#112 March/April 2018 — A STEALTH APPROACH TO CAREER ADVANCEMENT
Spring’s arrival signals growth and renewal; this newsletter’s topic addresses career growth, renewal, and advancement. Whether it’s getting re-employed, promoted, or moving in a new career direction, apply this stealth approach: pursue a learning agenda.
I don’t mean the regimented, highly-structured, formal classroom, high-tuition, graded, stress-inducing graduate degree type that may first come to mind. It’s the learning that YOU CHOOSE: new or refined skills and new or refined content.
Taking responsibility for your learning applies regardless of your age, race, or gender; whether you work full-time, part-time or volunteer; whether your work is prestigious and public or routine and behind-the-scenes; whether it pays well or poorly; whether you get along well or badly with your boss; and whether you’ve been promoted or laid off.
Setting your learning agenda can:
→ Invigorate a job that’s gone stale
→ Jump-start a stalled career
→ Bridge an experience gap to make a job or career change
→ Equip yourself for a raise or promotion
→ Earn credentials needed for advancement
→ Boost productivity and effectiveness in a job you love
→ And, yes, enrich your life, too!
Here are some examples:
.. Danielle, an attorney, decides to upgrade her LinkedIn profile and learn to use the website’s features to strengthen her online professional connections.
.. Doug, a program director for a social service agency, wants to improve his Spanish, so he looks for a Spanish conversation partner and applies to host an exchange student from Peru.
.. Jessica, a team leader in a claims processing department, wants to move into a management position but knows she needs more budgeting knowledge. She works out an agreement with her boss to participate in monitoring the current year’s budget.
.. Tyrone, a systems analyst, contacts his Human Resources office to check on tuition remission guidelines.
.. Lisa, an unemployed graphic designer for print, realizes that she’ll have more opportunities by learning to design for web-based communication. She invests in software and uses the online tutorial, and will add website design to the services she can provide.
.. Pedro, an architect in a small firm, commits to pursuing LEED certification to bring more value and to respond to his market’s growing interest in sustainable design.
Now, as spring arrives, create a learning agenda that’s fun, engaging, and enriches your work. Shape it to fit your needs and style. You’ll stimulate your brain, add to your skill and knowledge base, and move your career forward. Though a stealth move now, the impact down the road will be visible.
What’s your learning agenda for this spring?
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Consider a CAP (Career Action Planning) Session if you:
> Feel stuck or stalled in your career
> Are worried about a layoff
> Wonder if it’s not just a new job but a new career you need
> Have been looking for work but not getting results.
In this 90-120-minute meeting, we can get to the root of your career problem and come up with a plan to solve it. For more information call me at 314-752-1373 or use the contact form on my website.
