Creating Compelling Career Goals- Part 2

You have often heard that timing is everything; well, I can’t think of a better time to get yourself tuned into a solid plan for your career. As I have shared with you in the past, a surprising number of seemingly well educated, experienced professionals allow themselves to go through long periods of time without the benefit of clear and compelling career goals. What effect do you think the current “bad economy drumbeat” is having on people in the workforce? Do you think there will be more people taking action like you are to get a solid plan pulled together, or do you think more will take a “wait and see” approach to their career? My work experience at Marshall Career Service tells me that in times of concern and worry, many people do exactly the opposite of what logic and common sense would tell them to do. Taking a “wait and see” approach is clearly not a good idea when employers get concerned about the economy and their workforce. Who do you think is most likely to stay in good graces at work; those who are well planned and goal oriented or the employee waiting to see what “might” happen?

Each of us has areas of responsibility for which we are paid to successfully complete. These responsibilities also support directly the responsibilities of those we report to and those reporting to us. An analogy of what you want to do in Part 2 of “Creating Compelling Career Goals” is to completely understand where you are now in order to best determine where it is you want to go in the future. Now is the time to breakdown in detail on paper all of the responsibilities making up your job. It becomes habit to lump multiple responsibilities into broad categories such as “production forecasting and budgeting”. The truth is that this one “responsibility” actually has numerous other essential “responsibilities” that must first be completed successfully. Think of this task as doing inventory; you want to look at everything you do down to the individual part or component level. What are the individual steps you take to accomplish each of your responsibilities? Build a detailed look at every aspect of your job.

As you to look at these responsibilities you can more clearly see what you are best at and what areas need some work. Continuing with the example of production forecasting and budgeting; you may see that you are really skilled at accurately predicting changes in raw material costs on the overall budget. What are the “sub skills” that you must also exercise successfully in order to consistently make solid predictions? Pretty good chance you are skilled in sitting down with the purchasing department and gaining their buy in and cooperation. Does this mean you are a good listener? Does it show skill in communicating needs and expectations? Are you beginning to see your skill in asking questioning to get to the heart of the matter? Does it demonstrate a clear ability to make and keep agreements? I know you can think of your own examples of sub skills you take for granted yet are a critical component to your overall success. You want to look at the details making up the broad tasks of each of your responsibilities. This is how to best understand your areas of responsibility.

Much of our success at Marshall Career Service can be attributed to our approach to understanding the depth of the position we are being hired to fill for our client. Our consultants are well skilled at building the level of trust and rapport needed to help our customers think of their needs at the “component level”. Continuing with our previous example; who would we recommend for hire if our client asks us to fill the position responsible for production forecasting and budgeting? Is this a job for a “numbers guy”, a crusty old manufacturing type or an agile rapport builder clear of purpose? It is a guessing game at best until our staff spends time exercising our skills with our clients. What I am telling you is that companies know what they are looking for, but have no idea what that looks like. Make sense?

Now let’s put this exercise back in the context of creating career goals. Within the company you currently work for, or for that matter any company you will ever work with, there are numerous sets of unique “sub skills” needed to succeed. Whether your company has 150 people or 15000 worldwide, the products you sell, the inherent nature of the business, the attitudes and belief systems of your leaders along with the background, experience and thought processes of each and every person shape the “sub skills” you utilize to get things done. No two companies and no two positions within them function the same way. Every position within every company is unique to that company. This is what makes successful hiring or conducting a successful job search so dog gone difficult. All of you accountants carry the same titles and job descriptions, yet none of you utilize the same set of “sub skills” to get your job done. If you will make the investment of time in yourself to “inventory” each of your responsibilities you will be taking an enormous step forward in positioning yourself for long term career success.

Remember “timing is everything”? Think within your current company; how many of your co-workers do you think will actually exercise the self discipline needed to accomplish this task? Who do you think will be best prepared for the upcoming evaluation or review? Who will be most likely to sell themselves in the next interview? And finally, who do you think will feel a huge shot of enthusiasm and self confidence that comes from inventorying your skills and successes? I will also just bet that your family and friends will also appreciate your “well timed” lighter attitude and smile on your face.

In a few weeks I will update this site with Part 3 of “Creating Compelling Career Goals”. In the meantime, do your homework, lighten up and focus just a little more clearly everyday on what you want and where you want your life to take you. You have a much better grip on the steering wheel than what you might think!

www.HireOpportunities.com is a career resource written by Rick Marshall, president of Marshall Career Service, Inc. located in Fort Worth, Texas. Marshall and his staff are recognized as one of the leaders in the placement and recruiting profession specializing in career opportunities located in the North Texas area. Client companies and qualified candidates working with Marshall Career Service enjoy a true level of personal service not found in today’s resume driven times. To learn more about our areas of expertise please follow this link to our website. www.marshallcareerservice