Did you know that the average professional changes jobs every 3 years, changes companies every 4 years, and changes industries every 5 years? The average tenure of a CEO is a mere 2.6 years.
In 1970 the average employee’s skills became obsolete in 12 to 15 years. Today, that figure is 2.5 years.
So, even if you’re not on the job market right now, chances are, in the next 2-3 years, you will be.
Whether the economy is booming or Wall Street is crashing, the one bit of advice I give to anyone looking for a job is to make your own luck. My favorite definition of luck comes from the Roman philosopher Seneca, who said “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
So, it is in that vein that I offer up Five Secrets to Career Success, along with a Five Week Personal Success Challenge, which will both prepare you to take advantage of opportunity and maximize the opportunities you’re exposed to.
Five Secrets of Career Success
1. Make a Career Plan: Where do you want to be in your career in 5, 10, 20, and 30 years? What will your day look like? Who will you be communicating with? What will you be doing? If you have no vision for the future, you may find yourself in 15 years wondering how you got off track.
Before you start jotting down career goals, however, remember to make your goals SMART, that is:
- Specific – For example, I want to be a Director of Compliance of a Fortune 1000 company in 5 years.
- Measurable – Have concrete criteria for measuring success, e.g. attend two educational seminars by January 1.
- Action-oriented – What specific actions are you going to take to help achieve your goal?
- Realistic – A goal that stretches you, but isn’t too far out of your reach so that you are motivated to stick with it.
- Timely – Set a timeframe for the goal so you have a clear target to work towards. This is part of being specific.
“Give me a stock clerk with a goal and I will give you a man who will make history. Give me a man without a goal, and I will give you a stock clerk.” – J.C. Penney
2. Excel at Networking: This is the one that evokes the most groans out of all my recommendations. Most people hate the idea of networking, under the mistaken belief that it’s insincere and manipulative. So the first thing you need to do is get that notion out of your head. Networking is not selling. It is simply a lifestyle of cultivating and maintaining relationships. It’s only insincere and manipulative if you make it that way. Connecting with other human beings is what makes life on this planet meaningful. And making those connections during the workday can make the one-third (or more) of the time we spend on the job that much better.
Some of my favorite networking ideas:
- Invite people you don’t know well to lunch.
- Ask to pick the brain of someone you admire.
- Meet others at your house of worship.
- Join professional associations.
- Attend company-sponsored social functions.
- Do public speaking.
- Do community volunteer work.
As the old saying goes: “Network or Not Work!”
The next time you find yourself at a function, make it a point to know a little something about everyone at your table. If it’s not a sit-down affair, challenge yourself to meet and learn something about at least six new people.
Some ideas: Their name (obviously), where they work, what they do, and what their favorite part of their job is. Exchange business cards and follow up with them in the next week.
You will be amazed at how easy and enjoyable networking can be.
3. Develop Great Communication Skills: An amazing 62 percent of CEOs said that their communication skills got them to the top. In order to successfully form and keep personal relationships, you must have great communication skills. Powerful communications skills can make the difference between a successful career and a stagnant career.
Think of someone you know who is a great and/or powerful communicator. What does that person do when talking? What kinds of gestures does that person make? What kind of body language? What does that person do when listening?
Observe and emulate. Some tips:
- Use powerful words.
- Never begin a sentence with “I think ….” Instead, use “What if we….”
- Use confident phrases, such as “Research shows ….” Or “In my experience ….”
- Smile.
- Be concise: make your point and then stop and listen to others.
- When listening, make eye contact and hold it at least 80 percent of the time.
- Don’t interrupt. Allow others to speak fully and freely.
- Ask open-ended questions that require more than a yes or no answer. For example, “When you say that, what exactly do you mean? Are you thinking about something specific?”
4. Market the Brand Called You: A brand is a logo, name, thoughts, feelings, or images created by a product, service, or person. When you think of BMW, you immediately think “Ultimate Driving Machine.” When you think of Wal Mart, you think “Always Low Prices.”
What is your brand? You should be able to summarize in 15-30 seconds:
- Who you are
- What your area of expertise is
- The value your expertise adds to your company
Some people call this their “elevator speech,” something they can tell somebody about themselves on a quick ride in the elevator. Write your elevator speech, practice it, and have it ready to go the next time you meet someone.
Once you have your brand down, then what? You’ll want to market yourself using that brand. Some good ways:
- Volunteer to train a new employee.
- Request high profile assignments.
- Volunteer for committees or task forces.
- Write articles for a company newsletter or start one yourself.
- Network at all levels (secretaries, janitors, vice presidents, CEOs).
- Seek out public speaking opportunities.
5. Do Your Boss’s Job: This doesn’t mean getting your boss fired or arranging to have him suddenly reassigned to North Dakota. It simply means learning to do some of the things your boss does and offering to do them for your boss. By doing this, you free up your boss to do the same thing for his or her boss. You also put yourself in position for a promotion to that level.
The Five Week Personal Success Challenge
Regardless of how happy you are in your current job, you want to be in a position to seize whatever opportunities present themselves. And you want to maximize the number of opportunities you’re privy to.
The Five Week Personal Success Challenge can help you do both. Take each one in order, and do one item on the list each week for the next five weeks:
- Week One: Make a Career Plan for yourself, mapping out the next 20 years in 1-, 5-, 10-, 15-, 20-year increments.
- Week Two: Make networking a priority. Invite a colleague you don’t know well to lunch, or attend a professional function and follow up with one of the people you met there.
- Week Three: After your next meeting, ask a trusted colleague for feedback about your communication skills.
- Week Four: Write and practice your “elevator speech.” Keep it to 15-30 seconds.
- Week Five: Do one thing to make your boss’s job easier (and give you some valuable skills, information and exposure in the process).
Here are some suggested resources you can consult:
- Dig Your Well Before You’re Thirsty: The Only Networking Book You’ll Ever Need, Harvey MacKay
- www.careerbuilder.com
- www.theladders.com
- www.conselium.com
After five weeks, you should be in the habit of being more thoughtful and deliberate about your career. Keep practicing the skills you’ve learned, find new ones that will make you even more marketable, and put yourself in a position to seize whatever opportunities come your way.
Maurice Gilbert is the Managing Director of Conselium, an executive search firm with a core expertise in corporate compliance, www.conselium.com. He can be reached at Maurice@conselium.com or 972-934-8444.
Published by Conselium Executive Search, the global leader in compliance search.
