With rapid advancements in technologies that now have people competing on a global playing field, an aspiring executive, thought leader or senior-level professional has to be far more proactive in his/her career management strategies if he/she wants to position him/herself as a must-hire candidate.

Here are five must-do career management strategies that everyone should be implementing, especially executives and professionals.

1. Strive for expert (thought leader) status: identify your strengths

While you may demonstrate general skills across a number of areas, to gain expert and thought leader status among your peers you’ll want to avoid being labelled as ‘the jack of all trades and the master of none’.

Instead, try focusing on one of your areas of strength (one that you have a motivated interest in too) and continue to expand your profile and your reputation within this area. After you’ve mastered this and built a solid reputation of success in this domain you can continue to expand your profile in other value-added areas.

To uncover your strengths and motivated interests, consider the following questions:

• What are you truly passionate about?
• What topics of conversation do you typically become involved in?
• What motivates you to action?
• What activities do you participate in and lose all track of time, because you become so engrossed in what you’re doing?
• What successes have you been integral in achieving that your peers often struggle with?

Another helpful exercise is to question people around you (including colleagues, friends, suppliers, clients etc.) to see what strengths and talents they believe you possess. Quite often people around us recognise things we don’t readily identify ourselves and which we can often take for granted.

2. Elevate your reputation (brand): become visible both in the market and your workplace

To strengthen your credibility and recognition as an expert and thought leader in your field of interest, it’s important that the work that you’re doing, along with your in-depth knowledge, is visible both within your workplace and out in the marketplace. This could include the following:

• Write a whitepaper to showcase your expertise
• Develop your own website, which can showcase your achievements and other contributions
• Author regular blog posts (which can be incorporated into your website) allowing you to communicate up-to-date information to your followers
• Develop a presentation and share this on your website or other social network sites such as Slideshare

Within the workplace:

• Write articles or stories of interest in your corporate newsletter
• Become involved in cutting-edge projects
• Put your hand up for more difficult assignments, particularly where colleagues can see your strengths in action
• Become a mentor for less experienced colleagues

These are just a few things you should be doing to start elevating your reputation within your field of interest. Whatever you choose, it’s important for you to be consistent in your activities. If you can’t see yourself writing a minimum of 3 blog posts a month, then this is probably not going to be the best option for you.

3. Maintain your ‘expert’ or ‘thought leader’ status: don’t let your skills become stagnant

Once you have achieved credibility and expert status, it’s important to keep up with what’s happening in your field. Consider the following:

• Regularly read online/offline publications to keep at the forefront of the industry
• Subscribe to newsletters on the internet or RSS feeds, industry blogs
• Attend ongoing professional development courses

Constantly-evolving technologies and changes within the market mean that continuing education, knowledge and skill expansion is a must.

4. Continue to build and nurture your circle of influence

You’ve heard me say it once and no doubt you’ll hear me say it again – your circle of influence and the connections you have are vital to your overall career management plan. Don’t neglect to maintain contact with them on a regular basis.

• Connect with them on LinkedIn and write a recommendation for someone you’ve had the pleasure of working with
• Send someone a link to an article of interest
• Make a pleasant comment on someone’s LinkedIn status
• Contact someone in your network who you haven’t seen in a while and invite them to catch up for a coffee

The list on how to maintain your relationships is endless. So what are you going to do to reach out to someone in your network?

5. Sustain your ‘expert’ or ‘thought leader’ status through key on-brand communication strategies

Your words, actions, the activities you are involved in that have the potential to be read, heard or seen by other people must always be on-brand – otherwise you run the risk of tarnishing your reputation. If you wouldn’t want a prospective boss, client or stakeholder to read or hear it – don’t write or speak about it. Remember, be on-brand with all your brand communication strategies.

So, which of the above 5 strategies will you implement today to begin building your reputation and your brand as an expert?

If you’re totally confused about how to start building your online profile, you may be interested in participating in my Social Media Virtual Workshop coming up this month. Find out more here

As usual, there was some debate with our regular listeners and guests about the pros and cons of working part time, however what became most apparent was not so much whether a person was working ‘part time’, but rather the type of work in which a person was involved.

