| Greetings!
As the end of the year approaches it can be helpful to take inventory and reflect. This month we discuss some new strategies you can utilize to advance your career. Don't forget to join our new LinkedIn Groups the Aerospace Executive Network and the Defense Executive Network (see below for links). |
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Top Ways to Advance Your Career - Leveraging Yourself Professionally
Many surveys have been conducted over the years asking executives and managers what they think would be the best ways to advance their career. Because we believe the workplace will be very dynamic next year, with many executives making changes, we want to explore this topic, with some of our own out of the box thinking. Whether you are on the job market, or want to optimize your experience at your current company, positioning yourself is critically important.
Most career advancement surveys come up with these basic ideas at top of the list:
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Get more education, either formal (like an MBA) or industry related (learn more about your products or the sector)
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Improve your network - have people who can steer you to the next opportunity
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Take on challenges - reach beyond your basic capabilities - stretch yourself
- Get results - work hard, do the basics and get things done.
Here are some additional ideas on how to advance yourself that you might not see in most surveys:
- Be Positive: No one likes a whiner. You may have had 2 years of difficult times, but when the going gets tough, the tough "get going".
- Show your network that you are more than a survivor - you have thrived and are ready for even bigger challenges.
- Never complain thinking it is confidential - the listener's opinion about you changes if you speak negatively.
- Be friendly within your company. Play nice in the sandbox.
- Be a good listener.
- Be a Mentor, Seek a Mentor: Having people who "sponsor" you from both above and below can improve the way you are perceived.
- Add Value: Find ways to impact your company's bottom line, or if you are in the market, define your skills in terms of how you will make money or save money for your next employer.
- Be Proactive with Your Boss: Seek opportunities to get feedback, and to provide meaningful input. Don't hesitate to point out your successes if there is a chance the boss is not yet aware.
- Differentiate: Know how you are unique, special and better than others - how you stand out from the crowd. Make sure there is evidence to back it up.
- Become a Great Communicator: Hone your presentation and speaking skills in big groups, small groups, and even one-on-one. Communication is critical to getting ahead.
- Document Your Results: Show pride in your work, and put it in writing. Make your peers and your boss' peers aware of what you are getting done.
Taking these steps will enable to leverage the good work you are doing, and position yourself well for career advancement, both inside and outside your company.
We conducted a linked-in survey on best ideas to advance your career, and with over 150 responses so far, here are the results:
It is interesting to note that most people feel that their network is more important than anything else they can do, and perhaps disturbing that the second most popular choice is to move on and find another job. Also notable is that the "network" choice increased with the age of the responder, with younger people placing less emphasis on the importance of a network.
Tell us the best way you've advanced your career, and we'll publish the best ideas in a follow up article or contribute to our survey by clicking here. |
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Networking Tip: Benefit to the Buyer
When you network, you are essentially asking your networking contact to help you: Typically to help you find something or connect with someone. Why should this contact help you? Why would they even want to be on the phone with you? Every transaction in life has a buyer and a seller.
In networking, you are the seller, and your network contact is the buyer. Make sure there is a "benefit to the buyer" of being on the phone with you. It may be as simple as providing a pleasant experience on the other end. Be concise. Be positive. Be collaborative, not adversarial. Ask what they need help with, and be sincere in offering to respond.
Make your networking requests pleasant, and make it feel like it truly works both ways - that you will help in return - and your contacts (buyers) will perceive the benefit in helping you. |
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Staffing Q&A - Real questions; our real answers:
Q: What indicators do you use to determine whether a job candidate is a team player?
A: We use an open-imprint question: "Tell me about a favorite work experience, a one-time event." If they are task oriented, they will talk about tasks, with minimal discussion of the people. If they are people oriented, that will be the focus, and if they interacted well with the people it will be evident.
The very next question we ask will be: "What about a work experience that gave you trouble?" This validates what you just heard in the previous answer, from a "stressed" perspective. Candidates will reveal if they saw the people around them as part of the problem, or part of the solution.
Q: If you have a career gap, is it a big red flag on a resume?
A: The most important point of view on this is that of the employer. We have had many clients with strong feelings about this - that the "good" people keep their jobs, and therefore, someone out of work or who has been laid off, is less desirable. It is hard to fight against this bias - how do you tell a prospective employer that they are wrong? We do believe that many good people have gaps, and it shouldn't be held against every person who is not working. However, using years only (no months) on your resume should help. Tell the truth, and be skillful and selective about how much you say about the gap.
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