|
In This
Issue...
Sherri Thomas, Publisher
September
1, 2007
Published bi-weekly.
You are on our list because you
signed up for one of our programs.
To change your subscription, see
link at end of newsletter.
Sign me up for this newsletter!
Visit our Website at
www.CareerCoaching360.com
|
|
Featured article: Ready for a Career Change?
3 Questions to Ask
Career Change Resources:
Books, CD's and personal coaching.
Please add "Info@CareerCoaching360.com"
to your white list or address book in your e-mail
program, so that you have no trouble receiving
future issues!
|
|
Featured
Article
Ready for a Career Change?
3 Questions You Must Ask Yourself...
by Sherri Thomas
One thing is certain. Staying in a passionless
job is a career killer. If you are not
passionate about your current job others can surely
tell. Managers, clients, peers, and potential
employers will see you as someone who lacks desire,
drive, and enthusiasm. You can identify
someone who is unhappy in their career because they
lack energy and so rarely, if ever, offer their
ideas, or volunteer for any tasks or projects.
I once worked in an office where the first thing
everyone did when they came to work in the morning
was get together to decide what to have for lunch.
If lunch is the highlight of your day, then in you
are in the wrong job!
Would you like to have a job that
challenges you, as well as provides
purpose, meaning and gives you loads of
energy? Then what is it exactly
that you need in your career to feel
great personal satisfaction and
fulfillment? Do you know?
This article provides strategies and
recommendations to help you measure the
benefit or value that you are getting
from your career, and the one single
thing you MUST DO before you decide to
leave your current work situation and
transition into a new role, company or
industry.
The first question you need to
ask yourself is, What do I really want
in my career?
What is it that will give you the
feeling of being happy and fulfilled in
your job? Is it status?
Prestige? Fame? Respect from
your peers? Credibility within the
industry? Money? Less
stress? An easier lifestyle?
Stop a minute and think about it.
You need to define the specific things
or “gets” that you want to ultimately
achieve in your career. You should
be able to narrow it down to one or two
very specific objectives. Once you
are able to identify your ultimate
career objectives, then the next thing
you need to do is take stock of your
current career and where you are today.
So the second question you need
to ask yourself is, What are the “gives
and gets” in my current situation?”
This means taking a quick inventory of
what you are currently giving to your
manager, company or clients, and what
you are getting in return. Let’s
first look at the “gives” of your job.
Write down the value that you are
providing to your employer by being in
your current job role.
For example, do you have knowledge,
experience and skills that are valued by
your manager or clients? Are you
an expert in your job and providing work
that is valued? Are you
consistently delivering high quality
projects that are on time and on budget?
Are your clients thrilled with your
work? Does your manager think of
you as a valued contributor?
Do you have the most relevant training
and certification to do the job
effectively? Are you adding to the
bottom line by bringing in new business
and maximizing opportunities, or saving
costs by streamlining processes or
bringing in advanced technologies?
Are you leading projects and
initiatives? Are you training and
mentoring team members and peers?
Are you providing some kind of unique
expertise and viewed as the “go to”
person for that knowledge or skill?
Measure the Gives and the Gets
Look at yourself from your manager’s
perspective. Consider the fact
that your employer probably had several,
if not many, candidates applying for
your job and that they gave the job
offer to
you.
Are you meeting their expectations?
Are you delivering what you promised in
the interview? Are you
contributing the skills, expertise, and
accomplishments that your company or
clients value? Define what it is that
you bring to the role. These are
the “gives” of your job.
Next, let’s identify the “gets” of your
current work situation. This means
the benefits that are you receiving for
your work. Are the benefits that
you are getting, the benefits that you
want and need?
For example, if you are getting paid for
your work, and maybe even receiving
health benefits, a retirement account,
or some company stock, then write all of
that down. Those are big “gets”.
What else are you getting? The
opportunity to create or launch a new
product? The thrill of working on
a specific challenge?
Leading a “hot” project?
Strengthening a skill? Developing
a new skill? Pride from working
for a prestigious company or with
prestigious clients? Training or
advanced education? The ability to
telecommute or have a flexible work
schedule? The opportunity to work
with friends? Identify all of the
benefits, or “gets” that you are
attaining in your current work
environment. There may be many
“gets” in your current job and it’s
important to identify all of them.
Think about how these relate to your
ultimate career objectives that you
identified earlier. Are the
benefits in your current position
helping you achieve your career
objectives? If not, then are you
gaining the knowledge, experience and
skills you need to attain another job
that will help you reach your career
objectives?