If you’re contemplating part-time work to fit in with your current circumstances (i.e. raising a family) or you’re in a position where you need to bridge the gap until you begin full-time employment and worried that this may inhibit your future prospects, here are five reasons why part-time, casual and voluntary work opportunities can be a strategic career management choice if you plan it wisely.

Part-time work allows you to:

1. Build crucial employability skills

Both secondary and tertiary students can develop solid employability skills that employers value in their candidates. One of the recent guests on our show – Kate Southam from CareerOne shared a very interesting story that confirms just how vital employability skills are. She was speaking with a representative from a well-known law firm and he commented that they did not hire young graduates unless they had gained part-time experience with McDonalds or some other fast-food restaurant. The reason behind this was that people who had worked with these companies gained valuable experience working within a structured and process-driven environment, which was very important when entering their company.

So, if you’re a student don’t devalue the skills and experience you are developing even if the role is not within your particular field of study. You’re still building the necessary employability skills that employers seek.

2. Develop knowledge and experience to support a career change

Considering a career change but uncertain what the role entails? Worried that you don’t have the necessary knowledge or experience to support your eventual transition into a new field?

Working part-time, casually or even in a voluntary capacity will not only help you gain an insight into this new field but will also allow you to build connections with people who may be able to provide you with additional leads to key decision makers or influential players in your target industry.

Many years ago one of my colleagues wanted to make a career change into counselling. After negotiating reduced hours with her current boss, she embarked on a two-year study plan, during which time she also volunteered with various counselling establishments. With her diploma completed, impressive experience identified in her resume and relevant contacts within the industry she was able to eventually source and secure a role within the counselling field. Her part-time/volunteer work experience was a key element in her being able to make the change.

3. Avoid gaps in your resume

Periods of unemployment can raise alarms bells for recruiters and employers and a great way to avoid this from occurring is to seek work on a part-time basis while you look for full-time opportunities.

It would of course be beneficial to find work in your current field of expertise however if this is not possible then a role that will allow you to use the skills and talents (sought after in your ‘ideal role’) would be your next choice.

Remember, how you position your skills and achievements within your resume and during your interview is important as you must demonstrate how they are relevant and transferable to your current job target.

4. Keep your skill set current

If family circumstances require that you take a step back from full-time employment, a part-time opportunity will certainly allow you to keep your skills current to support you once you’re ready to transition back into full-time work.

On a personal note, quite a number of years ago (18 and a half to be exact) I made a conscious decision to leave full-time work when I started my family. After a year or so after my first child was born I decided to return to part-time work to maintain my skills (and sanity) and launched a secretarial support business from home.

I’ve never looked back – now 18 years later I run a thriving career practice – which is currently expanding its service offerings to work with ambitious service-based entrepreneurs. I’ve been able to juggle raising my family, continue my studies, while developing and expanding my business in various areas, which all began with a decision to resume part-time work.

So, I can certainly vouch that part-time work is definitely a strategic career management choice when you select the right opportunities to support you in maintaining your skills set while continuing to expand your knowledge and experience.

5. Contribute to the community in a practical and positive way

Many mature-aged workers don’t necessarily want to follow the full-time work model, however still like to remain involved in the workplace on a part-time or casual basis. Part-time or voluntary work allows people to stay active while providing a valuable contribution to the community.

I shared a story during our last show where I spoke about my 90-year-old mother. She is still very active with her voluntary roles and while she enjoys giving back to the community, the benefits that she herself gains through her voluntary roles, is priceless.

So, what do you think? Is part-time work an option for you? Or perhaps you have your own part-time-work success story? Would love to hear them so post them here on the blog.

When comparing our current job market with that of the market in years gone by, the increased number of experienced job candidates vying for a smaller pool of job vacancies means that you’ll have to implement a number of vital job search and self-promotion strategies to be noticed and taken seriously by recruiters and key decision makers.

So, if you’ve been out of the job market for some time and find yourself confused and uncertain about the best ways to begin promoting yourself, here are 5 must-do strategies that can have you marketing yourself like a pro.

1. Develop & leverage your network to uncover those hidden job opportunities

With statistics stating that there are 70-80% of job opportunities out there that will never be advertised, reaching out to your network and extended network to tap into these opportunities is a must-do strategy in your search.

