Compare your list of the skills you have used in the past to the list of what you are good at. You can then make a new list combining the two: what you are good at and what you have experience in. This gives you an inventory of the strengths you will be selling in your career.
Find out whether you are naturally better with people, ideas, things or data.
What have you done in your career so far? What have you done that you are proud of? An achievement is something you have undertaken with a result attached. If you know what’s worked for you in the past, you can create more of the same type of achievement in the future and form a focused vision for your career.
The word achievement can sound quite scary to a lot of people. They tend to say, “I haven’t achieved anything” because an achievement sounds as if it should describe something huge like climbing Everest or becoming CEO of a company. But of course you have achieved lots of things, in your work life and in your personal life.
one minute wonder Gain insight about what you value through your achievements. Look at each achievement and ask: “What is it about this achievement that is important to me?” If there isn’t anything important, then decide not to do more of this type of work. If all your valuable achievements are in your personal life then maybe your work is lacking, so stop and pay heed.
An achievement is simply an action you have taken with a successful ending. There is a very simple way of remembering it: the STAR format. Try writing this down.
• S = Situation. Think of a situation you have been in at work. Describe it in detail on your piece of paper.
• T = Task. What was the task you were given to do in this situation or what was the responsibility you chose to take on?
• A = Action. An achievement isn’t something that is passive. What was the action you took to carry out this task? Did you organize? Lead? Administer? Calculate? Sell? Persuade?
• R = Result. What was the positive result or benefit? Did it save money? Help people? Support a team? Make things more efficient?
Use your career achievements to work out your skills (also known as competencies). Take an achievement and write down what skills you used to get the result e.g. communication, leadership, teamworking. Which skills do you use most?
To understand yourself better, start making a list of at least one achievement from every part of your career so far. It will help you to develop a list of your key skills. Remember, you can always transfer your skills from one job to another.
Use the STAR format to write down your achievements and work out what you do well.
It’s no point being fantastic at your job if you hate it. You may make a reasonable career but you will lack any joy in what you do. The ingredients that make a career both fun and successful are Passions, Purpose and Principles. Get to know what yours are and make sure you include them in your career plan.
Your Passions are the things you love doing, that interest you and bring joy into your day. The quickest way to discover your Passions are to make three lists:
• A list of the activities you need to have on a daily basis to make you feel satisfied.
• A list of the activities you ideally like to have on a daily basis but which aren’t essential.
• A list of the activities you definitely don’t want if you are to keep passionate about your career.
one minute wonder Here’s a quick career check. List all the different roles you have had in your career. What worked for you in each role? Check out where you fulfilled your passion, purpose and principles and where you lacked these.
Your Purpose is the sense of fulfilment you get from your career when you are on track. You know you are fulfilling your purpose when you feel you are ‘doing the right thing’, and what you are ‘really in business to do’. Think about what really gives meaning to your career to discover your purpose.
Your Principles are the third p. These are the ethical and moral standards that you need to abide by to feel ok about your career. For example if you are a vegetarian but forced to work with meat then you won’t be working according to your principles. When you honour your principles you feel good about your career and feel it fits into how you want to live your life as a whole.
“You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job, and not be paid for it” Oprah Winfrey
The three Ps are Passion, Purpose and Principles. Identify yours.
A 360-degree report is a tool used in business whereby an employee gets feedback on their performance from a variety of colleagues and clients, ranging from their boss to people below them. It is called a 360 because it gives a full range of views and a rounded sense of your performance and strengths and skills.
You don’t have to wait until your company offers you this opportunity. Carry out your own informal 360 to understand how other people see you in a work situation. It’s easy to do, and you can do it whether you are currently working or not.
one minute wonder A very effective question to set people thinking on your behalf is, “If there is one thing I could do to improve my chances of progressing my career, what would you advise?”
“A successful life is one lived through understanding and pursuing one’s own path, not chasing after the dreams of others”
Chin-Ning Chu, Business Author
• Pick a handful of people. They should know you well and come into contact with you on a regular basis. Up to ten is enough and ideally more than five.
• Ask for honest opinions. Ask if they would be willing to answer some basic questions for you. The key is that you ask them to be honest and that you stay open and don’t be defensive so that they feel they can say what really needs to be said.
• Keep things objective. A good way to extract objective and honest advice is simply to ask if they have any specific examples of what you do well already as well as any areas you could improve. The more specific they are, the easier you will find it to act on their advice. If you are not clear what they mean, ask them, and again be open. Remember this is feedback, not criticism.
Take the feedback without being defensive and you will become aware of your potential weak areas as well as your strengths.
Ask people who know you well for feedback on your strengths, weaknesses and what you could do to be more effective.
Career success is sometimes attributed to luck. But like any journey in life, you won’t get where you want to go without both a goal and a plan. The secret of career management is knowing exactly