| Are your talents being recognized? Are you
in a job that is allowing your career to develop? If not, then now
is the time to assess your employability, perhaps consider moving
jobs and making that all-important move up the career ladder. But
knowing how to get the ball rolling for yourself, so that you can
develop your own career plan, requires some serious thinking and careful
planning and that's where leading recruitment organizations like Kelly
Services can help.
Know yourself
If you are to win at work then you need to understand yourself.
Have a clear picture of your own strengths and weaknesses, identify
what makes you successful and what doesn't and try to make sure
that your job is one that plays to your strengths. We all have weaknesses
and if you have something which you feel might hold you back then
stop worrying about it and take some action. There are very few
difficulties that can't be overcome one way or another.
Set your goals
Everyone needs to have both professional and personal goals in life.
If you want to achieve them you need to set some measurements for
yourself on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis. If you don't know
what you want then you'll know when you've got it.
Update your skills
Make sure you are getting the right training at work to enable you
to do your job effectively. If you aren't then make your Human Resource
Manager aware of why you need certain training and be enthusiastic
about wanting it. If the training is not offered in-house then find
out who runs the course you want, where you can do it, when and
how much it will cost. Outside of your workplace you can enhance
your interpersonal skills with activities such as competitive sport
which is brilliant for team building or perhaps acting which is
a big confidence booster for many people.
Commitment
Everyone talks about commitment these days but it is absolutely
crucial that you believe in the organization you work for and respect
the senior management who are leading it. You have to be in tune
with the company philosophy, understand the company strategy, its
direction - know where it is that the company is going and make
sure that you are on the same train going in the same direction.
Without this sense of commitment you lose something in terms of
motivation and enthusiasm for the job.
Make your voice heard
There is a real difference between making your voice heard, i.e.
bring assertive, and being aggressive. Don't be too pushy and alienate
yourself from other people particularly your peer group because
their support and respect for you is vital if you want to get on.
Develop the art of timing, of presenting your ideas and views logically,
of making sure that they will work and of being receptive of other
people's ideas.
Take Responsibility
Being able to take responsibility and to take the consequences of
that responsibility is absolutely crucial. Taking responsibility
is about taking ownership. As companies move towards a flat management
structure it has two main consequences. First, more junior jobs
are becoming more responsible and more interesting but this greater
level of empowerment for individuals also mean that you have to
be able to cope with more pressure both physical and mental. It
may be that suddenly you find yourself reporting to a Board Director
with no-one in between which can be difficult. It may require some
changes in the way you operate but it's not impossible.
Flexibility
As you become more senior in your career and career becomes more
global as business increasingly shift to be 24/7, it is likely that
you will not be working a 9-5 routine, and that you may have to
travel, stay away from home and plan your own schedule. Companies
need to see that you are prepared to be flexible to do the job that
needs doing wherever it needs doing. A critical factor here is having
a partner who is empathetic to the requirements of your job, who
understands how important it is for you to be able to develop your
career and who gives you support at home.
Next »
The article is extracted from a publication by Kelly
Services' called "Best Foot Forward". It is a 52 page
guide for job seekers on job search tips. To obtain your very own
copy of "Best Foot Forward", please send an email to marcom@kellyservices.com.sg.
Kelly Services is a Fortune 500 company offering
human resources solutions that include temporary services, staff
leasing, outsourcing, vendor on-site and full time placement. With
more than 2500 company owned and operated offices in 26 countries,
Kelly provides nearly 800,000 employees annually.
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