Unfortunately most people don’t dedicate the time to what should be a long-term ongoing career management strategy, and only really begin to reach out to their network when they find themselves looking for their next opportunity.

Your list of contacts is worth far more than gold and should be treated as such.

Start nurturing and building your relationships by sharing information and providing necessary support as the need arises. Doing so will ensure that your network is far more open to supporting you when you need to seek out your next opportunity.

Here are some additional tips on how you can continue giving back to your network: http://career-coach.com.au/blog/2009/11/are-you-a-savvy-networker/

2. Have a powerful personal marketing document that positions you as a must-hire candidate and generates interview opportunities

Today’s job market is competitive and one of the ways to stand out from the hundreds (if not thousands) of other job seekers is to have a resume that showcases your expertise by identifying how you contributed to your employers’ ongoing success.

Does your current resume present a list of companies you worked for along with your tasks and responsibilities and minimal measureable achievements and successes? If it does, then it probably won’t make it past the initial screening.
If you haven’t thought about how your skills and strengths supported the company and therefore can’t demonstrate this within your resume, then you have to sit down and seriously think about this information and ensure that it’s stated in your resume.

Here are some questions that should help you:

• What challenges have you overcome in the workplace that have impacted on the company’s growth in terms of efficiency, performance, profit levels etc?
• Have you implemented any new initiatives that have delivered significant improvements in productivity or money saved? If so, how, and by how much?
• Was there an outdated system that you overhauled and improved? Yes? What was the result for the company?
• Did you take on any additional tasks and/or projects?
• How can you distinguish yourself from your peers/colleagues, for instance through awards, promotions, and other similar recognition programs?

A few other tips you’ll want to be wary of include: not dating yourself by listing jobs that extend over 30 or more years ago, or identifying outdated technologies or systems that haven’t been used for decades.

If you’re still unclear about how to identify your successes and develop them into a professional marketing document AND don’t want to miss out when that next dream job opportunity comes along, we have a team of experts who can help you www.aresumewriter.com.au

3. Create an attention-grabbing personal marketing statement that sizzles and sells you

Can I ask you a question? What is it that you do? If your initial reaction was to respond by telling me your job title (like thousands of other people) then unfortunately, you’ve just let a huge opportunity pass you by. Why? Because hearing your job title or the tasks you perform is not going to pique my curiosity and genuine interest and desire to learn more about what you do.

A more powerful and memorable approach to the “What is it that you do?” question is to explain the benefits and solutions you provide your target market. This is your promise of value. For example:

“I support SMEs in reducing time-wasting inefficiencies and thousands of dollars in staffing costs by overhauling and maintaining streamlined and highly effective core administrative functions.” [Admin Assistant]

“I support multimillion-dollar finance corporations in slashing hundreds of thousands of dollars from their operational costs by replacing outdated ineffective phone systems with state-of-the-art telecommunication systems.” [IT/Telecommunications Specialist]

So, what is it that you have contributed to your current and/or previous employers, AND what is it that you offer to potential employers should they hire you? Identify the measurable benefits and incorporate it into a powerful personal marketing statement so that the next time you’re asked “What is it that you do” you can answer in a very influential and memorable way.

4. Maximise your exposure by applying for jobs both online (job boards) and offline (newspaper advertisements), and ensuring you have an online profile

Applying for advertisements in newspapers is probably something that you and many other mature age job seekers are familiar with. However, accessing and applying for vacancies online through internet job boards (such as Seek.com.au, Careerone.com.au and MyCareer.com.au) and social networking platforms (including LinkedIn and Twitter) may be something that you’ve shied away from, or may even refuse to even consider using these tools within your search.

If this is true for you, then I strongly encourage you to familiarise yourself with these technologies so as not to miss out on the scores of advertisements and opportunities that can be sourced online. I encourage all my clients to have an up-to-date online profile on LinkedIn – at a minimum, and begin expanding their contacts and network both on LinkedIn and on Twitter.

My co-host and I have spoken about this extensively our internet radio show – Career Success Radio. Here’s a link to a number of shows that will help you build your LinkedIn profile while maximising your presence on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Forging relationships and building a strong network takes time and dedication, so don’t be disheartened if it takes a little while to build up some momentum.