Now, before we go on to the third
question you must ask yourself before
you decide whether to leave your current
work situation, there is another kind of
“get” that you must also define.
And that is, the negative “gets” in your
current position. Every job has a
certain amount of frustration and
stress, but does your job give you an
excessive amount? Does it make you
feel inferior? Incompetent?
Overwhelmed? Undervalued?
Underutilized? These negative
“gets” should also be identified.
Think about any negative gets that you
have in your current situation and write
them down.
Is your company getting too good of a
deal?
Now it’s time to review all of your
“gives”, “positive gets” and “negative
gets”. Are the gets that you are
receiving the gets that you really want
and need to be satisfied and fulfilled?”
Is the mix of gives and gets in balance,
or out of balance? If
either side is out of balance, then
either you, or the company, are getting
too good of a deal.
So if your lists are out of balance,
does that mean you should leave?
Not necessarily. There are THREE
MORE FACTORS you must consider before
you decide whether or not to leave your
current work situation.
If you are satisfied with your list of
positive gets, but the negative gets
outweighs those positive gets, then
let’s address some ways that you can
manage them.
First, if you are feeling overworked and
overwhelmed then are you setting
boundaries and aligning expectations
with regards to the amount of time that
you can commit to your projects
Let me ask you another question .
Does your manager or your clients know
that you work extra hours? If yes,
then have they lightened your work load?
If not, then have you pushed back?
One of the big “Ah Ha!” moments I had in
my career was with regards to this very
topic. I was in a meeting with my
manager at that time and one of my
colleagues who led a team of senior
analysts. My manager wanted that
team to accomplish a project by a
certain deadline, and the meeting was to
discuss the possibility that the team
might not be able to deliver on time.
My manager asked the team leader, “Is
the team working nights and week-ends to
get it done?” My colleague
responded, “Yes.” My manager
then asked, “Are they complaining?”
My colleague responded, “No.” My
manager said, “Then you aren’t working
them hard enough.”
The point is that if you don’t
push back then managers will just keep
loading you up with work.
I use to think that by taking on massive
amounts of work and not complaining that
I was showing everyone that I was
dedicated, loyal, and solid as a rock.
But, the sad truth was, I was really
only helping my manager and other
colleagues reach their goals. I
was really was doing very little to
advance my own career.
Now I don’t recommend that you just say
“No” to your manager the next time she
asks you to do something. Setting
up boundaries is a delicate situation
that requires tact and diplomacy.
So if you are in this situation, I
recommend that you ask your manage to
help you prioritize your work load.
If your manager looks at you like,
“What?”, then you can explain that she
is good at prioritizing her
responsibilities and you would like to
learn from her.
By listing all of your project
deliverables and the timeline for each,
your manager should be able to help you
manage your work load so that you are
not overworked and over stressed.
This will also allow her to see the
crazy workload that you have. Now
almost everyone has to put in extra work
from time to time, but by addressing
this with your manager, you are setting
the expectation that you only have a set
number of hours in the day you can
commit to your projects.
Second, do you feel that you have the
right level of training and knowledge to
feel secure and confident in your job?
If not, then I recommend creating a
professional development plan for
yourself. Is there a certification
that you need? Is there
specialized training or advanced
education that you want? Is there
an industry association that you could
join to deepen your knowledge on a
certain topic? Do some research
and find out the cost and time that is
required and then discuss it with your
manager. Many times companies will
support growth and professional
development but you may need to be
proactive and suggest it.
Third, if there is something specific
that you need in your job to be
satisfied then could you have a
heart-to-heart conversation with your
manager to discuss it? If that
isn’t an option or just doesn’t work,
then is there another department head,
senior manager, or mentor who may be
able to open doors or at least give you
some professional advice?
If these three options don’t work for
you and you still feel that the negative
gets outweigh the positive gets, then
there is ONE THING you absolutely must
do before you leave your current work
situation.
Is there anything else I can
glean from my current situation?
There are times in everyone’s career
when you hit a roadblock, and it’s best
to simply move on. But before you
disconnect completely from your
situation, I encourage you to glean
anything else you can from your current
employer or client.
Are there any projects you could join or
lead that would allow you to gain
knowledge or experience in a new area?
Could you strengthen your leadership
skills or boost your credibility by
leading a project? Is there a
project you could create that would
challenge you and help you grow
professionally?
Also, is there anyone in your current
environment who could guide you, mentor
you, or teach you about a product,
technology, or the industry? Is
there anyone else you could work with
who could give your career a boost just
by saying that you worked together?
