1. Skills. What are the skills and competencies that have helped you succeed in your career so far? Which of them are transferable skills that will help you contribute regardless of industry or position? Write them all down.
2. Values. What are the things you MUST have in a company, a position, a leader to be happy and do your best? What motivates you?
3. Natural talents. What are those innate abilities that keep coming up in compliments and performance reviews? “You’re a natural at…” Fill in the blank.
4. Interests. What do you like to do? Think large on this one. You never know when an interest you haven’t really focused on so far may lead to a new opportunity…
5. Job Satisfiers. Or, as I like to call them, “the good, the bad, and the ugly.” What are the factors that have made your past work situations rewarding (the good), boring or frustrating (the bad) or something you never want to repeat (the ugly)?
6. Barriers. Here’s where you really need to “get real.” What are those internal blocks that have kept you from being all you want to be? Write ‘em down. Recognizing them is the first step in eliminating them.
7. Key accomplishments. Think back over your career and other areas of your life. What have you done that made a difference for your team, your department, your company, your community?
8. Salary requirements. In today’s job market, this is often one of the first questions asked, so it’s good to start thinking about this early. Consider what your basic expectations are and then, when you’ve determined your target market, do some research to validate your expectations.

Completing these inventories will take some time. However, you will be amazed at how much you’ll learn about yourself, and how the resulting personal career snapshot will guide you to “what’s next.”

Want to know more about how to “Get Real” about your career? Check out our online guide here.

Whatever you do, don’t stop believin’. ‘Til next time, Karen.

The post Get Real About Your Career – Start by Taking Inventory appeared first on PeopleThink.

We’re now at the point in our adventure through The Get Real Guide where we begin thinking about the (Triumphs) we have had in our work life. No matter what age we are, no matter what we do for a living, we have all had accomplishments that we need to be proud of, and be able to articulate clearly and concisely. When we are successful, it is often because we are applying our skills, natural talents and experience to achieve significant results. Analyzing your key accomplishments will help you understand the skills and natural talents that helped you achieve them.

Remember when I wrote about our Natural Talents and how important it is to understand what they are, and how important they are to our success? As we get ready to do our Triumphs exercise, we want to be certain we are acknowledging what those Natural Talents are. Let me explain.

Yeppers…it is time for some work. I know, I just can’t help myself, can I? I guess it’s the coach and/or nag (you decide your term) in me. As we walk through The Get Real Guide, we need to do some work along the way. Here goes:

Think back through your work life and your many accomplishments. List 5 of your most significant accomplishments. Now here is the important part – list the 5 significant accomplishments that you really loved achieving. We have all had accomplishments that –for many reasons-we do not want to repeat. Today let’s focus on those accomplishments you just nailed and loved doing. Think about them. Take a walk down memory lane. Smile a bit…remember who you were working with, the project, the environment, what were the deliverables? Why was it a Triumph?

Now, get your list and next to each accomplishment, write the skill/natural talent/trait required to achieve that item. Be very clear and concise. Take a look – what are the recurring patterns or themes? What are the skills and natural talents that are helping you be successful? Once you determine those…bingo…you’ve got the language you will need as you begin thinking about a job promotion or a new job. When you can articulate those skills and natural talents, the person you are talking to will be able to see and hear in your delivery the excitement, the energy, the confidence you have. People want to surround themselves with positive people. When you are talking about your Triumphs it is hard not to be positive.

Isn’t it fun just thinking about the good work you have done in the past? Go ahead…brag a little bit…just don’t tell my Dad!

Till the next time… Don’t Stop Believing!!!

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Before we begin our journey through The Get Real Guide to Your Career, let’s get something clear up front. As I coach people who are looking for new work, I often hear them say, “I want to find my passion,” or, “I want to absolutely love my work,” or, “I want to wake up in the morning and jump out of bed because I can’t wait to get to my work.” Now, this may come as a surprise to most; however, my response is, Why? Don’t get me wrong…if people can find their passion like Bruce Springsteen and others have, I am all for it. That’s a gift, and very difficult to get. Only a very small segment of the population can claim absolute love and devotion to their work. So why set yourself up for failure right from the beginning?

