Career Success: the right opportunities
You might be forgiven for thinking that having a successful career is a result of getting the right opportunities. In a way, you’re right. However, there are some other factors that are in a chain that need to be in the right sequence to ensure that you actually find career success.
In this blog, we’ll look at each in turn and delve into what those factors are and how then play into one another.
Your ability to add value
I’d argue that the starting place has to be your ability to add value to a business. This could be as an artist or skilled producer, which could translate into being an accountant, trader, analyst, salesperson, and so on. The reason you’re employed is because you are needed in the value chain of a business so that ultimately it can produce its goods and services. A manager is someone whose job it is to maximise the efficient use of resources, such as capital, capital equipment, systems, people, etc. Managers may be running a small team or deciding on the right strategy for the firm as the market it serves shifts. I don’t think we need to dwell on the entrepreneur, which is pretty self-explanatory.
The starting point for you having a successful career is to understand what role you have and how to increase your ability to add value. Bear in mind that change is always happening and you may have to evolve accordingly. For example, AI may well make some jobs unnecessary and yet create others. Be responsive.
Your marketing and visibility
The next step is to ensure that you’re visible. Marketing yourself effectively both inside your own firm and outside of your area of the industry becomes the next indispensable step. You can have all the skill and ability in the world, but if no one knows who you are, then i't’s unlikely that you’ll be presented with opportunities. At Career Mentor, we believe in being at choice and having options. This doesn’t mean that you’re committed to your current employer - far from it - but it also means that, should there be a change in strategy or market conditions, you’re prepared and ready to find another role quickly.
Opportunities
You’ll know that your marketing (internal and external) is being successful when, from time to time, you’re presented with opportunities. This might be to get a promotion, take on additional responsibilities, get picked to drive a new initiative, etc. The internal leadership team knows who you are and recognise your ability to get things done. From a market perspective, you’re marketing yourself well if you occasionally get calls from other firms and or recruiters asking if you’d be open to a conversation. You, of course, may choose not to explore those options but at least they’re being presented to you. Having choice will give you an enormous sense of confidence that comes to someone who is ‘in demand’.
Evaluation
Opportunities are great to have, but they need to be evaluated. At Career Mentor, we spend time with our clients understanding precisely what they want at this point in their career and in this chapter of their life. We think about this in a macro way: what are your over-arching career objectives? We also consider this in a more granular way. What has to be present in any role and firm for you to know that this will be a benign environment where you’ll flourish, grow and be happy? Having thought about this in depth, you’re now equipped to evaluate opportunities that come your way. Of course, there’s always risk in making changes in your career, but there’s also risk in standing still. Doing due diligence and making intelligent assessments will mitigate inherent risks. As Keith Cunningham says: ‘don’t do stupid’.
Winning career
All of this leads us to the target that we’re aiming for, which is the Winning Career. It’s true to say that success breeds success and it’s a wonderful thing to get into a successful upward vital cycle. If you’re able to get to an environment where you’re growing your ability and have greater visibility, more options are likely to come in your direction. In turn, this leads to progress.
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Finally, as I’ve mentioned a couple of times here, everything is always changing and that includes you. This means that what you think of as being a' ‘winning career’ now will be different in 5 or 10 years time. It will be a different world and you’ll be different. So, from time to time, it’s wise to review your career values, what’s important to you and what you want to ensure that your blueprint continues to match your career reality.
If you’re in the midst of reviewing your career as 2024 gets underway and would benefit from a no-strings-attached 15-minute conversation, do get in touch.