Author: Marcia Zidle

Do you have career ambitions but you’re not sure how to achieve them? Are you feeling stuck, unsatisfied in your present job? Or you just want to get a better sense of where your next career move should be?

Then it’s time for a career check-up. One easy way to do this to get away from the hustle and bustle of your job and to SWOT yourself – that is do an honest personal assessment by focusing on these four areas:

1. Strengths
List skills, knowledge and experience you have that make you marketable. Focus on technical and soft skills. Consider your personal qualities, values, past achievements. What advantages do you have that others don’t have? What special resources can you access?

2. Weaknesses
Now list the areas that you can improve. What negative work habits (disorganized, often late or perfectionist) do you have? Are there personal traits (short temper, too talkative or insensitive) that can hold you back in your career?

3. Opportunities
Let your mind wander to the possibilities that surround you. Is your boss or another manager going to retire? Are new projects or initiatives coming up? Is your industry growing? Do you have strong networks of strategic contacts? Is there a need in your company or industry that you can fulfill?

4. Threats
What can go wrong – a shift in management, budget cuts, downsizing, outsourcing, mergers, acquisitions, your health and even family challenges? Are any of your colleagues competing with you for projects or roles? Is your job changing with unfamiliar responsibilities? Could any of your weaknesses lead to threats?

Here’s An Example:
Sarah, an advertising manager, is feeling insecure because of changes in her industry which may affect her job security. Here’s her personal SWOT:

• Strengths: “I’m very creative. I often impress clients with a new perspective on their brands. I have the ability to ask key questions to find just the right marketing angle.”
• Weaknesses: “I tend to be somewhat of a perfectionist which causes me stress when I have too many tasks. The fear of public speaking often takes the passion out of my presentations to clients.”
• Opportunities: “One of our major competitors has developed a reputation for treating their smaller clients poorly. Our art director will go on maternity leave soon. Covering her duties would be a great career opportunity.”
• Threats: “Mark, one of my colleagues, is a much stronger speaker and he’s competing with me for the art director position. The current economic climate has resulted in slow growth for the marketing industry and there may be layoffs.”

Her Action Plan:
As a result of this analysis, Sarah takes the bold step to suggest that she and Mark share the art director’s job duties while on maternity leave. By working as a team, they can learn from each another, build the department’s reputation of high quality service to their smaller clients and possibly avoid being given the “pink slip”. It’s a win-win for them and for the company.

Career Success Tip:

You are most likely to succeed if you use your talents to their fullest. Similarly, you’ll suffer fewer problems if you’re aware of and manage your weaknesses. At the same time you need to know what threats may upend your career and what opportunities can take you to the next level in your career. That’s the value of doing a SWOT. Also Check out What’s Your Career IQ? and My Success Portfolio.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

For anyone who wants to advance in their career, emotional intelligence (EI) is essential for success. How would you rate yourself?

According to Daniel Goleman, who helped make the idea of EI popular, there are five main elements of emotional intelligence. Part 1 focused on these three: self awareness, self regulation and motivation. Here are the last two.

4. Empathy
This means putting yourself in someone else’s situation. If you want to earn the respect and loyalty of your team, then show them you care. How can you improve your empathy?

• Put yourself in someone else’s position. It’s easy to support your own point of view. After all, it’s yours! But take the time to look at situations from other people’s perspectives.
• Pay attention to body language. Perhaps when you listen to someone, you cross your arms, move your feet back and forth, or bite your lip. This body language tells others how you really feel about a situation, and the message you’re giving isn’t positive! Learning to read body language can be a real asset when you’re in a leadership role because you’ll be better able to determine how someone truly feels. And this gives you the opportunity to respond appropriately.
• Respond to feelings. You ask your assistant to work late – again. And although he agrees, you can hear the disappointment in his voice. So, respond by addressing his feelings. Tell him you appreciate how willing he is to work extra hours and that you’re just as frustrated about working late. If possible, figure out a way for future late nights to be less of an issue (for example, give him Monday mornings off).

5. Social skills
Those who do well in this element of emotional intelligence are great communicators. They relate well with most people even those who are different or have different experiences. Because of thier empathy and self awareness are also good at managing change and resolving conflicts diplomatically. Th So, how can you improve your career by building social skills?

• Learn conflict resolution. Everyone – who works with, sells to, leads or helps others, must know how to resolve conflicts with their team members, customers, their peers and even bosses. They also need to know how to maneuver the inevitable politics within an organization.
• Improve your communication skills. How well do you communicate? Our communication quiz will help you answer this question, and it will give useful feedback on what you can do to improve.

Career Success Tip:

The better a leader, manager or professional relates to and works with others, the more successful they will be in their careers. Being competent in these five emotional intelligence (EI) elements (self awareness, self regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills) will help you excel in the future! Also see Career Resilience #1 and Career Resilience #2.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

For anyone who wants to advance in their career, emotional intelligence (EI) is essential for success. After all, who is more likely to succeed – a leader who shouts at his team when he’s under stress or a leader who stay in control and calmly assesses the situation?

