Many think of it as a 50-50 arrangement. I carry 50% of the responsibility for my career development and my employer carries 50%. Yes, in theory, but not in reality. Here’s the rub.
What an employer considers 50%, you may consider only 10% and be dissatisfied. And what you feel is your 50% contribution, may be considered a measly 20% by your employers. This leads to mismatched expectations and employee/employer frustrations.
The Bottom Line:
If you are concerned about your career advancement, as you should be, then take complete ownership of it. These are some of the things you could do to take charge of your career:
1. Build your career capital.
Career capital consists of your qualifications, experience and reputation. It requires investments of time and resources to grow. Find workshops and trainings that would enhance your capabilities. Don’t assume your organization has no money for professional development – you won’t know unless you ask. However, you may need to do it on your own time or even with some of your own money. Realize this is an investment in your future.
2. Be known and be seen.
Take the initiative. Ask your manager for the opportunity to lead a task force or take on a project outside of your job duties. For example, head a committee recommending personnel policy changes, facilitate the next staff meeting or make a presentation to upper management or the board. It’s not only who you know or who knows you but, most importantly, who knows and is impressed by what you can do.
3. Find a mentor.
You need to have someone who can introduce you to people, give you strategic career advice and help you learn from his or her mistakes. Mentors don’t have to be in your organization. Look around your community. Who is doing interesting work? Who inspires you? Develop a relationship first before popping the mentor question.
4. Work with a coach.
While a mentor can help build your network and give advice, a coach can build your skills and help you develop a winning career strategy. That person can also work with you on the leadership or managerial challenges you’re currently facing so that you don’t make career fatal mistakes.
5. Above all, make sure you perform well.
You can do all the other stuff, but if you do not deliver, sooner or later you will trip up. So step number one in your career development is to do what you are currently doing to the very best of your ability and with all your energy – even if it is not yet what you ultimately want from your career.
Your career is your responsibility.
Yes, of course, you manager should have your best interests in mind, but your career development is not at the top of his her daily to-do list. It should be on the top of yours. So, to take charge of you career, set time aside to answer these questions:
- What can you do right now to enrich your present job or assignment?
- What career options can you start exploring for challenge, variety, or greater personal satisfaction?
- What internal training courses or external seminars can you participate in for professional development?
- Are there off-the-job experiences that could enhance your portfolio of skills and your reputation as a leader?
Do you know what YOU do today will directly influence your career in 3, 5 or 10 years?
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- Copyright © 2010 Marcia Zidle career strategist and leadership coach.
Marcia Zidle, a certified career strategist and business coach, works with high potential, high impact executives, managers and professionals to advance their careers and grow their leadership capabilities. 
I’ve been in one interesting situation lately, and I’ve written a post about it: people give up to their career opportunities as they are so much afraid of the consequences of trying and failing – although no try is a failure, just a lesson learned. Please let me know what you think about this, and if you had similar experiences: http://projectmanager1.blogspot.com/2010/05/care-about-your-people.html
Mirela,
I’ve noticed in my career work with talented professionals and managers, there seems to be two ways of looking at the world: through the eyes of fear or through the eyes of hope about the future. I try not to deal with their psyche – that’s for the psychologists – but rather help them look at their goals and what will they need to do to get from here (where they are right now) to there (where they want to be).This focuses their attention on small steps or concrete actions to get them moving and keep them moving in attaining their goals.
Thank you Jared,
I’m always looking for career topics or questions to write about. What’s on your mind? Let me know and I can develop an article on that issue.
[...] Take full responsibility for your career. Yes, of course, you manager should have your best interests in mind, but your career development is not at the top of his her daily to-do list. It should be on the top of yours. That’s the only way you will not only survive but thrive in this new world of work. [...]
Marcia
I came across your article doing research for a paper and prior to this I would have been in agreement with you totally. I believe it is still excellent advice for an individual to follow but managers and supervisors need to be thinking differently. Organizational career activities directly impact job performance, role behavior, and job attitude, (Feldman, 1995). When an organization provides opportunities for career development activities they are investing in the organization’s future. For this reason managers and supervisors need to be proactive and aggressive with career development of their employees.
Reference
Feldman, D.C. (1995). The impact of downsizing on organizational career development activities and employee career development opportunities. Human Resource Management review, 5(3), 189.
Keith,
I totally agree with your statement “For this reason managers and supervisors need to be proactive and aggressive with career development of their employees.” That’s the ideal and some companies have very good employee career development programs and practices.
The reality is that many companies, during these tough economic times, have shed a lot of their employee development programs. Maybe they will come back and maybe not!
Therefore, it’s up to the individual to take responsibility for his or her own career development. That means taking the iniative to talk with his boss about his long and short term goals; to nicely, but firmly, ask for regularly performance feedback; to keep eyes and ears open for opportunities to grow and enhance skills and competencies, etc.
What has been your experience?