Todays Women in Business

The New Rules Of career Management: 3 steps To Jump Start Your Career Search In The Next 30 Days

Are you one of the 54 percent?

Did you realise that more than half of the people in any organisation at any one time are either actively looking for another job or would seriously considering leaving if the right opportunity presented itself?

Perhaps you didn’t realise that your competition for finding that next great role would be so great?

If the time has come for you to explore new career opportunities, here are four actions you can take in the next thirty days to jump start your job search.

1. Research the current job market – If it has been some time since you were looking for a role either inside your business or in the external job market, it is important to get re-acquainted with the market as it currently stands.

If you are looking for a move within your business, you can do this by talking to key people in the department or function you are interested in moving to or with your line manger or business mentor. This has the added benefit that they will also get to know you are interested in a career move so making a great impression with them as you undertake research about your future career is imperative.

If you are looking for a move outside your business, you can research the market through reading specific trade publications, through on-line research, talking to people in your chosen field or through discussions with recruiters.

2. Create and implement your professional development plan – When was the last time that you invested in learning about your area of expertise that you want to build your career in other than through on-the-job learning? Do not get me wrong, learning skills in your current role and then applying them is not to be undervalued.

However if you really want to position yourself as an expert in your field, it is important to continuously build on your current knowledge and capabilities. This might be through reading current books, articles and attending seminars or conferences.

Capture your professional development plan onto a one page document where you can track the investment you make in your development and also how you put the new skills and knowledge into action.

3. Update your resume or CV – If you have not looked at your CV or resume in the last six months, I can guarantee that it is out of date. Make sure that you take the time to review and update it. This is not a job to be rushed but is worth every minute that you spend on it. Consider it your personal marketing brochure.

Most times in a job search, your CV or resume will be the only thing that is evaluated or considered before a decision is made by a corporate recruiter to meet you or not. You need to ensure that it stands out from the crowd and your personal brand statement demonstrates your unique point of difference.

As a rough estimate, drafting, reviewing and finalising a professional CV or resume will take on average 8 hours of your time. You might consider this excessive, but isn’t it worth investing the equivalent of just one day to ensure that your years of experience and expertise are represented in the most effective way possible?
YOUR PERSONAL BRAND ACTION PLAN

If you are looking for your next career move make sure that you implement these three steps before you commence an active job search.

Before you explore the external market, don’t forget to share your career aspirations with your current line manager. Remember if you do not tell them what you want to achieve in your career and how you can at the same time help them grow the business you are working on now, the chances are that they will never get to learn this. The grass is not always greener in another business, and the opportunity to expand your career could be just a conversation away.

If you do decide that the time has come to move on to a new role outside of your current organisation, taking the time to undertake the three steps mentioned in this article will ensure that you are in a strong position to jump start your job search through on-line job boards, recruitment agencies and executive recruiters.

If you have a question about how to build your personal brand for career success, do drop me an email and I will answer your questions in a future article.

© Krishna De, 2007. All rights reserved. This article is extracted from Krishna’s publication “The New Rules of Career Management”.

Seven signs that your career has stalled

Have you recently found your mind turning to that question we often ask ourselves – just where is my career taking me?

Is it time for you to get your career back on track?

Here are seven signs that you can identify your career has stalled and actions you can take to over come them:

1. You are undertaking similar accountabilities as you were 3 years ago

2. You have not invested in developing your skills in the last 12 months

3. You are unclear about your career goals and where you would like to be 3 years from now

4. Your CV or resume was last updated more than 18 months ago

5. You find it challenging to come into work on a Monday morning – in fact you almost dread it

6. You can not recall when a recruitment agency or executive recruiter contacted you

7. The most attractive assignments and projects at work always seem to go to someone else.

If you don’t see yourself in these statements – great – your career is on track.

If you say a resounding yes to between 1-3 of the statements then your career is in neutral but that is fine – you can take action using the tips below.

If you say a resounding yes to 5 or more of these statements then your career has stalled.

Take action today to get your career back on track perhaps by reading a career management book from your local library or working with a personal branding coach who can guide you to greater professional and personal success.

© Krishna De, 2007. All rights reserved. This article is extracted from Krishna’s publication “The New Rules of Career Management”.

The New Rules Of Career Management: 5 Actions To Shift Your Career Into Fifth Gear

Have you noticed that colleagues and friends seem to be enjoying greater career success than you recently?

Are you wondering how you can get your career back on track?

Don’t worry, help is at hand. Here are five actions you can take to get your career back into fifth gear:

1. Get focused

If you are not sure what you want to achieve in your career your first task is to focus on your vision of success. If you know what you want to achieve in the next 5 years in your career then it will be easier to plan the actions you need to take to achieve your career goals.

Do not create a goal that you think will be acceptable to your family and friends. This is your life, your career. Create a vision of success that will inspire you to stay the course of action.

2. Turn your vision into a plan

It is great to have a vision. But how do you ensure that you vision does not just remain a dream?

The key is to ensure that you translate your vision into a career goal that you document, review and refine over time. You plan should also include actions to take to further develop your strengths and develop core capabilities that you will be required to demonstrate in the roles you seek to undertake in the future.

If you do not have specific goals that you want to achieve to support your career success in the next 12 months, take time out to draft your career goals today.

3. Acknowledge your strengths

Are you clear about your core strengths – the areas that come so naturally to you that you do not have to work at them - and the things that you are passionate about, so that when you are engaged in these areas time just flies?

Review your career history and consider those times when you not only had just the best time in the work you were doing but you were also highly successful. Were these times when you were playing to your strengths? What were the other things that contributed to your success at that time?

As you complete this review, if your CV or resume is not up to date, now would be a great time to review and up date it.

Consider how you could change your role and responsibilities in your current job to inject more of your strengths and the factors that supported your previous success.

4. Express your personal brand

One of the reasons that your career may be in neutral or has stalled is that you have not taken the time to define and fully express your personal brand – in other words, how you are differentiated from your competition.

There may be many other people seeking the same career path as you, but by developing and nurturing your personal brand you will be sure to stand out from the crowd.

5. Get known now

So often it is easy for us to be busy in the day to day activities of our role that we spend little time connecting with others both inside and outside the organisation.

Now is the time to get visible and nurture your network – the biggest mistake you could make is not beginning to nurture your network until you are looking for your next role.

Create your career networking plan so that you build your personal profile and reputation inside your business, in the local community and in your industry.

YOUR PERSONAL BRAND ACTION PLAN

Take just 90 minutes this in the next week to give your career a health check using the tips in this article.

If you are on track for the success you are looking for – fantastic!

If your career is in neutral or has stalled, what actions can you take so that you can look forward to a bright and successful career – one in which you are proud of and with accountabilities that enable you to play to your strengths and realise your full potential?

Many of us spend more time planning our vacation than our career success. The new rules of career management require that we take steps each day towards our career success.

What have you done today to ensure that you are going to enjoy greater career success in years to come?

©Krishna De, Oneocean Ltd 2007. All rights reserved.

Reprinted from 'Biz Growth Express', a Oneocean Ltd publication for leaders in professional services practices, featuring inspiration, strategies and tips to build your corporate, employer and personal brand and enjoy greater success with less stress.  Subscribe today at http://www.bizgrowthlive.com and access free branding and business development teleseminars with experts from across the globe on how to build your brand and expand your professional and personal success.