This year will be different for your career. Are you ready to make the change?



It’s 2018!  This is the year that will be different. It has to be for your sanity. Years of being in the same career that is rapidly changing or you’ve frankly outgrown is wearing on you. Perhaps you’ve been with a company where you’ve hit the brick wall or glass ceiling.  Maybe you’ve been out of work for a long time and you have now questioned your ability to even get hired. There has to be a change. This year has to be better.

Many times, I meet clients who are unsure of the direction they want to go. I also meet clients who seem to know where they want to go but are unsure how to get there. There are others who know what they want to do, know how to get there, but simply aren’t motivated to do the work. Whatever the issue is, there are easy steps to help you figure it out.

Build Your Career Strategy.

Many people become intimidated by the concept of strategic planning or strategy building. It sounds overwhelming and complicated. However, it’s really pretty easy. The best part is that you are the best person to build your career plan!
Identify your goals and create an action plan: What is your ultimate goal? What industry are you interested in? These are a couple of considerations when building your career strategy. Where do you see yourself in 3-6 months, 1-3, 3-5, and 5-10 years? Technology has rapidly changed the way businesses operate and has transformed entire industries. As a part of your goals, include where you want to be from a technology standpoint. Not sure how to write a goal statement or can’t narrow your goals down? Use SMART as your model:  S-specific, M-measurable, A-Attainable, R-Relevant, T-Timeline. There are free resources to help with goal-setting.  

Prepare a Skills Assessment: Identify the talents and skills needed for your career. Perform a skills inventory to include what tools you need to identify the gaps between your current and needed skills. Plan how to fill the gaps with education or additional experience. Still unsure? Do your research. There are free and paid resources that can be used to help with your skills assessment and match your personality, behavior and career tests to potential career choices. Determine which of your skills and talents will actually translate into a career.

Build your network. Who do you know that is already where you want to be that can be a mentor? Assemble a team of two to three individuals who will help encourage you, hold you accountable and provide another unbiased perspective when needed. Remember, networking is not just all about you do the same for your network.

Do the work, even when it hurts or is inconvenient. There is an old Billy Preston song that my parents listened to called “Nothing from Nothing.” The bridge of the song includes, “Nothing from nothing leaves nothing.” If you don’t put in the work, you won’t have any results. Period. Remember you are in control, you can make the process as simple or as complex as you decide.   

Share your career story.  Create your career portfolio, write your résumé or create a professional LinkedIn Profile. Emphasize your key differentiators and inject your personality.

Building a career strategy is necessary in this rapidly changing Cognitive Age. In the Cognitive Age, flexibility and adaptability will be crucial to career success. As such, employees will increasingly need to think in terms of adaptive skills rather than an ideal “position.” Maintain a specific focus on technology and the foundational skills that will allow you to easily transition to new and changing technologies. Once you have developed your strategy, your path to finishing this year better will be much clearer.


Disclaimer: I am not paid nor affiliated with any of the companies or sites listed in this post. Therefore, I offer no guarantees of results or responsible for any outcomes derived from using or downloading information from those sites.   

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