Here are a few links to podcasts that may be helpful for you:

>> Creating a social networking plan for your job search:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/careercommunique/2010/01/24/creating-a-social-networking-plan-for-your-job-sea

>> Job Search for Mature Age Job Seekers:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/careercommunique/2009/12/13/job-search-techniques-for-mature-age-job-seekers

>> LinkedIn for Jobseekers:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/careercommunique/2009/07/19/linked-in-for-jobseekers-part-two

5. Ensure you can promote your skills, strengths and overall value in person, during the interview

Promoting your skills and value throughout the interview is vital, as is demonstrating a fit within the organisation’s culture. Ensure you research the role and organisation thoroughly before you attend the interview so that you can confirm you have the necessary skills, values and experience to perform the relevant tasks and functions of the role.

Be sure you can respond appropriately to potential interviewer concerns, which could include being overqualified for the role. Here are some great examples you can consider using if you feel you may be considered overqualified for the role: http://career-coach.com.au/blog/2006/01/obstacles-for-older-workers/

Remember, as a mature age candidate you bring a wealth and depth of knowledge and practical experience that many other younger job seekers couldn’t possibly have. Identify how this experience and knowledge can impact the organisation through sharing previous examples of successes and achievements and being able to speak about these confidently and professionally both in your marketing document and in person during the interview.

To your continued success!

Perhaps you spent countless hours developing your résumé only to have been greeted by a ‘Thank you, but-you-were-unsuccessful-at-this-time’ letter? Or, after sharing your wealth of experience and achievements with the interviewer for a job you just knew you were an ideal candidate for, the job offer went to someone else? Or perhaps, a regrettable situation occurred in the workplace that now requires you to start the entire job search process again?

Unfortunately, even though you may set out with the best intentions and have given the situation your complete attention and commitment, things just don’t turn out the way you would have liked.

So whatever situation you currently find yourself in, it’s important that you don’t get (or remain) locked in bitterness, regret or self-doubt, as this will certainly prevent you from moving closer to your dreams and goals.

Here are five must-do tips to get you back on track and working towards your goals – FAST!

1. Don’t take it personally

Looking at the situation as a negative reflection on you personally will only lead to increased feelings of doubt, insecurity and low self-esteem, which will ultimately make it extremely difficult to move forward with confidence and optimism. And, optimism and confidence are two qualities that you should be reflecting, particularly as you continue interviewing with prospective employers.
Recognise that this situation wasn’t a direct reflection on ‘you’ and that this doesn’t mean that you are unworthy of being hired. It only means that this time around, someone else’s skills and experience had a slightly better match with the organisation’s requirements.

2. Don’t choose to play the victim

Where you put your attention and energy is what you’re going to continue to attract – it’s as simple as that. And choosing to play the victim and having the mindset of “Why me?” or “It’s not far” is extremely disempowering. You have a choice as to whether you are going to let this situation dampen your spirits and have you continue feeling despondent and miserable. Or alternatively, you can choose to look at this as a learning opportunity so that you can move forward with renewed confidence and optimism. 

Which option will you choose?

3. Don’t leave negative feelings and thoughts unaddressed

It’s easy to focus continually on negative feelings and thoughts by constantly talking about how unfair things are. Or worse yet, you may bottle up your feelings of disappointment and hopelessness and not acknowledge them at all. Both of these situations can seriously undermine your ability to move forward.

It’s important to talk about your disappointment, however not to continue focusing on this. Doing so will only serve to keep those feelings of disappointment close by, which brings me back to what I mentioned in point 2 about keeping in check about where you put your attention and energy. Who wants to continue feeling disappointed and hopeless?

Rather, how would you like to feel? How would you like to continue moving forward towards your goals? How do you want to represent yourself to organisations and key decision makers? So, my coach’s challenge would be for you to concentrate exactly on how you want to feel and how you want to move forward AND ensuring your actions are aligned with the positive intentions you are now setting yourself.

4. Don’t do the same thing over again and expect to get a different result

There’s an old saying I want to share with you. ‘What’s the definition of stupid? Doing the same thing twice – AND expecting to get a different result.’ Now while the saying is quite blunt it really does have merits, doesn’t it. I’m certainly not suggesting that you’re stupid – far from it. However what I do want to do is encourage you to look at ways you might change your approach, your focus or your action steps so that you can start generating the outcomes that you do want.

