In a busy workplace, your boss simply doesn’t have the time to think about how to develop your career. Instead, you have to take control of your own career planning to ensure you’re putting yourself in position for long-term growth.
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Here are four ways to become more strategic about the process:
1. FORCE YOURSELF TO SET ASIDE TIME: Force yourself to make time for strategic reflection. Identify several trusted colleagues and start a mastermind group to meet regularly, discuss big-picture goals and hold each other accountable for meeting them.
2. GET CLEAR ON YOUR NEXT STEPS: One technique you can use is “pre-writing your résumé.” Put yourself five years into the future and write your résumé as you envision it, including your new title and exact job responsibilities. Fill in the intervening five years: what specific skills you’ll need to develop in the interim, what degrees or accreditations you may need to earn, and what promotional path you’ll need to pursue in order to get there.
3. INVEST IN DEEP WORK: What marks you as successful over time is creating in-depth, valuable projects. That involves a shift from staccato, reactive work into more self-directed, long-term projects. There’s no immediate payoff — but the long-term benefits and recognition are substantial.
4. BUILD YOUR EXTERNAL REPUTATION: Professionals are often taken for granted inside their own organizations. That doesn’t mean you should jump ship every few years. But it does point to the fact that even if you’d like to stay at the same company, it’s important to cultivate a strong external reputation to remind your boss and colleagues that your abilities are sought after and appreciated by others.
