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Rick Zabor is the
founder and Search Consultant with Peoplestaff.
Peoplestaff is an Atlanta based Search firm founded in
1988, that has specialized since 1994 in the placement
of the Industry‘s best PeopleSoft and Enterprise IT
Talent across the USA. Rick has a degree in Physics and
advanced degree in Mechanical Engineering and is an
experienced engineer and researcher in the automotive
and solar energy fields. He welcomes your comments and
referrals by email
Zabor@peoplestaff.com or through
www.peoplestaff.com. |
Below is a
list of things that you can do today to be further ahead in your
career 12 months from now. The most successful Professionals
that I've known over the past 17 years as a Search Consultant
have two traits. They are organized, and they are motivated.
Create a Career Notebook with tabs that will make it easier to
find and follow up on your work.
Your
Inventory
1. Make a Likes/ Dislikes Inventory. List what you like and dislike about
your current and past positions. Grab a copy of your resume and
for each position list your likes and dislikes. Keep the likes
and dislikes restricted to job activities and people types.
When it comes to making future career choices always review the
opportunity with respect to your likes and dislikes inventory
and you will make a better career decision.
2.
Create your Skills and Accomplishment Inventory.
From your resume make a list of your accomplishments and
marketable skills. Most resumes are not written with a full
comprehension of accomplishment and marketable skills so this
will take an effort ( see
Writing a Resume to Further Your
Career ). This exercise will allow you to see value
“holes” in your career. Once you've identified these holes
you'll be more aware of any opportunities that will help you to
fill them.
3.
Review and Rewrite your Resume on Your Birthday.
It's a good idea to keep your resume up to date and use it as a
working career document. A resume written in a Performance Based
style with an accurate skills inventory will be helpful for
identifying and winning appropriate career opportunities and
your best career tool. Don't wait for your birthday to get your
resume up to date! But if your resume is outdated consider
giving yourself the career gift of a well written resume.
Your
Possibilities
4. Dream about YOUR future. Label a tab in your notebook as “Possibilities”.
Keeping a short journal of the direction you might see your
career heading is also a useful tool. Once you have an idea of
your possibilities you can work to make the reality. What are
your possibilities for your career in 5 years, 10 years, 15
years, or more from now? Do some freethinking. Do you see
yourself traveling? Making more money? Managing others? Doing
research? Managing projects, writing programs, troubleshooting,
providing support? You can learn more about any future position
by reading job boards and more importantly by talking to
people. If you want to be a Project Manager or Director seek
one out and chat with her about her work. You can find all sorts
of willing participants at professional organizations or
conventions. Seek them out and find out what they do and why.
How did they get into the position? What direction do they think
they will take next? The greatest complement that you can give
to someone is by showing interest in them. If you run into
someone who is hard to speak with just be patient or find
someone else to interview. If you chat with someone keep their
contact info as you'll want to include them as part of your
Professional network.
Do
the Work
5. Find a mentor.
Do you know someone at work who your admire and respect?
Could they be a mentor for you? A mentor can provide you with a
shortcut to furthering your career. Typically mentors will be
more accomplished in their careers and should be along a similar
path that you wish to take. Can't find someone at work, then
look for someone at a professional organization or possibly on a
mentor website or a forum on line. Professional associations
often organize a mentoring program. If you are a member and
yours association doesn’t have a mentoring program then start
one! Mentors can help you develop your career faster but choose
a mentor wisely. A mentor can provide advice and important
connections but you'll still have the responsibility of making
your own career decisions. Here are some helpful links.
http://www.mentornet.net/
http://www.mentoringgroup.com/
http://www.advancementoring.com/
6. Be a mentor.
Mentoring someone is a powerful way to help someone make better
career decisions and accelerate their careers. Giving to others
is the best way to grow your own Professional Network and
mentoring can pay huge returns in the future. Helping others
with their careers will force you into deeper career
introspection.
7. Start,
Build, Grow or Work your Professional Network.
Start thinking about ways to build your professional network.
There is no substitute for doing the work of building and
working your professional network. Start by looking for
opportunities to help others. Many job hunters start to build
their networks only when they are seeking new employment. While
that activity may bear fruit in the early stages it is the
mature network that offers the greatest career harvest. Seek and
build RELATIONSHIPS by helping others first. Get to know and
help your fellow workers as best you can thoughout their
careers. Keep their contact info handy and contact them on a
regular basis. What may seem like chitchat is important to
developing professional relationships. Some online networking
products such as
www.linkedin.com
may also be helpful.
8. Join a
Professional Organization.
Think about participating in a professional organization. A
Professional organization may be the best place to identify and
develop new contacts, find a mentor, further your understanding
of choices, and help keep current in the marketplace. Think of
your membership as an extension of your education and as an
investment in your career. Become an active participant and
volunteer whenever you can. If you develop a reputation as being
able to deliver when called upon, you will be sought out.
9. Help a Recruiter. Identify and build a relationship with the professional
recruiter and gain from their market knowledge. The next time a
recruiter calls you try to help with a referral but then ask
some of the follow questions:
1.How can I help you?
2.What
are the most valued current skills?
3.What options do I have to help me get to my next position
xxxxx?
4.Any
comments on my resume?
An accomplished
recruiter focused in your marketplace can prove to be an
invaluable resource to you and your career. He is familiar with
success stories and career failures. He can also be a powerful
connection your professional network, a potential mentor, can
add value to your resume, and knows what is of value in today's
marketplace. When asked specific questions he will typically
take the time to help you. You'll always get a better response
if you offer to help him first.
10. Develop
your marketplace.
Do you plan on
staying in one location for the duration of your career? Are you
interested in relocating to a specific area? Start to develop a
list of the companies in your locale and you will be prepared
for the future. Try to identify companies who may value your
current and future skill set. One way to do this is to search
job boards for local postings of positions requiring your skill
set. Keep a running list of the companies, the position titles,
the compensation ranges and any contact info. Over time you will
develop a good potential marketplace for yourself. You can do
more by building your professional network consisting of
professionals from those companies.
11. Make a name for yourself
(Subtly). We all know people who have reached higher positions
and who have made a name for themselves by stepping on other's
toes. THIS IS NOT WHAT I RECOMMEND. Make a name for yourself by
striving for excellence in everything you do (within time
constraints), being proactive in your efforts to deliver results
of market valued activities, making good business decisions,
and helping others. Career development is all about
accomplishment of the right tasks. Make a list of the
accomplishments that you feel are valuable for getting you to
the next level in your career and plan to reach them.
These are only some suggestions to help you progress in your
career. I am interested in your comments and suggestions. You
can reach me at
zabor@peoplestaff.com.
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