My contention is that career management is a set of skills & competencies which one intentionally needs to get good at. At least what I have seen makes me believe that not enough is done to educate and prepare folks for active career management. Many people lack the tools & understanding of how to evolve their career. They work hard, stumble along, wondering why they are stuck while others are moving ahead.
Active career management leads to career progression. The key word here is ‘management’. Management indicates intentional thought and effort to achieve a desired result.
Some components of career management include -
- Foresight: Where do you want to be in the long-term? If you don’t know where you are going – why bother!
- Planning: How will you get to that objective needs to be planned out and executed. Constantly revisited, revised, realigned and re-planned to ensure success.
- People: Who you know, how you forge relationships and who do you need to know has a huge impact on your career.
- Brand: Who you are and what your brand says about you is part of the equation. Brands are not established in a day – they need time, effort and commitment.
- Change: When to change, how to change and how to be a step ahead of impending events. It is always better to make your own decisions rather than react to changes.
- Game: How to play the game and excel at it is the bottom-line. Fortune 50, stogy corporate, hip Silicon Valley company, start-up, partnership – all come with a set of rules and nuances that you need to master. Social awareness, emotional maturity and adaptability are mandatory for success. Working hard is fine – working smart is better.
Check out UnStuck – a roadmap for proactive career management and corporate success. You can download a free online version here or buy the book at Amazon.
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1 comment:
Thanks for this post. I couldn’t make it and this post has been useful.
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