According to Daniel Goleman, who helped make the idea of EI popular, there are five main elements of emotional intelligence. Here are the first three. How would you rate yourself?

1. Self-Awareness
If you’re self-aware, you usually know how you feel. Most importantly, you know how your emotions and your actions can affect the people around you. Being self-aware when you’re in a leadership position also means having a clear picture of your strengths and weaknesses. So, what can you do to improve your self-awareness?

• Keep a journal. If you spend just a few minutes each day writing down your thoughts, this can move you to a higher degree of self-awareness.
• Slow down. When you experience anger or other strong emotions, slow down to examine why. Remember, no matter what the situation, you can always choose how you react to it.

2. Self-regulation
That means in high charged situations, you focus on staying in control of your emotions. You rarely verbally attack others, make rushed or emotional decisions, stereotype people or compromise their values. So, how can you improve your ability to self-regulate?

• Hold yourself accountable. f you tend to blame others when something goes wrong, stop. Make a commitment to admit to your mistakes and face the consequences, whatever they are. You’ll probably sleep better at night, and you’ll quickly earn the respect of those around you.
• Find ways to calm. The next time you’re in a challenging situation, practice deep-breathing exercises to calm yourself. Also, try to write down all of the negative things you want to say, and then rip it up and throw it away. Expressing these emotions on paper is better than speaking them aloud. What’s more, this helps you challenge your reactions to make sure that they’re fair!

3. Motivation
Self-motivated leaders consistently work toward their goals. And they have extremely high standards for the quality of their work. How can you improve your motivation?

• Re-examine where you’re at. It’s easy to forget what you really love about your career. So, take some time to remember why you wanted this job. If you’re unhappy in your role and you’re struggling to remember why you wanted it, find the root of the problem and then decide what actions to take.
• Be hopeful and find something good. Motivated people are usually optimistic, no matter what they face. Every time you face a challenge, or even a failure, try to find at least one good thing about the situation. It might be something small, like a new contact, or something with long-term effects, like an important lesson learned. But there’s almost always something positive – you just have to look for it.

Career Success Tip:

Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand and manage both your own emotions and those of the people around you. People with a high degree of emotional intelligence usually know what they’re feeling, what this means and how their emotions can affect other people. See the last two elements of EI in the next post.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

Let’s face it: life happens. We get sick, we care for aging parents, we have babies or we go back o school. All of these are important and at times necessary situations to take time off from work.

However, returning to work after a long absence can be challenging for you, your boss and even your colleagues. So how do you do it? How do you adjust your goals, which may now have changed, to fit with your work environment? And how to you readjust to the discipline of the workplace? Here are three tips to make that transition go more smoothly.

1. Plan your return
First discuss with your boss the right time to come back . Make sure you decide on a date that’s easy for both of you. If your boss is managing a big project for the next three weeks, he may want you to retun right now. If possible, it’s usually better to choose a time when things aren’t too busy.

Also think about returning in smaller steps. For example, you could work one or two days per week, then increase to three days, and then go back to full-time. A slow return can be much easier than immediately going back to a full-time schedule, especially after a long illness or maternity leave. It’s also important to let your co-workers, clients and other key people know that you’re returning.

2. Reassess your goals
Whatever your reason for being away, it was most likely a life-changing event. This means that your priorities may now be very different from what they were before. Take some time to assess where you are right now and where you’d like to go. Are there things that you cannot, or will not, tolerate anymore? Or are their things that are important to you now that weren’t before?

You also need to consider those around you. For example, you may no longer be able to work late. However, just because you have to leave at 5:00 pm promptly, that doesn’t mean you should automatically expect co-workers to stay late and finish up. Perhaps you could shorten your lunch break, or come in a little earlier one day a week, to help others in return for the help they give you.

3. Learn what you’ve missed
Talk with your boss, your co-workers and your temporary replacement, if there is one. Also to get up up speed, read past company newsletters, contact clients and get hooked back into the grapvine. A lot may have changed since you left. Also pay attention to what hasn’t changed. That’s important to know as well.

Career Success Tip:

Realizes it’ll take time to get back in your comfort zone.Returning to work is probably going to feel strange at first. You may find it difficult to adjust to the discipline and sometimes the dress code of an office environment. You probably had a different routine while you were away. You can do it just give yourself time to adjust and take one small step at a time.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

We all know that it’s essential to be professional if we want to be successful in the workplace. But what does “being professional” actually mean? What is professorial behavior?

For some, it might mean dressing smartly at work or staying late until the job gets done. For others, it means having advanced degrees or other industry-related certifications that they proudly display. Professionalism encompasses all of these definitions. But, it also covers much more.

