Thanks to Maarja Anderson, anchor of WDIO TV Good Morning Northland for interviewing me about how to take charge of your career.
If you are happy with your work, you will feel better about yourself, have less stress and more success. Whether you work for an organization or are self employed here are some ways to take charge of your career.
1. Play to your strengths – create 3 columns on a page entitled “Love” “Neutral” “Dislike”. Fill in the columns.
1. Love – what are the tasks that you love to do, bring you energy and feel effortless? You are in the “zone”.
2. Neutral – tasks that neither bring or take your energy
3 Dislike – tasks that sap your energy – you procrastinate and aren’t that good at them even though you may have learned the skill to do them
Then, aim to find a career that has more of your love tasks because these are your strengths and will be your “sweet spot” for success.
2. Be Visible – having solid relationships with the right people is critical to your professional success. Be strategic – who needs to know you in order to get the job or promotion? Then, take steps in order to get to know them by going to networking events, asking for introductions, or slating informational interviews.
3. Provide Value – demonstrate your expertise so others can see your capabilities. Ways to do this are to volunteer on a committee, serve on a board of directors, or organize a community or church event.
Use these 3 steps to identify and obtain the career that you love. Then you will have more satisfaction and success than you ever could have imagined.