Career Makeover—2007 style

by Sheila Curran, printed in Business Week Magazine 

The holidays are coming!  So what’s on your wish list?  A Caribbean cruise? Playstation 3? Tickets to the revival of Les Miserables?  All great choices.  But the best gift—the one that you ultimately appreciate the most--may be the one that you give yourself: a career makeover.
When you’re busy and you’ve established a routine, it’s easy to put career thoughts on the backburner. It’s like your health.  If a body part doesn’t actively hurt, you’re not forced to pay attention. In the same way, your career may seem on track. If you’re doing well and there’s no evidence of trouble on the horizon, it’s tempting to maintain the status quo.  But keep your head down and you may not see opportunities that better match your values and interests.  

Once you start looking around you may also find that your concept of career is no longer accurate.  Employees now move jobs and change careers regularly.  And there are no longer hard and fast rules for getting ahead.  Mid-career professionals can learn something younger grads already know: when it comes to finding a path to your ideal position, you’re the one in the driver’s seat.  Don’t count on anyone taking you along for the ride.

So if you want a career makeover, where do you start? Three strategies will help:  First, examine yourself.  Second, identify a good fit. Third, think like an employer.  And finally, get your own board.

Examine Yourself

Your first task is to put yourself under the microscope, analyzing your preferences in the context of your career so far.  When you consider the positions you’ve held, think about the work itself, the people and the environment.
•  What did you love.  Did you relish, for example, being the go-to person—the one who always got things done?  Were you part of a team that worked cohesively and effectively?
•  What did you hate? Did you constantly bristle at the boss who looked over your shoulder? Did being in a cubicle pouring over Excel spreadsheets drive you nuts?  
•  What skills did you feel proud to have possessed or developed?  Did you learn to be a great manager?
•  What characteristics are important to you in any job?  Is work-life balance a critical component?  Do you know that you need challenging work?

Identify a Good Fit

Your next task requires some brainstorming, as well as book and internet research:  The key is to find organizations where, based on your answers, you’re likely to be a good fit.  Pay particular attention to environment and culture, because this is likely to be your “home” for a good part of the day.  Find out as much as you can from the company website, and—wherever possible—do informational interviews to get a personal perspective.

Think Like An Employer

Once you’ve identified where you’d like to work, visualize the hiring manager at your ideal employer reading your resume and cover letter. Imagine she’s reading hundreds of applications and within ten seconds she’ll make a decision whether to pursue your candidacy. Obviously your resume needs to be easy to read, up-to-date, with no typos.  But your application materials also need to shout out “I have the qualifications, the experience, and the enthusiasm you need. I can add value”.

Get Your Own Board

Everyone can benefit from an outside review when they’re going through a career makeover.  Have you set your sights too low?  Do you have a major skill, like fundraising, that you developed through your volunteer work, but is nowhere to be seen on your resume?  The answer is to appoint your own personal board of advisors—people whom you know and trust, but aren’t hopelessly biased in your favor. Often the best people are former bosses or colleagues. Good advisors support, but they also critique and ask difficult questions.  They’re the people who can help you identify your competence gaps and suggest how you can make up for a lack of experience or education. They’re the ones who’ll tell you how to strengthen your cover letter or find a “hook” to rise above the competition.  An added value is that your advisors will intimately know your interests and aspirations.  Treat them well, and you’ll find them a great source of referral--to people in their own network of colleagues.

2007 is a great time for a career makeover.  The job market is robust and excellent opportunities abound—particularly for those with college degrees.  But that doesn’t mean you have to move on. After you’ve analyzed your preferences, considered your skills, and talked to your advisors, you may decide that the best place to be is exactly where you are now. If that happens, was a career makeover a waste?  Hardly.  You’ll be much better prepared for a future move.  And any career makeover that makes you count your blessings is truly a gift!  Happy holidays.