In this week's installment to Life: How to Get What You Want Out of It, I want to focus on career planning and how to help people prevent an all too common tragedy that occurs from time to time. Sadly, this tragedy has happened to many. You spend 15-20 years working for a company to one day find out your skills are no longer needed, as the newest hotshot has passed you in ability and, subsequently, worth to the company. Often, when you spend so much time doing one type of job, it can be very hard to make any kind of change at that point in your life. It's almost like starting over as a novice in a new field, having to learn all of the different idiosyncrasies of your new position or industry. If this ever happens to you, there are various things you can do to bounce back and have a very productive remainder of your working life, but this week's blog is more focused on how to PREVENT this from ever happening. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so here are three simple tips that will serve as three "ounces" to keep the lost career cold away.
I.IDENTIFY TRENDS IN THE MARKET (INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF YOUR INDUSTRY)
One major way to stay ahead of the career curve and not be left on the street trying to hitch a ride back on to the highway of success is to always take the time to read industry magazines and other publications that give insight into what is happening in your industry. The only constant is the world is change, and you have to make sure that you are consistently aware of where the world is headed to be able to identify the next big opportunity. This can also be realized by identify trends in the world in general that could affect your industry and career. You didn't have to be a genius 20 years ago to realize that computers and the internet were going to have a major impact on the world. Making sure that you were computer proficient would've been a no-brainer. If you are a petroleum engineer today, you definitely need to make sure you are well educated in the world of clean energy, as it is only going to be more important and demanded with time. Any time you see commonalities in different clients or customers that could indicate the creation of a trend, the first thing you should think about is HOW will this affect my career in the future and WHAT do I need to do to make sure that I am well positioned to still be an asset to my company/industry if this trends continues.
II.CONSISTENTLY UPGRADE YOUR TALENT AND ABILITY
Now, once you've identified this trend and have a sense of how it will affect your career going forward, the next step is to identify and gain the skills and abilities you will need to hone to put yourself in the best position to be successful. It's amazing how many people there are in the world whose education ended when they formally left school. The super successful are the ones that are always looking for that next class or workshop to improve their skills in some area. They are always reading publications in their field to learn new tips and strategies of how to do their jobs better. By consistently working to attain new talents for use in your career, you put yourselves in the favor of the gods by becoming more and more valuable to your current company. Obtaining a higher level degree in your field or just attending workshops consistently will give your more options and marketability down the road, as well as increase your knowledge base to bring better decision making ability to the table when needed. The person who thinks he/she knows it all is doomed to lose to the person who knows this is never the case.
III. PLAN OUT EACH MOVE STRATEGICALLY IN TERMS OF YOUR LONG TERM GOALS
Once you've identifed the trends and have a sense of what skills you need to obtain/improve to achieve this goal, it's now time to strategically identify where you need to be within or outside of your company to take the most advantage of this reality. Any new position that you are seeking to attain should be planned out a year or two in advance, as you work the political and logistical aspects of making it a reality. For example: You work for a company that has a commercial and residential division, and you are on the residential side. Over time you begin to notice that all of the initiatives for the next year or two seem to focus around the commercial side, and you are hearing that this is where the CEO sees the most profitable growth coming from. Therefore, you need to begin to strategically align yourself with people on that side to prepare to make a change. This could be done through simple networking for subtle connections or by blatantly letting someone know you are interested in making a move. The important thing is to always think three steps ahead to know WHOM you need to talk to about this, WHAT things you need to do to get consideration for this move, and HOW to most efficiently and effectively make this happen.
Your career: It's like a cruel game of chess in which the pieces move, change,and sometimes disappear all the time. This can make it very hard to win, as what worked for your two years ago may not be effective at all today. The key to winning in life (just like in chess), however, is to always think as many steps ahead of your counterparts as possible. The more steps ahead you think, the better chance you have at winning and ensuring that your King is ALWAYS safe from capture.
Ken Middleton is an Account Manager at TEKsystems that specializes in IT staffing and services. He is a graduate of UNC-Pembroke and current MBA student at Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech.
No comments:
Post a Comment