Do you need to tweak and tailor your résumé more specifically to the needs of the organisation? Does your résumé focus too much on accountabilities and not enough on measurable achievements? Do you need to hire a qualified interview coach to help you hone your interview responses so that you continue to position yourself as an ideal candidate?

What changes will you make?

5. Don’t continue the journey alone

Having a positive support and accountability partner who is one hundred percent behind you, can certainly make all the difference in not only how quickly you move forward but also how quickly you see your goals come to fruition.
This person can be your coach, your mentor, and your confidante as you continue working towards your goals, while later becoming your cheer leader to celebrate alongside you as you finally reach your destination.

Who will you select to be your support and accountability partner?

So, the next time life throws you a curve ball, ensure you follow the above 5 steps to ensure you get back on track – FAST!

Six common barriers appeared during each of the conversations making it quite clear as to why my colleagues, even with the best intentions, were just not getting any closer to their desired outcomes. Below are the six barriers you’ll want to be aware of, to ensure you (or other external factors) don’t get in the way of you reaching your goals.

Barrier Number 1: Selecting another person’s goal

Is the goal you selected truly something that you desire or is it an outcome that someone else wants you to achieve? It’s far more difficult to reach a goal if you’re not really motivated to seeing the goal come to fruition. In fact you may unknowingly be causing issues and challenges to arise, therefore preventing you from reaching the outcome. So, make certain your goal is what you desire and not someone else’s desire for you. 

Barrier Number 2: Doubt outweighing certainty

Does any doubt you hold outweigh the belief and conviction that you really can achieve your goal? Doubting that you’ll ever see your goal come to fruition is certainly a significant barrier. It’s important to get clear on where that underlying doubt is coming from and deal with it so that your belief that this is achievable will continue to drive you forward. 

Barrier Number 3: Fear of success

Unfortunately the tall poppy syndrome is still well and truly alive (particularly in Australian culture) so the fear of standing out and the negative ramifications may prevent you from realizing your goal. Many of us don’t really like to stand out or are fearful of what other people will think of us so would rather stay in a situation that we know – even if it makes us uncomfortable. So what would it take for you to step into your power and forget about what others will say?

Barrier Number 4: Unhelpful external influence

Despite their best intentions, comments from friends, family and colleagues, as well as their actions can become a major block. Are they experiencing the exact same situation that you are trying to escape however through continuing your association with them, your attention, energy and focus is centered on that one (or more) thing(s) you are trying to avoid? Are their comments (or even non-verbal communications) causing increased levels of fear and doubt in you? Remember, it will be far harder to reach your goals if you are constantly being challenged by external influences. 

Barrier Number 5: Non-existent accountability

Having an accountability partner and knowing that someone is on your team and will be regularly checking in to see how you’re progressing can be very motivating. Not having this can often lead to things being put off and actions not being taken to the point that you may lose all focus. Get an accountability partner and establish regular meetings – even if they are just for 5 minutes by phone to insure you’re maintaining your momentum.

Barrier Number 6: Expecting things to just happen

Are you one of those people who have a goal and then just expect to reach it without really putting in any planning and taking any deliberate actions? I like to compare this to planning a holiday to a place you’ve never been to before, getting into the car and just driving in the hope that you’ll eventually find your way there. Would you do this? I certainly hope not! It’s important to take the time to plan and take regular steps towards your goals, rather than just waiting and hoping to achieve them.

To avoid getting in your own way I’d encourage you to work on eliminating the above barriers. Schedule time in your diary during the time of day you are at your best and commit to taking one action step during this time. Do that and you’ll certainly accelerate the time it takes to achieve your goals.

Statistics have shown that approximately three per cent of people dedicate time to write out their goals and take the necessary steps to achieve their goals. Ten per cent of people only think about the goals – not writing them down nor proactively working towards them, but rather just hoping that they’ll achieve them. Sixty per cent of people spend more time planning a holiday than they do thinking about their personal and career goals for the year ahead and just opt to casually allow things to happen. So which ‘person’ are you? Are you a ‘planner and action taker’, a ‘planner (but no follow through/action taker)’, a ‘she’ll-be-right-mate’, or perhaps even a “I-never-really-thought-about-it” type of person?

