Career Development Archives

Career Development: The Big Picture

Want the best of the best career development tips, short and sweet? Here is my list. You can make a big difference for yourself by putting these into practice immediately.

  • Understand WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU WANT.
  • Find a MENTOR AND/OR FORM ADVISORY BOARD.
  • Keep a PORTFOLIO.
  • Focus on LIFELONG LEARNING.
  • Always keep NETWORKING.
  • Spend more time tracking your ACCOMPLISHMENTS than your goals.
  • Invest regular TIME AND MONEY towards your own career development.

Generations Adjusting

Consider what it means to be successful today. Increasingly, success in work involves an aspect of quality of life. Baby Boomers watched their Great Generation parents work their fingers to the bone dragging themselves in to work day after day for 20 years. Generation Xer’s watched their Baby Boomer parents start along that same 20 year path only to be shocked with pink slips after 10-15 years on the job. Now, all generations are beginning to wisely take control of their careers and their quality of life.

Career Bliss or Bust

Okay, so it doesn’t have to be total bliss but it should not be career hell either. I mean look at what often happens to people who stay in jobs they hate…stress and health issues, negative effect on relationships, and overall poor quality of life — what a bust!

But food does need to get to the table and sometimes despite all your best preparations and intentions, you don’t know that the job you just accepted is a buster until you are in it. From there you have a few options.

  • Assuming you are financially able, admit the mistake asap and get the heck out of dodge within the first few months on the job. Don’t do it more than once or you are demonstrating poor decision making skills but it is a once in a decade option if need be and it can become a “lessons learned” story.
  • Follow the advice of Eckert Tolle and learn to drop the emotion, frustration, anxiety, and anger around the situation and be fully conscious and egoless in the present moment. This approach will help you stay in the job you accepted and it will help you to make a smoother transition overall when the time comes.
  • Hang in at the job remembering to take care of yourself a bit more than usual on your time off. Give yourself plenty of opportunities for rejuvenating exercise and recreation. Also, give yourself permission to further explore your interests and be open and creative about possibilities for your next career move.

There is definitely something to be learned by studying those who find their success by following their bliss. I believe following your interests is so important because interests are often little taps from intuition pointing to flow experiences and other types of abundance.

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