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.
