Continue Knocking Throughout Your Career!

As you continue to grow and prosper in your new job, maintain your focus on your career growth. The days of being employed by one company for your entire career are over. In today’s fast moving economy, the average job tenure is between three to five years. This means that in three to five years, you will be looking for another opportunity. Therefore, you need to continue to build your network and sharpen your skills for your next career move. Keep this book as a resource for your next search and implement the following guidelines as you manage your career.

• Stay connected with your network.
• Stay connected to your industry.
• Continue to build your personal effectiveness skills.
• Do not forget how to market yourself.

I recommend updating your résumé at least once a year. As your career grows, do not forget to capture your expanded job responsibilities, key accomplishments, successful projects and significant results. Stay connected with the specific resources you successfully utilized to find your job such as professional recruiting and staffing firms. Building a solid relationship with a recruiter you can trust can be a valuable asset as you grow in your career.

To further illustrate my suggestions about keeping yourself connected and marketable, let me share with you two stories of people who I have known in my career.

Susan joined a company that was growing and had a wonderful future. She worked hard, climbed the company ladder and increased her earnings three-fold. She was in the office early, and stayed late. She earned a reputation in the company as a real winner and great contributor.

As the years progressed Susan continued to focus all her energy on her job. She worked too hard to meet new people outside of those who worked for the company. She dropped her membership in the industry associations and even discontinued her connections to her Alumni Association. Her network of people began to shrink, and her knowledge of everything except the narrow world of her company, slowly slipped into the realm of historical data. In fact, I heard people refer to her as a “dinosaur.” Everything about Susan was what she accomplished in the past, and nothing about her was current. Like never using your muscles causes them to shrink and deteriorate, Susan’s “market value” and “personal network” were withering.

After 15 years with the company that Susan helped grow, the company was purchased by a competitor. That was great news for the owners but bad news for Susan. Her services were no longer needed, and she was out looking for a job. Her network was nonexistent. Her skills were outdated. In many ways, Susan was in no better shape for a job search then she was 15 years ago when she was a fresh graduate. It took her a year and a half to find a new job. She took a position that was lower in both salary and responsibility. If Susan continues to follow her narrow path of focus, she will most likely repeat her marginally successful career track.

In contrast, let me tell you about Mike. Mike, like Susan, was a young college graduate. He accepted a position with a large firm that had opportunities galore! Mike followed a much different path then Susan. He worked hard in the office, but continued to keep a healthy focus on both growing his personal network and continuing to improve his personal effectiveness. Using the tuition reimbursement program offered by his firm, he enrolled in the local MBA program, earning his MBA on his own time over three years of attending classes on Saturdays.

He remained active in his College Alumni Association in the city he lived in, accepting the position of president of that chapter. It took time to handle this position, but the contacts he made were immense. Mike was great at not only meeting/greeting people, but also taking the time to enter their names in his personal database. He was creative on keeping in touch with everyone he met. Whether it was a Christmas card, or a phone call to ask someone a question that they might be more qualified than himself, Mike stayed connected.

Mike seemed to squeeze so much into his week. Lunch with someone from the Alumni Club, an evening meeting at his church to help with the new expansion plans and golf with a group of fellow business peers on Saturday. Mike was so well connected, that I even called him at times to see if he could help me network to specific companies that I wanted to meet with.

After six years in this first position, the company merged with a larger firm, and new management changed the culture. Mike was ready to move on. With the grace and speed of a deer, Mike got the word out through his network that he was interested in seeking a new opportunity. I can only imagine how people would describe Mike as they spread the word. “I know a guy who would be fantastic for any company that would be lucky enough to get him. He is smart, just earned his MBA, and a very well rounded professional.” Within a few weeks Mike had the opportunity to meet with several companies that wanted him to join them. Exactly 37 days after Mike decided to move on, he was sitting in his new office! Of course the first thing Mike did that night was e-mail his entire network letting them know of his new position, his new contact information and how much he appreciated everybody’s help.