Nationwide Executive Recruitment From FPC

(F-O-R-T-U-N-E PERSONNEL CONSULTANTS)

You'll Value The Experience

The new year is upon us and before you know it a few months of 2008 will pass.  Don’t lose out on this valuable career development time - evaluate your career now!

• Are you where you want to be?
• Do you have the level of responsibility you were promised?
• Is your career progressing?

It all boils down to this, if you are not where you wanted to be by the end of 2007, what steps can you take to get there by the end of 2008?  There are four steps in the process:
1. Where are you now?
2. Where do you want to be?
3. What are you going to do to get there?
4. Checking in on your Progress

Where am I now?
You really have to take some time and think about your career – not just your job – your career.  Does your current job have a place in the progressive path of your career?  Ask yourself…
• Has my job changed in the last few years?
• Have I progressively earned a higher salary during my tenure at this job?
• Do I have more responsibility than I used to?
• Have I made progress in my annual reviews?
• What new skills have you learned since you last looked for a job?

Make a list of the things that you like and the things you would like to eliminate about your current job.  Are the things you dislike particular to this job?  And will you be able to get the things you like in a new job?  Don’t make the “grass in greener” mistake and leave because you dislike something that is inherent to your role and not the employer.  Really think about what you are leaving for.  It should be a strategic decision.

Take a look at your resume.  Does it accurately reflect who you are professionally?  If not, time to update.  If it’s been a long time since you dusted off the resume, ask for help.  Have your family and friends read it as well as a trusted recruiter.  They can all help guide you in making you be as fabulous on paper as you are in person.

Where do I want to be?
One word – Vision.  You have to develop a vision in your mind (and on paper) of where you want to be before you can ever hope to get there.   One of the biggest obstacles to career development is that people just don’t know what options there are available to them.

Are you competitive in the job market now – or are there skills you need to learn to jump to the next level?  Do some research with your industry association or industry website to find out what skills people in your position or desired position posses? The internet has a vast amount of information on career development, you just have to allocate the time to mine it.  If you don’t have the time, enlist a career coach or recruiter.  A good recruiter will be able to tell you if you are competitive in the field and what would make you a more attractive candidate. If you don’t have the necessary skills, plot out over the next few months how you can learn them.  Maybe it’s a class you can take that you can put on your resume?  Maybe you can ask for specific types of tasks at work to round out your experience. 

In a sense, your career vision is like writing a fantasy resume.  The most important part about career development is knowing where you are going.

How am I going to get there?
The first step in reaching your 2008 career goal is to actually set the goal.   Once you’ve set the goal, you need to create a “To Do” list to get you there.

Have you ever heard of the phrase – “do-able chunks?”  It’s a time management process to help you get things done when focusing on ALL the things you need to do would be too overwhelming.  Take that philosophy and apply it to your career development. Write out the steps and then break them into smaller steps and designate a realistic time-frame within which to accomplish them.

Some of the steps to getting the career you want in 2008 are:
1. Start making professional contacts in every aspect of your life.  Once you decide where you want to go, talk about it.  You never know who knows someone who knows someone who can help you get there.  If you are a hesitant networker, read our article on Networking called the Practical Guide To Networking . The article was written with those people in mind who dislike the traditional concept of networking.
2. Learn new skills to make yourself more marketable – list the skills and plot a realistic timetable to learn them.
3. Resume review – as mentioned above – make changes to your resume to accurately reflect your skills today.
4. Get involved – Use your industry association.  They often have segments of industry associations designated to career development or networking.
5. Get information - know what is going on in your industry and job market. Read the industry publications.  Sign up for RSS feeds on industry news sites, or on the press releases page for your favorite companies in the industry.  If you do start interviewing, you better know the current events of your particular field.  It’s a good idea to get in the habit now.
6. Use other resources – career coaches and recruiters can do their part to help you in your job transition so use them.

Checking in
Way too often people take the time to plot their steps and maybe achieve the first two, but then lose momentum and never go back to their steps until the year ends and they are wondering why they are still where they were a year ago.  Don’t let this happen to you.  Put alerts in your calendar telling you to check in on your goal.  You can make them quarterly, but if you are really serious about career development and change, make them monthly.

Review your goals, and your steps.  See if your direction has changed at all.  Remember that sometimes things may happen to change the original direction and that’s okay.  As long as it is a vision that you are working toward, it’s okay if the target shifts.

How FPC Can Help
Remember you don’t have to do this alone.  Your FPC recruiter can help you determine the right time for you to make a move for you to be the most competitive.  They can advise you on what skills you need to have and what experience would make you stand out in the crowd. 

To locate an FPC recruiter in your field, visit http://www.fpcnational.com/find-a-recruiter.html

For more career development help, visit http://www.fpcnational.com/job-search-tips.html