These 7
characteristics reflect career management competencies, which are things you
can do to ensure that you have a healthy career.
Characteristic
1: Develop Career Purpose
Research tells us that individuals who identify goals
and have a vision of their future are more successful in achieving what they
want. If you are not sure what you are
aiming for, how can you know when you have got there? You may argue that the works is changing so
much it is better to wait and respond.
It is essential to be flexible, but having some purpose focuses out
efforts. There will be key career
decisions you need to make along the way.
Establishing what is really important will help you make the right
choices for you. This includes your
career motivators, values, lifestyle, aptitudes, preferred work style and
aspirations. Know yourself and know what you want.
Characteristic
2: Transferrable Skills & Competencies
As organisations change, so does what is required. You need an appreciation of what is needed in
your current role, whilst learning and developing yourself for future
opporutnities. Be honest with yourself.
Where do you perform well? Where are the development gaps?
Don’t be tempted to rest on your laurels – it doesn’t take
long to become out of date. Commit to
life long learning to remain competitive.
Remember your portfolio of skills is what you can sell to others. It
needs to be up to date, flexible and portable.
Characteristic
3: Become a Change Opportunist & Align with the needs of your organisation
Taking care of your career means managing change. Chances are that your organisaion will
continue to reshape itself, shifting and flexing to meet the threats and
opporuntites in its fiercely competitive environment. You can also expect flexible working,
changing duties, short-term assignments and projects. You may not like all the changes, but career
opportunties come
when you align immediately with new organisational needs and realities. Be nimble and show a high capacity for
adjustment. Organistions want people who
adapt, and anticipate change.
Characteristic
4: Be a High Performer
Committing fully to your current job is a prerequisite
for career health. Your employability
will be enhanced by being known as a high performer. You will be
judged internally and externally by the results you achieve and the difference
you make. Take on more personal
responsibility for the success of your organisation rather than focussing on
the narrow confines of your job description.
You spend a great deal of time at work so make sure you are doing
something that you enjoy, so that you can give your best. Continue to learn and
develop to maintain your contribution.
Being a high performer does not necessarily mean working longer –
working smarter is the key
Characteristic
5: Balance your Life
In the space below
draft, in no more than 20 words, your epitaph.
|
We all work hard and experience tension between work
and home demands at times. How can you
juggle leisure interests, family commitments, self development activities and
work challenges?
Working longer will not necessarily help you work more
effectively. Enjoyment and balance are essential to avoid burnout. No-one on their deathbed is likely to say
that they wished they had spent more time at the office! It is worth consdiering the life balance that
suits you.
What are your life
values?
What do you hold
dear?
|
Characteristic
6: Promote Yourself
Your career success will largely depend on the strength
of your relationships with others – colleagues, line managers, customers,
friends and professional contacts.
Networking is something we all do instinctively, to gather information,
to identify resources, to raise our profile, to coordinate activties and to
gain support. Networking is essential to
getting our job done. In career terms it
keeps you in touch with two vital things – people and information.
Make a note below of
ways in which you ‘network? Where do you network? Who are your networking
contacts?
|
Also, being able to relate what you have to offer to
the needs of your organisation will enhance your employability. Think of yourself as a service centre with a
range of services that you are able to provide.
Be clear about what you can offer? Is it unique? Where is there a need?
Be clear about the value of what you bring, don’t be
tempted to undersell yourself.
Maintaining an up to date personal profile or CV is part of the
process. The CV should not be seen as
your route out of an organisation – it can be a very potent tool to promote
yourself internally. You may be highly employable in your organisation but if
people are unaware of your existence you will remain in the shadows, overlooked
for interesting projects and development opportunities. Worse still, you could be considered a poor
performer if people are unaware of the contribution you are making! In todays
flatter structures the need to raise your profile is even greater. You need to find ways to communicate what you
do and what your aspirations are. You may need to get involved in
organisational politics but in a positve way that benefits both you and the
organisation. Don’t let your career rest on the false assumptions made by others.
How do you create
visibility of yourself at the moment?
What else could you
be doing?
|
Characteristic
7: Manage your own Morale
Think of a cross section of people you know and divide
them into two groups – those that give you a headache and those that take it
away. What distinguishes them? The
reality is that invariable we do not respond well to people who are negative
and turn everything into a drama, unless we are that sort of person ourselves.
Optimism and positive attitudes are infectious; so be
aware of the impression you make to others.
No one is saying that you should feel and act in a positive way all the
time. No doubt there will be good
reasons for you not to do so. Manage
your morale by keeping things in perspective.
Seek support form others and ways of boosting your self esteem and
confidence. Stay away from people and things that drain your energy.
What/Who drains your
energy battery?
|
What /Who charges
your energy battery?
|
If you would like to find out more about career development
for yourself or for your team please get in touch –
enquiries@7hr-training.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment