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Five Most Effective Ways to Invest in Your Career

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You are accountable for your own success.   As such, it is your responsibility to discover your special gifts, attributes and capabilities that can give you a competitive edge and the greatest probability to have a flourishing career.   Career management requires quality networking, being in the right place at the right time, earning a voice at the table, knowing your unique value proposition and how to use it, managing your personal brand, being influential – to name a few essentials.  But in the end, all of these factors require one important thing:  a personal commitment to manage and invest in your career the right way.

On the surface, this sounds simple – but it is actually quite time consuming and requires strategic thought and planning.   Making an investment in your career requires you to know what you should invest your time, money and resources in.   Think of it like the stock market; most people rely on financial experts and / or online tools to help them manage their portfolios based on a multitude of factors that include:  the amount of money they are willing to invest, how much risk they are comfortable taking, what type of commitment they will make to manage their investment decisions and keep track of their desired outcomes – amongst many others.   Similarly, when you invest in your career and personal development, you must do it with the end game in mind.   For example, what performance improvements and career advancement outcomes do you expect, and when will you be able to see favorable financial results and lifestyle changes as a result of your investment?

I have seen too many people waste time and money on making career investments that don’t align with their passionate pursuits and ultimate career ambitions. They can’t see the opportunities around them that they can effectively seize for their own advancement and personal satisfaction.  For example, I have seen many invest in learning about the real estate market because their friends made a lot of money in it.  However, after spending thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours, nothing tangible resulted from their investment.   This is a common occurrence with people who are so influenced by what others believe they should do in their careers that they become disconnected  from themselves.

This is what initially happened to me when I started my career.  My older brother (a successful executive in his own right) wanted to direct and guide my career.  He wanted me to be like him.   What he failed to realize was that we were different people, with different skills and completely different personalities and character traits.   This is an example of why many people get career anxiety.   They begin to hate their jobs and / or become dissatisfied with the succession track they are on – because they are now regretting the career choices they made based on how they were influenced by others along the way.    In my case, I soon realized that my brother’s well intentioned attempts didn’t make sense for me as I began to lose touch with my goals and aspirations.

To invest properly in your career, you must know yourself extremely well.   Knowing yourself requires you to understand the factors that positively inspire you to achieve something substantive and relevant – with passion – every day.  For some people this takes a long time to discover.  For others, they know themselves well enough to make good career investment decisions.    What do you believe are the most important areas for your career investment? What areas have you already invested in and what were the outcomes?  What areas are you currently focusing on now?

Many people don’t have career investment plans because they rely on the organization they serve to provide them.   A select few recognize that the investments your employer makes in your career are no longer enough – and most of the time these investments align with the company’s goals, not your specific performance improvement needs for skills and experience that must be transferable across all industries and organizations that you may choose to engage with in the future. In today’s global market, you can no longer afford to wait for your employers to invest in your professional growth and development.   You must know yourself and your career ambitions well enough to recognize the necessary career investments you must make and determine your wisest career investment path.

For those ready to give it serious consideration, here are the five most effective ways to invest in your career: 

1.      Invest in Your Strengths: Use Them More Frequently

Become increasingly aware of your natural strengths that allow your skill sets and capabilities to thrive and make the commitment to invest in them.  For example, if you are a good negotiator, never assume that your technique doesn’t require fine tuning.   Take a negotiations class, enhance your abilities and then put them to work more frequently.

To get your mindset in the right place, try this:   the next time you are in a meeting, carefully observe your colleagues.    Notice the dynamics in the room – and begin to ask yourself: what are other people doing to invest in the betterment of their careers?

The ultimate prize is to find happiness in your career and in your work by fueling your strengths and passion.

2.      Invest in Intelligence and Know-How: Apply it More Actively

Never stop learning.   This begins by investing your time to acquire the right intelligence and know-how that will accelerate your career advancement. For example, most people want to build their personal brand – yet don’t invest in the process of developing one and thus miss opportunities along the way.

Never assume that you don’t need to get smarter, wiser and more strategic about how to better manage your career.   Be proactive.  Get to know the goals the industry you are serving desires to achieve and how you can contribute.  Build relationships with key thought leaders.   Identify the best executive search firms that can support the career path you seek – and get to know what your direct competitors are doing to secure the position(s) you may be targeting.

3.      Invest in the Right Relationships: Give Them Time and Attention

Build a personal advisory board who can properly guide your career goals.   Identify your circle of influence.    Who are they today?   Are they guiding you rightly?  Are you truly investing in these relationships in ways that are continually helping you move your career in the direction you want it to go?

Invest in how to network the right way. Your networking should be viewed as a professional development boot camp (read about this here).     Learn to value your time and how to connect with the right people.  Nurture the relationships that matter most.  Give them proper time and attention and keep the most meaningful relationships active at all times.

4.      Invest in a Career Coach:  Sustain Your Momentum

Staying focused can be difficult with so many different responsibilities to manage.   This is why most people lose momentum when attempting to advance their careers.   Most people start and stop the career management process – finding it difficult to manage their time.

Make career management a new best practice; a process that becomes an embedded part of your daily activities, goals and objectives.  If possible, invest in a career coach to increase your commitment levels and hold yourself accountable.   Today’s competitive landscape requires you to stay on track by investing in someone that can provide you with the tools and perspective to keep you focused.

5.      Invest in Your Family and Personal Life: Create Balance and Strengthen Your Career

Balance is the key to success – in both business and in life.   Contribute to the success of your career by investing in work/life balance  and dedicating more time and attention to your personal and family life.

My family and personal friends are an essential component to my career success.   They help clear my mind and enrich my points of view.   Engaging in activities separate from your career allows you to broaden your observations through a different lens and appreciate new types of ideas and ideals that can help shape your thinking  and contribute to your professional  growth.

Invest the right way and more effectively manage your career.   Think of your investment as a personal enrichment process:  an investment that is always working for you because it focuses on making you a better person both in and outside of the workplace.

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