TAKE THE RIGHT TIME TO PLAN THE RIGHT CAREER
Now, everything in our life is surrounding with everything instant. Fast food
with instan cook, email to send mail just by minute or second, and also other
things. Sometime, at our work, we also expect our careers to move just as instant
and fast. Yet new opportunities can still take weeks or months. If you're not
very established or changing careers, the move will probably take twice as long
as you predict.
So how do you go about planning and strategizing for your career? Start with
this bit of advice.
Separate forging a career from earning money.
There are times when you need to take the better paying job or you have to
take the first job you are offered so you can pay the bills. But taking a job
for the money when you really wanted to build a career move could leave you
frustrated.
With planning, you can spot jobs that will get you where you want to go. In
the long run, you want to be making good money in your preferred field. That
might take months or even years. Don't get discouraged even if you have to fine-tune
goals as you learn more as the job market changes.
No matter how easy it seems, most successful people have worked long
and hard.
Sometimes you see someone at the top and chalk it up to luck. It is true that
part of success is being in the right place at the right time. But planning
and being savvy about the opportunities that come your way are what most great
careers are built on.
So, how do you put this to work for your own career?
- Spend time planning your career but don't plan so rigidly
that you aren't open to interesting options you hadn't considered.
- Career planning is not like party planning. It doesn't
just happen and then it's over. You have to keep doing it.
You should aim to do one career-building task every week. A career-builder
can be furthering your skills, increasing your professional network, learning
more about your industry, or talking to someone else about your future possibilities.
Sometimes your weekly career-builder is also something you need to do for
your job.
For example, suppose your manager asks you to give a presentation to another
department describing how your department trained staff members to work
in teams. You can use this opportunity to learn how to use a presentation
software (like Power Point) to enhance your presentation skills. Not only
will your presentation be professional and polished, you will also know
a new program that you can add to your resume under software skills.
- Ask people in your preferred career about how they got where they
are. If you hear enough of these stories, you'll discover what you
need to do and how to position yourself.
- Aim to make money at your career but take time planning your moves.
If you can afford it, taking a position that will help you develop a skill
for your career is better than an unrelated job that pays well. But you can
translate skills in a lot of ways.
- Spend time looking for paid opportunities to learn transferable
skills. For example, I never intended to turn teaching aerobics into
a career. But it gave me great leadership and teaching skills. That experience
was a big help when I started my college teaching career.
- Shape your career, don't let it shape you. Decide what
you want your career to be and make your opportunities match that. Sometimes,
you have to take the role employers give you. But you can also make roles
for yourself by acquiring projects, and those help you further your career.
If you want to be a writer but are working as a bookkeeper, you could become
department newsletter editor. Even if the job takes a few more hours a week,
creating, editing, and writing a department newsletter puts you closer to
your long-term career goal.
HOME ARCHIVES
