Wealth Creation is a journey, and there are different vehicles that are available to you on this journey. One of those could be your career. Career success means different things to different people. For some it means a higher salary, for others a higher position; and for others, more responsibility. What does career success mean to you, and what can you do to accelerate success, advancement and growth in your career?
- Approach it from a Place of Strength
What are your areas of strength? What are you good at?
We spend so much time focusing on how to be better at the areas in which we perceive weakness, that we hardly spend any time at all growing and boosting our areas of strength. Grab a pen and a piece of paper and write a list of things that:
- You do with ease. These things are not a struggle to you, and they seem to come “naturally”.
- You excel at. It could be that you’re really good at working with people, public speaking, coding, design, etc. That thing in which you are a mega-star! This is your list – don’t be shy.
- You enjoy doing. That thing that you could do for hours and actually have fun doing it.
The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate how broad your career options are while simultaneously narrowing them down to areas in which you will enjoy working, thrive at, and not have that “dead” feeling when you’re working. The list can be as long as a mile, or as short as a few items.
- Be Active
Nobody ever got a head-start by doing what is expected. If you do what is expected, it’s all very…well, expected. If you want to nub that promotion or that raise, you won’t do it by merely checking off your expected job roles or job description. Challenge yourself. Allow yourself to stand out. Take up leadership responsibilities.
Many people shy away from being active and getting noticed at the work-place because they don’t want to seem like the “teacher’s (boss’) pet”. Some shy away from speaking up when they have a good idea because they feel that since they’re not being paid for it, sharing that good idea isn’t going to do them any good. But let’s examine this for a moment.
If you don’t speak up when you have a great idea that will advance the company, how will your boss know that you’re indeed capable of developing the business? How will they know that you’re a prime candidate for the position of Business Development Manager? Most of us get very displeased when our bosses hire external professionals to come and be our supervisors instead of promoting someone internally. Could it be however, that we haven’t stepped outside our comfort zones and demonstrated to the boss that we possess the will, skills and mojo to take up those roles?
Don’t let your career happen to you – participate actively in it. (Click to Tweet this)
- Represent Yourself
Who are you?
A big part of personal branding is in knowing who you are and presenting yourself in a package that will attract the position, networks, colleagues and a boss that is a good fit for you.
This is true while you’re at work every day, and also when you’re going for either an interview as a new employee into a company, or an interview for a promotion. Your potential boss is looking for authenticity. They want to meet you – the real you, not the guy or girl that you’re planning to pretend to be for a few minutes during the interview. Smile, laugh, ask questions – questions about things that you are curious about, not questions that you pulled off the internet and feel like they might make you sound smart.
Your personal brand extends to Social Media as well. More and more employers are checking out your online presence before they even decide whether or not to meet you. Google your name and see what comes up. Look at your online presence through the eye of an employer. If as an employer looking at your online presence you wouldn’t hire yourself, then pull down your online presence, edit it, or lock it away. Clean it up. (Click to Tweet this)
What changes would you like to see in your career within the next three months?
For details more email me on waceken@centonomy.com | Facebook/WacekeNduati| Twitter@cekenduati
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