Feed Your Career

Last week I gave a webinar on topic -Chart Your Career: Critical Steps to Getting Places in Your Career. It was wonderful to see a large interest in this topic. When I came graduated from my internship  ‘Career Management’ was emphasized as a well written resume showing off your better qualities and being interview ready. Often this was an equation for having a good shot at the position.  Now, things are so different.  Career management is critical now even if you have a job.  You must not wait until you are out of a job to start managing your career.  The life span of a job is decreasing and never guaranteed, the economy can change up or down, insurance reimbursement can increase or decrease, anything in the environment has potential to change.   The only constant we have is change.

Having a job does not mean security.  Job security is having a career plan, charting your career and at all times working on challenging yourself and taking yourself in the purposeful direction of your strengths, talents, values, and passions.

I like the analogy of life being like the potentially turbulent or calm ocean.  Boats are our careers on the ocean of life.  How are you steering your boat, your career?  Are you up-skilling to be proactive in the current and future marketplace?  Do you have a career vision, goals?  Is your personal brand strong and will it  be able to get you through a storm?  Can you reach out to your contacts and those following you in your tribe to adapt to any marketplace change? Or are you taking things day by day and saying yes to everything that comes along so that you start to get behind and are just barely staying afloat? Do you feel like you are running in circles and your career is not pointed in any direction?

What happens if the waters of life start to get rough – unexpected things happen in your career?

• company downsizing
• company takeover
• insurance bill passes that reduces your take home part
• biggest client has to cancel

Do you stay afloat or does your boat capsize?

With a career plan – called a career portfolio or roadmap, you can stay afloat.  This is not to say you may not get into rough waters or need to take detours or even change your destination goal all together, but you are prepared, full of energy for life, making a difference and feeling valued. You do not say yes to everything, you have priorities defined by your career portfolio.  You pursue opportunities in tune with it so you do not get weighed down or distracted.  Your boat is sturdy and is ready for anything that might come its way.  And most importantly, you have a career purpose and can direct and redirect yourself so you are employed at all times and feel like you are making a difference.  This is career management at its best.