So what is professionalism and why does it matter? I asked that question in a recent career management seminar. Here are seven characteristics that define professionalism

1. Competency
   First and foremost, professionals have the qualification s and skills get the job done. They’ve made a deep personal commitment to develop and improve their skills. In some fields it’s vital to have degrees and certifications . In other’s it’s not. What matters, though, is that professionals continues to gain further knowledge and experience throughout their career.
2. Honesty and integrity
   Professionals keep their word and they can be trusted to do what they say they’re going to do. If circumstances arise that prevent them from delivering on their promises, they manage expectations up front and don’t make excuses or play the blame game. Rather they focus on finding a solution..
3. Continual improvement
   Professionals don’t let their skills or knowledge get outdated. They’re committed to staying up-to-date with trends related to their industry and field so that they can continue to provide the best quality of work possible. They manage their competitive edge.
4. Accountability
   Professionals hold themselves accountable for their words and actions, especially when they’ve made a mistake. If a project or job falls outside their scope of expertise, they’re not afraid to admit this. They immediately ask for help when they need it, and they’re willing to learn from others.
5. Self-Regulation
   They also stay professional under pressure. For instance, imagine a customer service employee who’s faced with an irate customer. Instead of getting upset or angry in return, the employee exhibits true professionalism by maintaining a calm, business-like demeanor, and by doing everything that she can to make the situation right.
6. Image
   Professionals look the part – they don’t show up to work sloppily dressed, with unkempt hair. They’re polished and they dress appropriately for the situation. Because if this, they exude an air of confidence.
7. Emotional intelligence
   Genuine professionals show respect for the people around them no matter what their role or situation. They consider the emotions and needs of others and they don’t let a bad day impact how they interact with colleagues or clients. They know how to influence effectively.

Career Success Tip:

As you can see from these characteristics, professionals are the kind of people that others respect and value. This is why it’s so important that we work to earn a professional reputation. True professionals are usually the first to be considered for promotions; they are awarded valuable projects or clients; and they are routinely successful in their careers. Now do a quick self-assessment:

Do you feel that you demonstrate these characteristics to the people around you? Pick one of the characteristics that you want to improve. What one thing can you do right now to move you to being more professional?

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

Have you ever thought of starting your own business or becoming self-employed? Almost everyone has wanted to be his or her own boss at some point in a career. But what does it actually take to make a success of it? And is it really the route that you should take?

If you’re seriously considering taking the plunge, here are three things to consider before making this very important decision:

1. What’s your motivation? Is it because:

• You’ve had a brainwave about a new product or service idea, and you’re certain it will take the market by storm.
• You’ve acquired certain skills, know-how and contacts in your current area of operation that make for a winning combination if you strike out on your own.
• The industry has some untapped potential you can exploit, given your special talents.
• You’re not satisfied with the way your career has been shaping up so far.

Whatever the reasons, make sure you make the change for positive rather than for negative reasons: The grass is not always greener on the other side, and you need to make sure that this isn’t just a way of “running away” from situations you really should deal with.

2. What assumptions are you making?

When you decide to move from a regular office-going career to full-time self-employment, it’s easy to gloss over the reality of what that entails. Here are a few insights into the world of self-employment that you may have overlooked in your enthusiasm.

• I’m not accountable to anyone but myself. When you run your own business, you still are answerable to a number of people – your customers, suppliers, employees and other stakeholders, like bankers or government authorities. As an owner, you have much greater responsibility thrust on you.
• I’ll have more control over my time. Many people who work from home or have a start-up business find that they work much longer hours than their office-going counterparts. You’ll spend time with both details and major issues that crop up. Be prepared to work very hard!
• It’s easier to run your own business than to work for a company. Working in an organization usually means that you’re responsible for just one of the functions of the business, whether in sales, marketing, accounts or production. But when you’re on your own, you have to manage the whole show down to some of the smallest details (until you can hire others.)

3. Do you have what it takes to succeed?
There are certain key personal qualities for success that you, as the owner of the enterprise, must possess. They are:

• Self-motivation. If you work alone, you can drift aimlessly without a boss or a team motivating you. Therefore you need both drive and discipline to stay on track and not get side-tracked.
• Business acumen. You must understand everything about your business – the products or services their applications, the realities of the market, the finanacials, etc. You need facts and figures plus good instincts to make wise decisions.
• Manage multiple priorities. You’ll be wearing many hats and will need to know how to plan, organize your work, manage your time and deal with the unexpected. You also will need to let go of certain things by delegating or by outsourcing.
• Risk taking. When you give up your existing job, you run the risk of not being able to get it back if you need it later. You also may lose the capital you’ve invested to get your business off the ground. How much of a risk taker are you?

Career Success Tip:

Weigh the pros and cons of your business idea and the realities of self-employment before jumping onto the bandwagon. Make your decisions and preparations wisely, and if self-employment is really for you, work hard and enjoy the success you deserve. Also see Career Change: Don’t Jump From the Frying Pan into the Fire.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?