Executives who focus on their career at the same time as their job are leaps and bounds ahead of most.
Provided by BlueSteps Executive Career Service
Most executives are so focused on the strategy needed to execute in their current role they forget to put a career management strategy in place that will help them reach their next role. The few executives who focus on their careers at the same time as their executive roles (the present and future parts of your career) are leaps and bounds ahead of the majority of executives who are purely fixated on performing well in their current role (the present part of your career).
Another benefit to having an ongoing career strategy set up well before you need a new job, is that you’ll significantly diminish the possibility of ever ending up unemployed in the first place because the network connections you gain will alert you of new opportunities well before you need them. Even if you do end up in transition, the network you built (an integral part of your career assets) will rapidly jump in to help.
So you’re convinced. Having an ongoing strategy in place is integral to your career success. The problem is that you’re already so busy; you can’t possibly imagine adding more to your to do list. As a successful executive, you’re likely an expert at managing numerous, changing priorities. Your career must become one of those priorities. It certainly does not need to take a large portion of time, but you should make an effort to carve out three to five percent of your week to focus on your career; your short, medium and long term job prospects will benefit greatly.
This article was provided by BlueSteps. BlueSteps is the executive career management service of the Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC). Boyden is a member of AESC. AESC’s BlueSteps helps 100,000+ executives manage their careers, track their goals and elevate their visibility to the right search firms. Get started >
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