Personal Professional Development - Are your growing in your career?

Have you asked yourself lately –

"Am I doing what I really want to do?" or "Am I developing professionally in this role?"

I talk with clients every day, and these seem to be the questions on everyone's mind. The real question should be – "Am I achieving my career goals?"

Think about it. You may just be starting your career or have been in the workforce for over 20 years, and these questions usually come up from time to time. For those who are just starting out in their careers, you are still trying to "find yourself" and make sure your work is fulfilling; however, for those who have been in the workforce for a while, many of you truly believe that you are doing what you want to do, but you feel stagnant in your current role. It does not excite you as it used to, but you do not know what to do about it. Most of my clients in this situation believe that getting a new job is what they need to do, and maybe that is the case, but when I ask them about the type of role they want to pursue, it usually aligns with what they are doing now. Why? It is because they know their current role well. They believe the excitement will return if they get a similar position with another company. It usually does, for a time, but then you find yourself doing the same things as always; it is just with a new company – so the first questions pop up again.

I get my clients to ask themselves the real question – "Am I achieving my career goals?" About 85% say no but cannot tell me their goals. That is because they are just too busy to set goals – "Life took over, the job is demanding, the family is demanding, there is not enough time in the day to take care of all the things that need to be done. They say things like, "I do not have time to think about career goals" – "I have tasks to complete, and those are my goals." I help them refocus.

I interviewed a candidate many years ago, and when I asked him what his career goals were, he told me, "I want to do what you are doing – VP of Operations." I chuckled and said that was a great goal. I looked him up the other day and saw that he was still doing what he did 15 years ago: an account executive for an IT-managed services company (and he had done this role for five different companies during that time frame). It looks like he did not achieve that goal he told me – he probably does not even remember the conversation. What happened to his dream, his drive? Maybe he found his niche and likes what he is doing (I hear that from some of my clients), or perhaps he just dropped the goal and settled, which is what I hear from my clients as well.

Setting goals is not hard, but it takes thought, action, and follow-up. Maybe your goal is to be a business owner, an executive, or the best salesperson in the company, or your goal is to serve people in a way that betters their lives. Whatever the ultimate goal is, there has to be a starting point – a starting goal, and it needs to be one that all other goals can build upon.

Career Goal #1 – Identify a Role and Build Your Peer Connectivity

The first career goal that needs to be set is the identification of the position that you want to pursue and then getting to know people who are doing that role now. This is a goal for the new graduate and the seasoned professional. I ask my clients daily – "Whom do you know that is doing the same role that you are doing or a role that you want to do - they are just doing it for another company?" The most common answer is, "I don't know anybody who does what I do or wants to do outside my company."

People who are just starting their careers should research the role they want to pursue, and, as I have blogged before, they should be talking to people who are actually doing the position so that they know what they are about to get themselves into. People who have been working for a while must do the same thing. This is called peer connectivity – connecting with people in a position you know you can or want to do. Some folks call these people "mentors," and mentors can be peers; however, a peer is someone doing a role you can or want to do. They are peers because you do the same thing once you get into that role. Some examples would be operations leaders talking to other operations leaders, project managers talking with other company project managers, business analysts talking with other business analysts, and so on.?

When these conversations happen, information is shared, which can be very valuable in one's career progression. Skills are identified, and this helps you determine what skills you already have and what you need to pursue. For seasoned professionals, new technologies, methodologies, processes, certifications, and ideas are shared and can be implemented to help a person do their job better. This is why LinkedIn was originally created – it is for peers to connect and share ideas. It was not created as a job board. It became a job board because it makes a lot of money. Companies pay hundreds and even thousands of dollars a month to post jobs. There are over 5 million jobs posted on LinkedIn today – you do the math. It is the reason Microsoft acquired LinkedIn several years ago.

How does this help your career? It enables you to identify your professional peers working for various companies – some companies you may know, and most you will not know. When you connect with these people, you will see a person in a company that you may be interested in pursuing, and better than that, that person in that company now knows you.?

Why is this important? LinkedIn did a survey a couple of years ago and found that over 70% of the job postings on job boards today already have someone picked for the position before the company posted the job. That means that three out of four job postings already have their person. The job posting is real to the selected person but not to the job seeker world. How do these companies identify a person before they post a job? When a position becomes available, whether created or vacated, internal management will look at their peers, colleagues, and employees and ask them – "Whom do you know? Whom do you know who can do this job and do it well?" I am sure you have heard this throughout your career and have done this exact thing yourself. It is nothing new. This has been going on for decades and within every industry.

Sadly, most people do not have peer connections. I hear this daily, and I talk to about 100 clients monthly. By building your peer connectivity, you will get to know many people out there who know about you, your skills, and your accomplishments. One fact in the working world is that everyone working in a company knows when a position is open in their department. They know when a job opens because of a fellow employee leaving or a new position was created. Often, the company will add the duty of this open position to the existing employees until the position is filled. Have you been in this situation? The same will be with each of your connections. They know when a position is open but do not know anyone who can fill it.?However, if that person is a peer whom you reached out to, that person may refer you for the position. Statements are made like, "Have you thought about our company as an opportunity? We are always looking for great people," or "We just had an opening in our department that I think you would be a great fit. Are you interested?" If you say yes, they will say, "Apply for the position, and when you finish, let me know, and I will pull your information." Now, you are being pulled from the dozens or hundreds that apply and become the person in mind!?

This is why it is important to create a goal of increasing your peer connectivity and continue this activity throughout your career – it will help you do your job better and generate job opportunities down the road.

Want to learn how to do this??Connect with me, and let’s talk. Find more information at https://rtg-enterprises.com or contact me at [email protected] .

About Richard Glass

Mr. Glass has been connecting talent with employers for over 30 years.? He is the President of RTG Enterprises, a career services company that provides career coaching and professional resume writing.? He has helped thousands of job seekers find purpose in their search process and stand out among their competitors.? He is an Adjunct Professor, teaching Business courses at Liberty University, where he also led the career center of one of the largest non-profit universities in the United States, which had over 265,000 students and alums and over 11,000 employers using its services. Before this, he helped corporate and government employers find the talent they needed to meet their staffing needs.? His expertise includes strategic relationship development, business development, entrepreneurship, career counseling and coaching, networking, resume and cover letter writing, personal and business branding, and philanthropic giving.? He has worked with employers in both the public and private sectors, including higher education, public and private K-12 schools, federal, state, and local governments and agencies, Fortune 1000, mid-size and small businesses, non-profits, and ministries.?

About RTG Enterprises

At RTG Enterprises, I assist my clients in the full career search process, including career assessment, building a brand and resume, researching occupations, employers, and geographies, networking, interview techniques, salary negotiations, and onboarding.? All professional people have mentors and coaches.? Whether you are a new graduate, a seasoned professional, or an executive, RTG has a Career Coaching Plan or Professional Resume Writing Package for you.? Contact us to be your coach today for your success tomorrow.? RTG customers include executive management (C-suite), information technology professionals, engineers, teachers, professors and administrators, accounting and finance professionals, human resource professionals, business development and sales professionals, marketing and communication professionals, law enforcement professionals, and transitioning military personnel.?