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Learn How to Put Yourself in the Driver's Seat Of Your Career
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In this age of making do with even less, most of us are so busy we can barely breathe. Deadlines and job demands begin to take control of our lives, and there’s little else we can squeeze in.When this happens, there’s one thing that gets left behind: making our own career a priority.
This means that you have to make an even bigger effort to not ever forget that YOU are the driver of your career destiny.
By coming up with a step-by-step plan that distributes proactive career management activities evenly across a year, the added "burden" isn't noticeable – except in the positive effects it has on your career.
So what are you doing to manage your career, build your personal brand and get yourself out there digitally?
Let’s face it: While our current obligations are to our present employers, ultimately, where we want to go, what careers we want to hold and how much money we want to make all rest on our shoulders – no one else’s. There’s no benevolent "career fairy" who is going to wave a wand and, magically, we are transported to our next employment destination.
It’s ultimately up to us to understand how to define our personal brand, find out action steps to take that drive our career forward, and how to plan connecting activities that help us move from "Point A" to "Point B."
Networking never ends, and whether you do it in person or online, you have to start taking some leadership in developing your own reputation in a way that helps further your career goals and also benefits your employer so that they continue supporting these activities.
Take a minute, and reflect on this.
What activities have you been doing in the past year to help you move forward?
What have you done to invest in your career future?
Many people argue that their current employer won’t fund any professional development activities, and then fall silent. A smart career manager’s response to this: "Am I really going to let a $200 class stop me from getting the industry-recognized certification or skills background that will help put me ahead of candidates?"
Seems like the answer is pretty clear on that question, right?
But you would be amazed at how many people stop advocating for themselves when someone else doesn't pick up the tab.
What you need to realize is that putting yourself in the driver’s seat of your career means that sometimes you have to invest yourself in order to launch yourself toward that next level – or even change careers.
Being your own personal career advocate and evaluating your activities, strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats posed by similarly qualified people competing for the same types of positions you are interested in is going to help you build a road map to success.
Otherwise, you are going to be taking a lot of wrong turns and detours trying to get to where you want to be.
This means that you have to make an even bigger effort to not ever forget that YOU are the driver of your career destiny.
By coming up with a step-by-step plan that distributes proactive career management activities evenly across a year, the added "burden" isn't noticeable – except in the positive effects it has on your career.
So what are you doing to manage your career, build your personal brand and get yourself out there digitally?
Let’s face it: While our current obligations are to our present employers, ultimately, where we want to go, what careers we want to hold and how much money we want to make all rest on our shoulders – no one else’s. There’s no benevolent "career fairy" who is going to wave a wand and, magically, we are transported to our next employment destination.
It’s ultimately up to us to understand how to define our personal brand, find out action steps to take that drive our career forward, and how to plan connecting activities that help us move from "Point A" to "Point B."
Networking never ends, and whether you do it in person or online, you have to start taking some leadership in developing your own reputation in a way that helps further your career goals and also benefits your employer so that they continue supporting these activities.
Take a minute, and reflect on this.
What activities have you been doing in the past year to help you move forward?
What have you done to invest in your career future?
Many people argue that their current employer won’t fund any professional development activities, and then fall silent. A smart career manager’s response to this: "Am I really going to let a $200 class stop me from getting the industry-recognized certification or skills background that will help put me ahead of candidates?"
Seems like the answer is pretty clear on that question, right?
But you would be amazed at how many people stop advocating for themselves when someone else doesn't pick up the tab.
What you need to realize is that putting yourself in the driver’s seat of your career means that sometimes you have to invest yourself in order to launch yourself toward that next level – or even change careers.
Being your own personal career advocate and evaluating your activities, strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats posed by similarly qualified people competing for the same types of positions you are interested in is going to help you build a road map to success.
Otherwise, you are going to be taking a lot of wrong turns and detours trying to get to where you want to be.
Join Dawn Rasmussen, CMP, CARW, at Conclave, where she still will lead a general session on this topic.
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Published by Naylor, LLC in association with the Convention Industry Council