events and mingle, mingle, mingle.
Become the “go-to” person at work – Because of layoff and terminations brought on by a sluggish economy, many organizations are operating with the bare minimum. In a lot of instance, staffing is inadequate and there is no backup in place for key roles. Here is your opportunity to “scope out” the situation. Identify the weak spots, roles or tasks that very few can perform or want to take on and through additional training, certification etc. strengthen your knowledge in this area. Hello! You are now the in-house subject matter expert – the go-to person! Remember in this new economic reality staying the same is not an option, operating on average is also not an option for any business (or career) that wants to survive. So use your new found skill to help drive innovation - your career and organization’s survival depends on it!