It’s amazing how hundreds of thousands of us make New Year’s resolutions on the 31st December – stating that as from the 1st January things are really going to change once and for all. We vow to change jobs, to put ourselves forward for that promotion, to finally go it alone and start that new business we’ve been dreaming about for years, and the list goes on. However, around February (or even earlier in some cases) we find our commitment and motivation wanes causing us to fall right back into our ‘safe’ and ‘comfortable’ ruts. Sound familiar?

To support you in getting out of your rut for good, here are three simple yet powerful steps that I’ve used personally and that hundreds of my clients have also used, to ensure goal achievement.

Powerful Goal Setting – Step One:

Make a list of all your goals and categorise them into three different columns (see example below). Column one should be the goals you’d like to achieve this year; column two are the goals you’d like to come to fruition in the next 2 to 5 years; and column three are your longer-term goals that you would like to have achieved within the next 5 to 10 years.

Once you have developed your list, revisit each of the columns and prioritise them from the most important through to the least important. This will allow you to gain a clearer understanding of which goal holds the most significance and importance to you, which should be located at the top of each column.

Powerful Goal Setting – Step Two:

For the first goal in you’re “My Goals (this year)” column, answer the following 6 simple yet powerful questions to begin planning the steps around what you’ll need to do in order to see your goals come to fruition.

1. What specifically do you want to achieve?

For example:
I want to work in a job that is interesting and motivating and presents opportunities for learning and growth.

2. How will you feel once you have achieved this?

Empowered, excited and extremely motivated when I think about all of the possibilities that are in store for me in my new job.

3. What are the steps you need to take to obtain this?

(a)  Research, decide on and book into a career coaching program that will allow me to answer many of my questions about potential job opportunities that are suited to my experience.

(b) Establish an action plan and time-line that will support me in achieving my goal.

(c) Set up an accountability partner to keep me on track to ensure I continue taking the action steps I need to achieve my goal.

4. What resources do you have either yourself, or through your support network, to obtain this?

(a) The desire and determination to finally do this. I DESERVE it!!

(b) Financial ability.

(c) Support from my spouse.

5. What resources do you need either yourself, or through other people to obtain this?

(a) A career coaching program that I can participate in.

(b) Time put aside in my schedule to complete activities and necessary steps.

(c) Support partner to keep me on track.

6. How will you know once you have achieved your goal? [i.e. What’s your evidence?]

Sitting at my desk in my new job – smiling, feeling confident and motivated and knowing that I’m making a real difference.

Powerful Goal Setting – Step Three:

Follow through on the action steps that you’ve outlined in point number three. Mark the completion dates for each step on your calendar and ensure you continue to work towards these steps. Research and get the support that you identified you required in question number 4, and mark these in your calendar as well.

The path ahead may seem long and almost impossible, however rather than looking at it as an enormous and unattainable goal, consider the small but empowering steps you’re taking in your journey. After all, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!

Here’s to achieving all your goals in 2010.

For those of you who continue struggling on your own, you’ll be excited to learn that we’re launching an amazing program in March that will provide you with even more resources and support that will inspire you to become a planner and action taker so you can fulfil all of your goals in 2010. Keep an eye out in future blog posts.

Annemarie

So many people go from one year to another without much thought to their goals and plans for the next 12 months. Most people spend more time on planning their holidays than they do in their careers, and they wonder why they never get that promotion or worse yet find themselves in the redundancy queue during a corporate reshuffle.

If you’re ready to take charge of your career to ensure that 2010 is your best year yet, following are five very important tips that will enable you to wind down, obtain closure to 2009 while positioning yourself for an exciting and rewarding year ahead.

Tip 1: Reflect: Review and document your achievements over the past year

We all have very demanding schedules and therefore often move from one project onto the next without stepping back and recognising the successful outcomes we delivered.
Spend time reviewing some of the more significant projects you were involved in particularly if they had a positive impact on the company.

1. What was the project you were working on?
2. What was your involvement?
3. What measurable outcome did this have for the company?

