Advancing Your Career During Difficult Times
U of M Club of New York Workshop
December 4, 2013
What is the definition of a career?
The word “career” comes from the Latin word carraria, or road for vehicles, and is also derived from the Latin word carrus, meaning a wheeled vehicle. Both words give us the sense of travel in a linear fashion, referring to both the conveyance and the route.
In the past and overlapping into companies of the present, a career progression has tended to follow a clear path or track. Some people traveled that path in quicker vehicles (the fast trackers) and some traveled in slow vehicles, but all vehicles followed a similar route. This type of career development worked best in traditional, hierarchical organizations where the power and money were clustered in the upper levels of the hierarchy, and the only way to get them was to advance.
Question…
What is the biggest obstacle employees have in their careers?
… Answer
Pot-luck Planning
oMany people tend to seize either the first or the wrong career opportunity too often
o“Whatever turns up” too often decides what we do
Old vs. New Model of Career Planning
Linear path determined by others
vs.
Non-linear path determined by you
Self Assessment
How do I determine my path?
Wants and needs
- Now and in the future
- How might current and potential future economic/geopolitical conditions influence my decisions?
Skills
- What skills are in demand today and what skills might be in demand in the future?
- What skills are useful in advancing my career during a period of economic volatility?
A “Wants/Needs” List
How much money do I need/want?
What I am interested in doing?
oby Function
oby Industry/Company
What “atmospherics” are important to me?
What are my values?
Are my values changing?
How much free time do I need/want?
What do I want to eliminate from my next job that I have in my present job?
Do I need/want to continue to live in New York?
What is my attitude toward risk?
Creating a Career Strategy
- Five-Year Plan
- Focus
Tradeoffs
What am I willing to give up to get what I want?
Adapting Your Career Toolbox to Meet Today’s Challenges
New Challenges to Corporate Survival
- Economic volatility
- Social disruption
- Commoditization
What must companies do to survive and thrive during this period of volatility?
•Create innovative products to capture consumer interest
•Reduce cost / improve productivity
•Effectively manage and motivate staff during a period of downsizing and reduced compensation
•Perform thorough due diligence in all areas
What skills will be crucial for employees during this period?
- Ability to think strategically
- Ability to handle ambiguity
- Ability to think both analytically and creatively
- Ability to inspire and motivate employees
Successful employees will be able to use these skills to:
- Generate revenue
- Reduce costs
- Manage people in “combat” situations
Do Not Discount the Importance of “Soft Skills”
Communication skills/emotional intelligence skills are at least as important as technical skills in a job/career management process
If you’re moving so fast that you don’t have time to be polite, you’ve already lost the race
Reciprocity rules – you need to be willing to give something in return when you’re trying to manage your career
- Learning to play the political game is of the utmost importance
How you dress and how you behave are extremely important – the “cool” workplace has been replaced by a much more serious workplace that reflects these recessionary times
The Importance of Due Diligence in Career Management
What Is Due Diligence?
Individual Career Due Diligence Questions
Am I in the right job?
Am I in the right industry?
Am I compatible with my boss?
Am I compatible with the corporate culture?
What is my attitude toward risk?
How does my long-term career strategy dovetail withmy employer’s strategy?
Key Questions To Consider About Your Present/Future Job
Strategic
Does the company have a clear business strategy to meet its customers’ needs? Can the company stay close to its customers? Can the company provide customers with a fast response to their changing needs? What is the company’s competition like? Does the company’s business model sufficiently take into account social, psychological, and economic reality? Does the company have a security plan to protect its employees and business? Will my organization restructure/downsize, and what will the consequences be for me? Will my unit/division still exist one year from now? Five years from now?
Top Management/Leadership
What is the skill level of the company’s management team? Does the senior executive team have a clear vision of the company’s future? Can the company’s senior team articulate this vision to staff in a clear and consistent manner? Can the senior team articulate a set of core company values to staff?
