1) Accept the New Reality
You can’t assume that what’s producing good results for you today will produce the same effects in the future. With changes taking place at warp speed in business today, it doesn’t take very long for skills to lose market value or for jobs to require broader responsibilities. Accept the fact that the only constant you can count on is change. If you adopt a flexible attitude—rather than fearing or fighting change—you can stay ahead of the curve and take advantage of opportunities that will bring both career success and personal satisfaction.
2)Create a Strategic Vision for Yourself
Successful career management begins with a sense of personal vision—a clear idea of what you want to do with your life and how your aspirations support that goal. Your vision, of course, needs to be grounded in reality, which means that your career goals should be ambitious yet realistic. You don’t need to have a detailed plan ready to implement by tomorrow. But at some point—and the sooner the better—take time to reflect on your interests, passions, skills, and attributes. Think about what you consider to be your ideal job, and then build a strategic plan that incorporates these elements and outlines specific goals and objectives.
3)Adopt a Value-Centered Approach
Your career goals should always be in sync with the values that define you as a person. Make sure you note your personal principles alongside your goals and objectives to remind you what’s important. That way, as you handle inevitable challenges and surprises along your career path, you’ll be better prepared to make smart choices. Adopting a value-centered approach to career decisions helps you nurture the passion that fuels career success and enables you to more rapidly overcome roadblocks.
4)Maintain a Long-Term Perspective
Make sure that every career decision you make supports—in part, at least—your ultimate career goals. Each assignment you accept and job you pursue needs to do more than add dollars to your paycheck. It should also move you a step closer to where you eventually want to be. It’s possible, in fact, that some jobs or assignments you pursue will require short-term sacrifices. But these sacrifices may be well worth the price if they enable you to develop important skills or achieve objectives that help you reach your long-term goals.
5)Create Value Wherever You Go
In every job or assignment, your number-one priority should be creating value for the people and the company that hired you. This means going beyond the minimal requirements for job performance, striving in every way to make a difference that exceeds expectations. To put this principle to practical use, think of everyone with whom you work—clients, coworkers, supervisors, and employees—as customers to whom you provide an unparalleled level of service.
6)Develop Productive Work Habits
Regardless of your field, company, or level of experience, your career success is determined in large part by how effectively you manage yourself—adopting work habits and practices that allow you to maximize your skills and attributes. Be particularly aware of how efficiently you manage your time.
Tip Conduct periodic time-management audits and try the following tips:
* Keep a log of what you do during a typical week and make sure that you create a logical correlation between the time you spend on a task and its priority.
* Pay attention to time bandits—tasks or situations that consume blocks of time that may otherwise be put to productive use.
* Stay organized and keep your desk free of clutter.
And always be on the lookout for new and creative ways to do your job better and more efficiently.
7)Seek a Balance
However committed you may be to your work and your career, don’t lose sight of your personal priorities. Pay attention, in particular, to your health and the quality of your relationships. When you’re relaxing at home or socializing with friends, keep work considerations from interfering with your ability to unwind and enjoy yourself. If you’re having trouble doing so, you may want to explore ways to create a better work/life balance.
8)Never Stop Learning
Education doesn’t cease the day you receive your diploma; it needs to be ongoing. Consider what you learned in school as the foundation of a continued learning process that will extend throughout your life. Among the options to explore for further education are certificate programs, professional seminars, training classes offered by your company, online courses, and private coaches (for certain skills).
Tip Become an avid reader. Try to set aside a small amount of time each day (even if it’s 30 minutes or so) to learn something new about your field, the world around you, and yourself. And be on the lookout for ways to expand your technical and interpersonal skills. Remember that you are the most valuable asset in your career strategy. Invest in yourself.
9)Expand Your Circle of Contacts
Many business people today credit their success to the support and guidance they received from their professional contacts. You can enhance your networking efforts in a variety of ways, such as joining professional associations, volunteering with community organizations, or pursuing special projects in your company. (See Chapter 15.)
Good Move The key is to make these activities a priority and be willing to devote the time and effort to initiate and sustain mutually beneficial relationships. In addition, seek out mentors—people you can turn to as confidants and advisors. Mentoring relationships take many forms and can benefit your career development in a number of ways, from advice on workplace politics to introducing new networking contacts. You may be surprised by how helpful people are if you simply ask for their assistance.
10)Take Setbacks in Stride
Virtually every success story in business is punctuated with so-called failures or setbacks. But you need to keep in mind that what’s ultimately important is not how often you failed, but how you responded. Successful people know how to turn the disappointments they’ve experienced into learning experiences that propel them to greater heights. Emulate their example.
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