Managing your career is just as important as managing your finances. In fact, if you manage your career, you can earn more money to give to your financial advisor prior to tax time. Does that sound enticing? Career management planning is an approach you should embrace 24/7/365.
It should not be ignored when you are at work full-time in a permanent job. In fact, no job today is permanent. It is temporary until your employer decides you are no longer required. So, what can you do to manage your career when gainfully employed and when in career transition? Here are just a few tips to help you boost your personal brand and confidence, and position you as a viable candidate across your industry and area of expertise.
#1 Have an up-to-date resume that serves the needs of the ATS scanning applications so prevalent in recruiting today.
It should reflect exactly who you are, what you do, and the value you will bring, supported with real success stories. These should be checkered with positive metrics that talk about raising money, increasing productivity, eliminating headcount, reducing costs and much more.
#2 Keep your LinkedIn profile full of valuable information that will attract attention from career decision makers and optimize your Google ranking.
A vacant LinkedIn profile will do little to enhance your career. It is page-less and allows you, within the limits of the LinkedIn characters, to relay a compelling story about your career and soft and hard skills. It also allows you to post media in the form of presentations, videos, publications, and posts. Two valuable tips are to customize your LinkedIn URL by eliminating the numbers and letters after your name, and have a current, professional profile picture. Just these two tips will raise the Google algorithms visiting your LinkedIn profile by a massive 1,800%.
#3 Network.
This is the key to continued success. The more people who know about you, the more potential leads you have. Nothing can surpass in-person networking, interacting with people both in your job function and your industry, but also far beyond. Support in-person networking with online networking using the social media platforms to market yourself as an authority and provide information about your attributes and career.
Career Management Planning Is Your Responsibility
In summary, never halt career management planning just because you believe your job is secure and nothing can take it away. That is a false and risky mindset to have today when career transition can occur at any time.