To avoid forgetting or misplacing vital data I’d recommend you track your successes as they occur (rather than doing this yearly).This information is valuable which leads me to my second tip.

Tip 2: Revise: Update your résumé, LinkedIn and other online profiles

Having an updated résumé is vital so updating your marketing document annually is an important career management strategy. Putting aside time to update your résumé rather than rushing to meet a tight deadline means that it’s ready to go at a moment’s notice should an opportunity arise.

While you’re at it, update your LinkedIn and other online profiles as well to record major projects, achievements, courses you have completed and any other relevant information that will continue to support you in portraying yourself as a highly skilled thought leader in your field.

Tip 3: Research: Plan out next year’s professional goals and development opportunities

I’m sure you all know the old saying ‘Fail to plan – plan to fail’ which is certainly relevant to your career and professional growth.

While you may think your role is secure, constantly-changing markets can impact on a company’s stability, so unless you are continuing to build your employability skills and value offered you may just find yourself on the outer when the company needs to re-evaluate its workforce.

1. What training opportunities can you complete to avoid career atrophy and ensure the company doesn’t outgrow you?
2. What projects would you like to become involved in that could enhance your profile throughout the organisation?
3. Which areas of the company/department are constantly faced with issues that you know you can eliminate? This could be a great project for you to work on next year to raise your profile within the company.

Tip 4: Reconnect: Re-establish relationships with people within your network

I’ve mentioned this so many times on my Career Success Radio show, previous articles and my Twitter tips and due to the importance of this must-do career management strategy, I’m going to mention it again. Ensure that you continue to reach out and maintain contact with people in your network.
It surprises me that even though we all know how important it is to actively nurture our networks we’re still not doing this until we are forced to. Reap the rewards and benefits that networking offers through consistently building and nurturing your network over the break.

Tip 5: Recharge: Rest and recharge your batteries

Life and work balance is very important, so ensure you take the time to refresh and recharge your batteries over the break so that you can welcome in 2010 refreshed, renewed and reinvigorated.

The strategies Kate shared on the show were very good, so I thought I’d summarise while adding a few of my own tips. These are relevant across both genders, so if you have a tendency to be timid and shy away from self promotion, here are 5 must-do strategies to help you stand out and succeed within the corporate sector.
1. Be clear on your authentic personal brand and continue to be ‘on brand’ in everything you do.

Often, your qualifications, experience, skills and the projects you have worked on may be similar to your colleagues’; however, what can differentiate you from your peers is your personal brand.

So what’s a ‘personal brand’? It’s your reputation – the perception that others have of you, which can either be positive or negative. So how are you perceived by others in your workplace?

* What are you naturally gifted at, that your colleagues often struggle with?
* When looking at your achievements and successes, what strengths and talents can you portray?
* If people were to describe you in six words – would those six words reflect how you would describe yourself?

Why should you take the time to clarify your personal brand? Because once you are totally clear on what makes you unique, special and perhaps a little ‘quirky’ it’s authentic to you. No matter how many times others may try, people cannot copy you because it’s distinctive to ‘you’ and what will enable you to stand out confidently within the workplace.

2. Be aware of the successes and achievements you have delivered and how they have impacted the company rather than focusing on your tasks and accountabilities.

When marketing and pitching yourself for a pay rise and/or promotion – think benefits (the successes you have delivered for the organisation) rather than features (your tasks and functions), because results the company has experienced through your direct involvement will distinguish you from your colleagues in a far more powerful way.

Many of your colleagues are probably working on similar tasks as you. However, what will certainly differentiate you is by ‘how’ you performed these tasks and the measurable results, successes and achievements the company experienced.

* What issues have you overcome that supported the company in increasing productivity and efficiency? By how much?
* Have you streamlined existing processes? How has this improved performance?

3. Establish clear career goals to support ongoing development and exposure within the organisation.

During our interview, Kate mentioned that many women were quick to volunteer their time, however without too much thought as to whether the project would continue to support them in their professional growth. Men however, tended to volunteer for projects that would enable them to boost their profiles.

* Will the project allow you to develop new skills and experience to help you transition to a more senior-level role?
* Will you be working with influential people in the company with whom you would normally not associate, thus getting you known across the organisation?

