Career

In the modern economy, there is the perception that people are changing companies more often. While it is difficult to tease how true that is (e.g., changing companies versus changing jobs at a company), it has become common wisdom that your employer is not managing your career. It is up to you to manage your own career.

Set Career Goals

You cannot get where you are going if you don’t know where it is. Where do you want to be in five years? Ten years? Twenty? What are you mid-term and long-term goals? Do you want to be the CEO, a C-suite executive, or some well paid individual contributor? No single answer is correct for everyone, and you are likely to change your mind at some point. Whatever you choose today, write it down and revisit it regularly. Keep your end goal in mind when managing your career.

Determine what it will take to get from where you are to where you want to be. If you have an audacious goal (good for you) you need to figure out what are the intermediate goals. If you want to be a CFO someday and you are working as a junior accountant in accounts payable, work out some steps in between. In this case, you will want to work up to be a controller for a small segment of the company and then larger and larger portions of the company. After several years, you will better understand what the other steps in your progression are.

Acquire Skills

You probably do not now have the skills you need for your dream job. What skills and abilities are you missing to get to the next rung on your career ladder? Figure them out and develop a plan to acquire them. Perhaps you need to be better at giving presentations. Brainstorm resources that can help you get there. Develop a plan and execute it. Work with your manager to get opportunities to test out your new skills. It many include determining what future jobs you need that will help or force you to develop those skills.

Find Mentors

Find someone who is ahead of you on the path you have chosen and ask that they become your mentor. They do not need to be where you want to be, only far enough ahead of you on that path. If you want to be CIO, you do not need a CIO mentor (although it doesn’t hurt). Someone who is a director or junior executive working for the CIO will work. That person has more experience, skills, and knowledge about your chosen field and career path than you do. You can benefit considerably from their guidance. If you pick someone who becomes a CIO in the future, you have the added benefit of having known them before they ascended to the position and having a longer relationship with them than the Johnny-come-latelys they attract.

Focus on Your Strengths

People often focus on what they need to improve. Identifying those areas and improving is good. However, you should spend more time reinforcing the areas where you are strong. A 10% improvement in an area of strength has greater impact than a 10% improvement in an area of weakness. Spend most of your effort on those areas you are strongest. Do not neglect your weakness, but compensate for them.

Build Your Network

Most people find their job because on someone they knew. The more people you have in your network, the more likely someone will can recommend you for the next job in your career path. Your network can also help you discover what the traditional career path is and help you develop skills to get to the next step. Don’t only target people at the top. You want a breadth and depth in your chosen field. People who are middle managers now may be senior vice presidents and c-suite executives later. And that individual contributor may stay an individual contributor, but be the one who is the expert in an area you need expert advice.

Ladder

Additional Resources