And finally...
Is there anyone who you would like to
use to recommend your work to others?
I don’t recommend that you start telling
colleagues you are planning to leave,
but if there is someone who you would
like to give you a recommendation then
you may want to make a strong connection
with that person to reinforce the value
that you provide to your company or
clients.
As a final
note, if you are thinking about
switching to a different company,
Fortune Magazine recently released its
new list of America’s Top 100 Employers
based on overall job satisfaction
including low turnover, salary,
benefits, job growth opportunities and
training. And the winners are:
-
Google
-
Genetech
-
Wegmans
Food Markets
-
Container Store
-
Whole
Foods Market
-
Network
Appliance
-
S.C.
Johnson & Son
-
Boston
Consulting Group
-
Methodist Hospital System
-
W.L.
Gore & Associates
-
Cisco
Systems
-
David
Weekley Homes
-
Nugget
Market
-
Qualcomm
-
American
Century Invest
-
Starbucks Coffee
-
Quicken
Loans
-
Station
Casinos
-
Alston &
Bird
-
QuikTrip
-
Griffen
Hospital
-
Valero
Energy
-
Vision
Service Plan
-
Nordstrom
-
Ernst &
Young
-
Arnold &
Porter
-
Recreation Equipment (REI)
-
Kimley-Horn & Associates
-
Edward
Jones
-
Russell
Investment Group
-
Adobe
Systems
-
Plante &
Moran
-
Intuit
-
Umpqua
Bank
-
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
-
Goldman
Sachs
-
Northwest Community Hospital
-
Robert
W. Baird
-
J.M.
Smucker
-
Amgen
-
JM
Family Enterprises
-
PLC
Construction
-
Genzyme
-
Yahoo
-
Bain &
Company
-
First
Horizon National
-
American
Fidelity Assurance
-
SAS
Institute
-
Nixon
Peabody
-
Microsoft
You can view the
complete list of Top 100 Employers
or search by
Best Employers by State.
WANT TO
LEARN ABOUT HAVING A PERSONAL CAREER COACH?
You can learn more about personal career coaching,
personal management coaching or personal leadership
coaching by visiting the web page:
Personal Career Coaching by Career Coaching 360
WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT A
PROFESSIONAL RESUME CRITIQUE?
Visit the web page:
Professional Resume Critique by Career Coaching 360
WANT TO LEARN ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS,
PRODUCTS and SERVICES?
Visit the web page:
Programs, Products and Services by Career Coaching
360
WANT TO SEE MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
ONE?
See Sherri's
newsletter archive.
WANT TO
USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include this complete blurb
with it: Career success coach Sherri Thomas is
President of Career Coaching 360, an international
speaker, and author of "Career Smart - 5 Steps to a
Powerful Personal Brand." If you're ready to
jump-start your career, transition to a new level,
and move into a more meaningful and enriching
career, get your FREE tips now at
www.CareerCoaching360.com
About Sherri ~
Career success coach Sherri Thomas
is President of Career Coaching 360, an
international speaker, and author of "Career Smart -
5 Steps to a Powerful Personal Brand."
She has successfully transitioned into
the radio, television, finance, retail, and high
tech industries, and now teaches others how to do
the same.
If you enjoyed this issue, then check out the
products, services, and coaching support available
to help you
get "un-stuck" and move your career forward.
The website is power packed with resources to help
you transition into a new role, company, or industry
quickly and easily. (I use these same
strategies to drive my own career.)
Learn more.
Resources and Events
Resume & Interviewing Toolbox
Sherri's personal "Resume & Interviewing Toolbox"
When you're ready to get "un-stuck" and move your
career forward sign up for the "Resume &
Interviewing Toolbox." You'll get instant
access to easy-to-use, proven resume templates,
samples, and guides to help you create a
professional resume QUICKLY and EASILY. Also
includes the "Interview Smart" guide, the "Know What
You're Worth Compensation Report", and personal
coaching support.
Learn more.
CD Audio Program: "Career Change Boot Camp!"
A step-by-step action plan to help you change
careers quickly and easily.
AVAILABLE NOW! This boot camp
program includes two (2) audio CD's, e-Workbook, and
transcripts
I designed this
program
as a
step-by-step action plan with proven, easy-to-use
tools, insider secrets and strategies to help you
transition into a new industry, company, or job role
quickly and easily. This is the exact same
formula that I've used to successfully transition
into the radio, television, finance, retail, and
high tech industries.
Learn more.
|
|