4. Sharpen your communication skills and get to the point.

When contributing information to a discussion, some women tend to share the entire history leading up to the point they want to make. Rather than presenting your colleagues with an entire episode of ‘War and Peace’ (which could cause them to get distracted and lose interest in what you’re saying), get straight onto the facts. Be precise, brief and factual and share additional information only if asked.

5. Practice your negotiation skills..

Both men and women can be apprehensive when it comes to negotiating their salary or request for promotion – I know, as I’ve coached literally hundreds of clients across both genders in this area.

Studies have shown that your mannerisms and your voice are the two most important elements of communication, so be mindful of your body language, your tone of voice, speed, volume and pitch as you present your case as to why you should be considered for a pay rise and/or promotion.

Remember, prepare your case in advance and ensure you can provide measurable achievements/successes and reasons, and practice your communication skills so that you can deliver your presentation with confidence to ensure your request will be given the consideration it deserves.

If you want to listen to my interview with Kate Southam click here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/careercommunique/2009/11/29/must-do-strategies-to-enable-women-to-succeed-in-the-corporate-sector

Till next fortnight…

Annemarie

Your contact list (your ‘circle of influence’ as I like to call it) is worth far more than gold and should be treated as such. By nurturing and building these relationships you’ll be able to tap into numerous opportunities about which you may otherwise never have found out.

Adopting an approach of regularly sharing relevant information and supporting your circle of influence should create an environment of reciprocity so that when you need to seek support your contacts will be far more open to supporting you. It’s a win-win situation. 

If you’re still unsure of the best way to cultivate your growing circle of influence, below are 5 tips that I recently shared on Twitter on how you can keep in contact with your connections in order to develop in positive and professional relationships.

Tip One: @annemariecross What have you done for yr network today? Send someone an article they’d be interested in and that will support them in achieving their goal.

Read a newsletter, article or online report that you know would be of benefit to one (or more) of your connections? Send them a copy of the article to support them in achieving their goal.

You many like to include a short note to demonstrate that you’ve been thinking about them and that you are genuinely interested in seeing them achieve whatever they are working on.

Tip Two: @annemariecross What have you done for yr network today? Volunteer to help out at an event. Your contact will be very grateful for the support.

Supporting your contacts by volunteering at their cause or event is a great way to strengthen a relationship. Extending a hand of friendship in any way, large or small, is certainly a wonderful gesture and one I’m sure will be greatly appreciated.

Additional benefits of volunteering include the ongoing expansion and development of your skills and knowledge base, while meeting additional people who can also become part of your network.

Tip Three: @annemariecross What have u done for yr network today? Make contact with someone & invite them for a coffee & chat – just because you can.

Life and work often get so busy that we HAVE to make the time to just sit back and ‘smell the roses’.

Similarly, with your circle of influence, the contact you have with them does not necessarily need to be ‘work’ focussed all the time. Inviting someone out to coffee and a chat is a fantastic way to strengthen your relationship without having that corporate-like approach. Remember, people recommend and/or do business with people they know, like and trust. Aim to build relationships that are founded on integrity and trust. 

Tip Four: @annemariecross What have u done for yr network today? Send a card or tell someone how much you appreciate them for their ongoing support.

Receiving a card, a phone call or note from someone who is showing their appreciation is a gesture that I’m sure all of us appreciate. So why not do the same for people in your network.

Has someone helped you out of a bind; sent you information that has been helpful in your job search/career; or has just been there for you no matter what? Reach out to them today and let them know you are grateful for their help and support

Tip Five: @annemariecross Building your network? Find out the interests of one of yr connections & ask them about this next time you meet.

I’m sure all of you have one activity – a hobby or interest about which you are very passionate. So how impressed would you be if one of your connections asked you how about this and whether you’d had a recent opportunity to immerse yourself in this area? I know I would be!

As the tweet post states, find out about the interests of your connections and make a note of it on your network database so the next time you know that person is going to attend a networking event, you’ll be able to ask them about it. A great icebreaker and a way to build rapport while strengthening your relationship.

So which of the five tips will you be implementing this week? My coach’s challenge for you this fortnight is to pick a minimum of two, and implement these with at least three of your contacts.

Annemarie

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