Career Management
Key Advice for Your Career Strategy
by Rob Andrews
November 2009
The rules of the past no longer apply. The days of getting a degree, going to work for Big Blue, working hard and retiring forty years later are over. Forever.
Launching Your Career
Begin today to think of yourself as You, Inc. Begin to think about how you add value to your organization. Working for a marquee or blue-chip company may be of value to you down the road, but knowing how you personally help your employer create value and make money is infinitely more important. Employers these days are looking for employees who “get it”. Select an employer and a boss you can get excited about. Bosses who become mentors can be incredibly valuable in helping you navigate the cultural and political waters of your organization.
Realize, too, that you will never get a second chance at a first impression. Always exhibit a positive, can-do attitude, which is the single thing over which you have control. Work hard and stay in the solution, get in early and stay late, not just for show but to get things done and make things happen; and always deliver on your promises so you develop a reputation for reliability and responsiveness. One of the most important things you want your references to say is that you say what you mean and you mean what you say.
Use your tech savvy. Young people today have grown up with technology as a normal and integral part of their lives. You can bring senior managers who are techno-retards into the twenty-first century. Teach them how to use Facebook, how to upload a video to YouTube, how to organize digital photos on Flickr, how to create a profile on MySpace, and how to watch old TV episodes on Hulu.
Patterns of the Very Best Careers
You can manage your career more proactively than you may realize if you understand the patterns that typically appear in extraordinary careers. First, look for the right fit in terms of culture, values and role that play to your strengths, personality, and interests. Look for creative ways to gain access to new responsibilities and opportunities through cultivating mentors, volunteering for stretch assignments, and furthering your education. As you navigate your career, build upon your experiences from one role and apply them in fresh ways to new roles; think of your career as a series of building blocks that can be mixed and matched to best position you for new opportunities.
It is cliché to say that hard work is the foundation for enduring success. The fact is that we see talented and well-educated people all the time that will never come anywhere near their potential because they just won't roll up their sleeves and go to work. Forget about maximizing your leisure time for a while and concentrate on acquiring the knowledge and mastering the skills necessary to add real value to your employer's enterprise and your boss's career. What makes certain people great is not their inborn talent. Rather, it is something called "deliberate practice," a sustained, often lifelong, period of purposeful effort designed to improve performance in a specific domain. This is just as true in the case of business as it is in sports, music and the professions.
Master the Job Interview
There are typically four parts of a job interview for which candidates should prepare: 1) The opening, which is intended to set the stage and, ideally, help you, the interviewee, feel comfortable by establishing some common ground; 2) Chronological review, where the intention is to learn who you really are as a person, how you think, and what the major influences and key turning points were in your life. Here, make sure to emphasize your work ethic, values, personality, and impact; 3) Assessment of your background and track record against the core skills, experiences, and competencies required for success in the role, which will hopefully have been defined up front; and 4) Your questions are just important as your answers, so be sure to prepare in advance to show the homework you've done and the insight you have gleaned about the company and its competitors.
Starting a New Position
When you do get that new position, it is critical to get off to a strong start to establish the foundation upon which long-term success is built. Done well, the first 100 days create momentum for the next 100 days, and the next. Done poorly, you squander the unique honeymoon period during in which you get the benefit of the doubt and when your authority and influence come more from the appointment than from your accomplishments. The keys to succeeding in this period are to prepare and do your homework, set proper expectations with your boss and other key influencers, and to pick three themes around which to organize your priorities and your continuous communications.
Learn How to Manage UP
"What bosses want more than anything else is loyalty, good advice, and to have their personal brands polished," says David D'Alessandro, best-selling author of 'Career Warfare and Executive Warfare'. There is no single person who has more direct influence on your short-or medium-term career success than your boss. Figure out how to support his or her success, and tailor your efforts accordingly. Doing so will create and sustain your career momentum.
By contrast, there is nothing a manager disdains more than the subordinate who goes behind his back. Never make yourself look good at the boss's expense. Since the rules of the game in organizational life are governed by hierarchy, if you circumvent your boss, then you'll be seen as breaking the chain of command or, worse, betraying him or her. All intelligent bosses instinctively separate their people into three distinct categories: the sycophants, the devil's advocates, and the small percentage of employees who are the balanced players. You definitely want to be seen as a member of the third group.
The Power of Relationships in Your Career
Relationships are essential to your success, since everything you do in professional life is dependent on others. Therefore, it is imperative to have a relationship mindset. This means recognizing that all business relationships are also personal relationships, that one relationship or interaction leads to another, and what goes around comes around.
People genuinely appreciate hard work and thinking on their behalf, as well as responsiveness and straightforward communications. When you're at a critical turning point in your career, it's wise not to go it alone. A proven strategy is to cultivate a small group of professional and personal relationships to serve as your sounding board, brain trust, or personal "board of directors."
Keep checking back with us for more advice and articles on advancing your career.