What is your Career Management Strategy?

Back in the day, many employees let their employer take total control of their careers. We used to talk about the climbing the ladder and we all waited for those above us in the ladder to retire (or die) so the rest of us could take one more step up. My dad worked for one company for 39 years. He was never fired or threatened with a lay-off and his loyalty was rewarded each year with a performance review, a merit increase, and more vacation. When he did retire, he had a nice profit sharing payout that provided for a very nice retirement.

Times have definitely changed. Many companies today roll through people (“their most valuable asset”) like they were office commodities to be acquired on as needed basis and just as quickly let go. Statistics vary but most people can expect to have at seven different jobs in their careers. I have talked to many who are way past seven and are in the double digits.

That said, I am here to tell you that we all need a Career Management Strategy. Don't wait until you are in job transition. Start today.

Based on my experience of over twenty-five years in the recruiting industry, there are five basic elements to a successful career management strategy. I am happy to share the following with you:

1. Know how you do what you do. I run into many candidates who can tell me the title of the last job they held but struggle to articulate what they did or how they did it. Having a solid practical, industry accepted foundation for what you do and how you do it goes along way to give prospective employers a peace of mind about you as a candidate. If your industry does not have an industry recognized standard, define the one that has works for you and be able to articulate it. There are literally thousands of books on how to do anything and everything. Do some research. If one does not work, mash up a few key points from several but be able to talk about why you picked what you picked and why they became part of your personal methodology or foundation for success.
2. Be able to tell stories of how your methodology translated into successful results. Hiring managers believe that past performance is an indicator of future performance. Having a solid foundation (#1) with real success (#2) – shows that your success was not accidental and can be repeated. More importantly, don't be afraid to share you success. If you don't tell the hiring managers about it, they will not hear it anywhere else. You have to get over any shyness or feeling you are bragging. One way to help tell a strong story about your success is to give the credit to your team. The leader of a successful team is a success. The team member of a successful team is a success. You don't have to take the glory for yourself and exclude others.
3. Always build relationships in your peer group. Spend time networking and getting to know your industry peers. More important than who you know, is who knows you. Many times your next job will be directly based on your network. Continually look for ways to help others first as you build out your network. Don't make it all about you. Make it about them. You will be repaid many times over.
4. Invest in your industry and community through any number of volunteer roles. This is a tangible way to show your values in action and values in action (or lack thereof) can be very revealing. As you succesfully build out steps 1 through 4, you will see that you are fast approaching a tipping point for the brand of “you”. Having a good brand, helps make you a desirable candidate.
5. Be prepared for something big to happen. “Big” can be good or it might not be so good. The point is that everything is temporary and you might get a huge promotion or you might be in transition. Either way, if you are succesfull in steps 1 through 4, it will make handling #5 easier. Deal with it appropriately and with grace AND success will follow.

If you don't have a career management strategy, please consider my five steps above. I hope you find the five steps above helpful. I welcome hearing your thoughts – good or bad. Also feel free to reach out to me with any questions about starting your own career management strategy. I hope to hear from you!