success. As such, it is your responsibility to discover your
special gifts, attributes and capabilities that can give you a
competitive edge and the greatest
probability to have a flourishing
career. Career management
requires quality networking, being in the right place at the right time,
earning a voice at the table, knowing your unique value proposition and how to use it, managing your personal brand, being influential – to name a few essentials. But in the end, all of these factors require one important thing: a personal
commitment to manage and invest in your career the right way .
On the surface, this sounds simple –but it is actually quite time consuming and requires strategic
thought and planning. Making an
investment in your career requires
you to know what you should invest
your time, money and resources in.
Think of it like the stock market; most people rely on financial experts and / or online tools to help them manage their portfolios based on a multitude of factors that include: the amount of money they are willing to invest, how much risk they are comfortable taking, what type of commitment they will make to manage their investment decisions and keep track of their desired outcomes – amongst many others. Similarly, when you invest in your career and personal development, you must do it with the end game in mind. For example, what performance improvements and career advancement outcomes do you expect, and when will you be able to see favorable financial results and lifestyle changes as a result of your investment?
I have seen too many people waste
time and money on making career
investments that don’t align with their passionate pursuits and
ultimate career ambitions. They
can’t see the opportunities around
them that they can effectively seize
for their own advancement and
personal satisfaction. For example, I have seen many invest in learning
about the real estate market because their friends made a lot of money in it. However, after spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours, nothing tangible resulted from their investment. This is a common occurrence with people who are so influenced by what others believe they should do in their careers that they become disconnected from themselves.
This is what initially happened to me when I started my career. My older brother (a successful executive in his own right) wanted to direct and guide my career. He wanted me to be like him. What he failed to realize was that we were different people, with different skills and completely different personalities and character traits. This is an example of why many people get career anxiety. They begin to hate their jobs and / or become dissatisfied with the succession track they are on – because they are now regretting the career choices they
made based on how they were
influenced by others along the way. In my case, I soon realized
that my brother’s well intentioned
attempts didn’t make sense for me
as I began to lose touch with my
goals and aspirations.
To invest properly in your career,
you must know yourself extremely
well . Knowing yourself requires
you to understand the factors that
positively inspire you to achieve
something substantive and relevant
– with passion – every day. For
some people this takes a long time to discover. For others, they know
themselves well enough to make
good career investment decisions.
What do you believe are the most
important areas for your career
investment? What areas have you
already invested in and what were the outcomes? What areas are you currently focusing on now?
Many people don’t have career investment plans because they rely
on the organization they serve to
provide them. A select few recognize that the investments your
employer makes in your career are
no longer enough – and most of the
time these investments align with
the company’s goals, not your specific performance improvement
needs for skills and experience that
must be transferable across all
industries and organizations that
you may choose to engage with in
the future. In today’s global market,
you can no longer afford to wait for
your employers to invest in your
professional growth and development. You must know
yourself and your career ambitions
well enough to recognize the
necessary career investments you
must make and determine your
wisest career investment path.
For those ready to give it serious
consideration, here are the five most effective ways to invest in your career:
1. Invest in Your Strengths: Use
Them More Frequently
Become increasingly aware of your
natural strengths that allow your
skill sets and capabilities to thrive
and make the commitment to invest in them. For example, if you are a good negotiator, never assume that your technique doesn’t require fine tuning. Take a negotiations class, enhance your abilities and then put them to work more frequently.
To get your mindset in the right
place, try this: the next time you
are in a meeting, carefully observe
your colleagues. Notice the dynamics in the room – and begin to ask yourself: what are other people doing to invest in the betterment of their careers?
The ultimate prize is to find
happiness in your career and in
your work by fueling your strengths
and passion.
2. Invest in Intelligence and
Know-How: Apply it More Actively
Never stop learning. This begins by
investing your time to acquire the
right intelligence and know-how that will accelerate your career
advancement. For example, most
people want to build their personal
brand – yet don’t invest in the
process of developing one and thus
miss opportunities along the way.
Never assume that you don’t need to get smarter, wiser and more strategic about how to better manage your career. Be proactive.
Get to know the goals the industry
you are serving desires to achieve
and how you can contribute. Build
relationships with key thought
leaders. Identify the best executive
search firms that can support the
career path you seek – and get to
know what your direct competitors
are doing to secure the position(s)
you may be targeting.
3. Invest in the Right Relationships: Give Them Time and Attention
Build a personal advisory board who can properly guide your career
goals. Identify your circle of influence. Who are they today?
Are they guiding you rightly? Are
you truly investing in these relationships in ways that are
continually helping you move your
career in the direction you want it to go?
Invest in how to network the right
way. Your networking should be
viewed as a professional development boot camp ( read about this here). Learn to value your time and how to connect with the right people. Nurture the
relationships that matter most. Give
them proper time and attention and keep the most meaningful
relationships active at all times.
4. Invest in a Career Coach:
Sustain Your Momentum
Staying focused can be difficult with
so many different responsibilities to manage. This is why most people
lose momentum when attempting to advance their careers. Most people start and stop the career
management process – finding it
difficult to manage their time.
Make career management a new
best practice; a process that becomes an embedded part of your daily activities, goals and objectives. If possible, invest in a career coach to increase your commitment levels and hold yourself accountable.Today’s competitive landscape requires you to stay on track by investing in someone that can provide you with the tools and perspective to keep you focused.
5. Invest in Your Family and
Personal Life: Create Balance and
Strengthen Your Career
Balance is the key to success – in
both business and in life. Contribute to the success of your career by investing in work/life balance and dedicating more time and attention to your personal and family life .
My family and personal friends are
an essential component to my career success. They help clear my mind and enrich my points of view.
Engaging in activities separate from
your career allows you to broaden
your observations through a different lens and appreciate new
types of ideas and ideals that can
help shape your thinking and
contribute to your professional
growth.
Invest the right way and more
effectively manage your career.
Think of your investment as a
personal enrichment process: an
investment that is always working
for you because it focuses on making you a better person both in and outside of the workplace.
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