What’s wrong with truly liking your work AND liking your entire, full life? If Oprah heard me say this I am sure she would not be very happy with me. She has been very fortunate to find her passion and to create her entire life around that passion, and to do wonderful things along the way. Good for her!!! With that said… I get tired of hearing: find your passion and the money will come or, once you find your passion, your life will be complete or, live your passion and success will follow. Are ya kidding me?

How about finding work that is very satisfying, and uses the skills and natural talents you have and want to use? I am proposing that you can actually look at your work as only one aspect of your life. Don’t forget about the other parts – your relationship with family and friends – your health and fitness – your fun time – your spiritual self – your ‘you’ time – your volunteer time – your hobby time – your whatever-you-want time. Let’s face it, there are more things in life than our work. My guess is that when you are ready for the final roundup, you won’t be wishing you’d spent more time at work. My hope is that you can allow yourself to have a full life with a rewarding career that enhances your life and doesn’t detract from it.

Let the journey begin…

As we begin our walk through The Get Real Guide, keep in mind that we want you to do these exercises from the perspective of where you are today. Think of it as starting from a fresh place. Many of you will have done some of this work in the past and may think, why should I do it again? The reason is…because you are at a different point in your life now. As you go through these exercises, think about your future, and the possibilities that lie ahead. Don’t get stuck in what you’ve done, or what has happened in the past. Look at this as a new adventure – one that will provide you something new in your life. Have some fun with it, and please don’t stop reading…

Okey…dokey…first things first…your values. Feeling fulfilled and happy in your work has a lot to do with whether that work aligns with your values. What are values? Your core beliefs. The things you must have in order to be your best. Some examples – trust, harmony, excellence, innovation, fun, risk-taking, collaboration, connection. Take a moment and list your top five values.

What are those things about which you will absolutely not compromise? Yes, it is hard. And yes, it is worth it. If it is tough to list just five, list as many as you can and then review and evaluate them. Then narrow your list down to your five core values.
Why is it so important to define your values when looking for new work? As you meet with new people and consider new organizations, it is imperative that you are able to determine whether your values are in sync. Think about it, have you ever worked for an organization where your values and the values of that organization were no longer aligned? What happened for you? Eventually, the realization is so clear that it is difficult to come to work and do your job in the best way possible. This is exactly what happened to me, and why I hold so strongly to this belief of mapping values.

I worked for a large organization for 13 years and probably stayed 2 years too long. When I joined, my values and the organization’s values were completely aligned. It was about doing whatever it takes to get the job done. It was about feeling connected with my colleagues and challenged to always do the best possible job. People truly were the number one asset for this company and they were treated as such. It wasn’t just a cliché. As the organization grew, the values became diluted. It was still a good organization, I just kept wondering, why am I not as excited to come to work each day? I couldn’t figure it out. I couldn’t imagine what was going on for me. Of course, I attempted to ignore it, thinking it might go away and that I was reading something into the situation. Isn’t it fun to do that? Well…eventually it was obvious. I was so sad, too. I left an organization where I thought I would spend my entire career. I didn’t want to believe it. And, as I said, I probably stayed 2 years too long. So, pay attention to your values.

Be certain that your values are a key factor in your decision to accept an opportunity and join an organization. Or you can do what I did…and just start your own business. Now if my values don’t map to the values of PeopleThink, I am in deep trouble!! Tee-hee…tee-hee…

I’d say this is enough for one sitting. I’ll see you soon, when we look at the skills you want to use…and the natural talents you must use.

By the way, I would love to hear from you on the passion topic. Do you believe people have to find their passion in their work to have a successful life?

Till the next time…Don’t Stop Believing!

Karen

The post Your Journey Begins appeared first on PeopleThink.