Almost 60% of employees report being unhappy in their jobs due to a lack of visibility to growth and development opportunities. And the current economic climate is creating a plethora of time constrained managers who don't have the time to aid them team members in creating and managing professional development plans, beyond the scope of their current responsibilities.
It's a pretty crummy situation, isn't it? But here's the good news - there are plenty of tools that you can leverage to achieve your career goals, even when your manager cannot be available to you.
A mentor can be significant asset in developing your career. You will want to seek out a mentor who has a career path that mirrors your ideal career path. Typically, your mentor will be at least 2-3 levels or promotions ahead of you in that career path. Their insight into how they achieved success, in terms of the skills they acquired, the networks they joined and the lessons they learned, can be hugely beneficial in your career journey.
You may want to consider seeking out a sponsor within your organization. Typically this is someone several levels above you in the organizational hierarchy, who will advocate for you and your career when opportunities arise. A sponsor will likely spend far less time with you than a mentor, so you should be even more respectful of the time you spend with this individual and be sure to say thank you for their support of your career.
Finding a sponsor or a mentor can be challenging. At the time of life when individuals have the knowledge and experience to be meaningful mentors and sponsors, they usually have obligations outside of work competing for their time. For individuals who struggle to find an industry, career path or role-specific mentor, you may want to consider a consultation with a career coach. Since career coaches primary job is to provide career guidance and accountability, you are likely to find meetings with them are more focused and you achieve results more quickly. Additionally, because you pay them, you won't feel like you are constantly asking them for favors, without being able to give something back to them.
Career Centers are a highly underutilized resource! Career Centers and their network of career counselors can provide effective career advice from career assessments to interviewing guidance. Even better, they can be more cost effective than a full-time career coach.
Alumni Associations have a vested interest in making sure their alumni are successful. If your college or university has an alumni association, you should visit its website and determine what resources they make available to alumni. They are likely to have free resources available to you like career assessments, webinars, onsite networking events and a career counselor who can provide career exploration and job search advice.
If you only take one thing away from this, it should be that there is an abundance of information and resources available to help you achieve career goals. The only wrong option is to continue to experience frustration and not take steps to resolve it. So take one step that gets you closer to your career goals today!
It's a pretty crummy situation, isn't it? But here's the good news - there are plenty of tools that you can leverage to achieve your career goals, even when your manager cannot be available to you.
A mentor can be significant asset in developing your career. You will want to seek out a mentor who has a career path that mirrors your ideal career path. Typically, your mentor will be at least 2-3 levels or promotions ahead of you in that career path. Their insight into how they achieved success, in terms of the skills they acquired, the networks they joined and the lessons they learned, can be hugely beneficial in your career journey.
You may want to consider seeking out a sponsor within your organization. Typically this is someone several levels above you in the organizational hierarchy, who will advocate for you and your career when opportunities arise. A sponsor will likely spend far less time with you than a mentor, so you should be even more respectful of the time you spend with this individual and be sure to say thank you for their support of your career.
Finding a sponsor or a mentor can be challenging. At the time of life when individuals have the knowledge and experience to be meaningful mentors and sponsors, they usually have obligations outside of work competing for their time. For individuals who struggle to find an industry, career path or role-specific mentor, you may want to consider a consultation with a career coach. Since career coaches primary job is to provide career guidance and accountability, you are likely to find meetings with them are more focused and you achieve results more quickly. Additionally, because you pay them, you won't feel like you are constantly asking them for favors, without being able to give something back to them.
Career Centers are a highly underutilized resource! Career Centers and their network of career counselors can provide effective career advice from career assessments to interviewing guidance. Even better, they can be more cost effective than a full-time career coach.
Alumni Associations have a vested interest in making sure their alumni are successful. If your college or university has an alumni association, you should visit its website and determine what resources they make available to alumni. They are likely to have free resources available to you like career assessments, webinars, onsite networking events and a career counselor who can provide career exploration and job search advice.
If you only take one thing away from this, it should be that there is an abundance of information and resources available to help you achieve career goals. The only wrong option is to continue to experience frustration and not take steps to resolve it. So take one step that gets you closer to your career goals today!
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If you are interested in learning more about career planning visit http://www.squidoo.com/how-i-created-a-successful-career-development-membership-site.
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