Organizational Structure
Does the company have an effective organizational structure to meet its strategic goals? Does the company clearly define individual and group roles? Is there a clear distinction between the roles of the “C’s”? (i.e. – CEO, COO, CFO, CTO) How are decisions made at the company?
Corporate Culture
How does the company attend to the needs of itsemployees? Does the company foster a climate of trust? How does the company foster productivity? Cultivate employee loyalty? Does the company truly value people? How is success measured at the company?
Questions to Help Optimize Your Position Within Your Company
•What is my job description? Is it current? How does my job description fit into the corporate strategy?
•What are the performance standards? Are they reasonable and reachable at 110%? Have I discussed these performance standards with my current/future boss?
•What are my boss’s performance standards?
•What are the three most critical success factors for my position?
•What new skills can I develop and what old skills can I strengthen in order to increase my value to my employer?
oHow can I increase revenue?
oHow can I reduce cost?
oHow can I improve productivity
- How can I better manage and motivate employees in “stressful” situations?
•What are the dangers/opportunities in the political landscape and how can I handle these dangers/opportunities?
•What can I do daily, weekly, and monthly to ensure continual advancement?
•How will I fit networking into my career advancement strategy?
Networking Tips
Networking:
Some Rules of the Road
1.What’s your plan? Why network?
2.Do your homework first.
Find out everything you can about the company and the job before requesting any information interviews.
3.What’s your pitch, your 90-second synopsis? “Tell me about yourself.”
4.Give something back.
Don’t just ask for help; give something in return.
5.Offer to do volunteer work.
This is one way to give something in return.
6.Meet people through professional associations.
7.The emphasis should be on quality – not quantity.
Make sure that each networking contact is intensive and ongoing. Yes, the number of contacts is important, but conducting 50 poorly handled networking meetings is useless.
8.Treat the person as a person, not as a “contact.”
9.Follow up with the people you have talked to.
Let them know how you’re doing.
Send them information that would be useful to them.
Networking Dos
1.Talk to people whose work genuinely interests you.
2.Network in areas where you are not employed. Broaden your search as widely as your imagination will allow.
3.Make contact with professional associations related to your job and career interests. Talk with reference librarians. They will lead you to the Encyclopedia Of Associations (three volumes), NTPA (National Trade & Professional Associations), and other directories.
4.Write thank you notes to all the people you meet. I know this is a lot of writing, but it is a way to maintain contact on an upbeat note. As they say in theater: “always leave them laughing.”
5.Have and use a business card.
6.Ask for: (a) Information, (b) Advice, and (c) Referrals.
7.Keep a record of all contacts you make — names, addresses, job titles, and telephone numbers. Review these data points, so when someone calls you out of the blue, you know who they are.
8.Develop a clear, consistent networking strategy toward your goals.
9.Use emotional intelligence when networking –– understand that your networking contact is not a “byte,” a “hit,” or a disembodied voice on the phone. S/he is a human being.
10.Be discrete.
11.Be respectful of people’s time. Networking meetings should last 20–30 minutes at most.
12.Say “Thank you.”
Networking Don’ts
1.Never sound/be desperate.
2.Never pester your contact. Following up every two weeks is OK – every day is not.
3.Never, ever disclose private information (such as telephone numbers or e-mail addresses) your contact gives you to anyone else. Never give out your contact’s email/information without his/her permission.
4.Never forget to say “Thank you.”
5.Never use “networking” as an excuse to get free professional advice from a professional.
6.Never use the internet to steal business from your networking contacts.
7.Don’t assume your contact is your recruiter/full time career advisor.
8.Don’t assume your contact is your rescuer.
9.Listen to your contact. If s/he says s/he is not comfortable giving you names of additional people to talk to, listen and be respectful.
10.Never forget to keep your contacts posted on your progress. Follow up every 4–6 weeks.
Paul Bernard & Associates, 2013©
Advancing Your Career During Difficult Times
Page 1 of 24