It’s November again, the month that begins with leftover treats and ends with leftover turkey. Maybe the best month of the year, if you like to eat. It’s also National Career Development Month, which makes it your official time frame for checking on the health of your career.
Uh-oh. Is the patient failing? Well, read on and we’ll honor the month by reviewing tips for pumping new life into your career. This week, the focus is on your overall career, and next week, the spotlight will shine on building your career inside of your current company.
Definitions are a good place to start. These days, the term "career" has taken on multiple meanings, but I’ll hew close to a traditional concept: the intentional pattern of work, training and expertise developed over a period of years by an individual, whether that be within a recognized profession or a broader industry.
Don’t worry too much about that definition; even as I write it, I can dispute nearly every word in favor of something else. That’s what we call “overthinking,” and it’s a good thing to avoid when it comes to something as amorphous as one’s career.
To move your career management from thought to action, you’ll need some actual action steps, ideally tied to a bigger-picture goal. Do your big-picture goals seem to have shifted to the concept of survival? As in, my main goal is to pay the rent? That’s what we call “underthinking” a problem, and will result in years of treading water in lieu of setting sail.
One helpful way to define bigger goals is to ask yourself what you’d like your life to look like in the future -- perhaps 20 years from now. Next, compare that picture to your current situation. The gaps between reality and ideal often provide a structure for goal-setting.
What if those long-term goals encompass nonwork items, such as “live in the mountains” or “learn to play ice hockey”? If you remember that the purpose of your work is to support your desired life, then nonwork goals won’t rock the boat. Your next step is to ask yourself: How does work fit into the process of achieving each goal?
Sometimes work is inherently linked to the goal. For example, if you envision being a college professor, then obviously your career path must include the steps required to become a professor.
At other times, your goals and your work may seem like strangers to each other. I once knew a woman whose only goal was to live in Hawaii. Her solution? Work for a national firm that was going to open outlets there. When I met this woman in St. Paul, she had decided that Kinko’s would hire her, promote her to manager, and relocate her to Hawaii at their expense. And sure enough, they did.
If you have trouble identifying specific goals, you can use more generalized goal-setting for your big-picture career management. This concept is a bit like a savings account: You may not know what you’re saving for, but you know it’s better to have money in the bank than not.
Likewise, you may not know why you’re building your career, but absent a compelling reason not to, you might as well set some goals related to getting better and smarter in your field. Like a savings account, you’ll be happier to have that expertise down the road than not to have it.
Now that you have the specifics, or at least a sense of the big picture, here are some universal career-building steps that transfer to any career path:
1. Develop an expertise within your profession, to help you distinguish yourself from others.
2. Raise your profile by writing articles or teaching how-to classes in your expertise area.
3. Take classes or webinars to stay fresh on developments in your field; find ways to incorporate the information into your career planning.
4. Get out of your own arena at least once a year. Attend a regional or national conference, or even the local conference for a related profession.
5. Build a success team to connect with at least quarterly. The members of this advisory group may never meet each other, but each will play a part in helping you reach your goals. Include: a mentor from your field, a career or life coach, and a friend you trust to be honest with you.
6. Anticipate that a career path focused on growth might mean lateral as well as upward moves, both inside the company and to other companies; network accordingly to increase your odds of making these transitions smoothly.
Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or at 626 Armstrong Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.
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