Career advancement can be, and often is, a broad and diverse topic. Depending on one's desires and current career stage, career advancement means different things to different people. Whether you are feeling unsure of what to do next, overwhelmed from working too hard and not getting ahead fast enough or, are an outstanding success and want to get to a higher level, there are six key principles to help you.
These principles are based on behaviors and basic practices that will distinguish you amongst others and also keep you in control of how to chart your own career advancement. They comprise what is known as the Bridge Model. This model provides you with key concepts to take control, and bridge the gap between where you are today and your highest potential. The first three bridge principles are as follows:
1. Build Your Base
Your base is your foundation of your career growth and it should be in place as you begin charting your course. Doing things such as beginning with the end in mind, finding out what skills, exposure and experience you need to reach your ultimate potential and assessing your willingness to do what it takes are key concepts contained in this principle. Also, you should build solid relationships with your key stakeholders (people who have a say in your next career move) so that they can support your advancement. Do you know who your key stakeholders are? If not, take time to find out and then take inventory on how solid your foundational relationships are with these people. Take the necessary steps to improve and maintain these relationships.
2. Respond Responsibly
This principle is about being in charge of your communication and how you are responding to other people. Are you aware of how you sound when communicating? Is it aggressive? Passive? Or, is it confident and self-assured? (Hopefully it is self assured and confident!) Ensuring you are a confident communicator and you are not reacting but instead, responding with forethought, are key concepts that help you advance your career. Individuals who advance are those who are strong communicators. They are thoughtful and articulate. They do not react and they consider the best vehicle to use when communicating. For example, they use phone or face-to-face communication when personal touches are needed. They use e-mail or text messages when less personal interactions are required. Respond responsibly. Think before speaking. Be a strong communicator and you will get ahead.
3. Influence Impeccably
To influence impeccably is to have positive impact on the people you are influencing, their goals and objectives. It is to know who, what, when and how to exert your influence. If you want to stand out as someone deserving career advancement, you want to learn the art and skill of influence. Doing things such as knowing your audience well, climate setting with them to gain their support, and speaking their language are essential influencing skills. Strong influencers get ahead because they know how to motivate others and sway them in the direction that is beneficial for all.
Practicing these first three of the six principles for career advancement will start you down your path of reaching your ultimate career potential.
Stay tuned for the next article that will cover principle's 4, 5, & 6 of the Bridge Model on your
career advancement!
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Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
BigstockMake a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
- How did I learn about this job?
- How did I apply for the job?
- Did I earn an interview?
- What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
BigstockAre you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
Let's start with resumes!
Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers. It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
BigstockYour job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
- Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
- Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
- Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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