When it comes to our careers and career management, the only constant is change. And change begins with you – career management and marketing go hand in hand.
I gave a global webinar on the topic of “Reinventing or Reinvigorating Your Career” for a technology organization. In my talk, I addressed how goals, interests, technologies and industries grow, evolve and expand. Your work path(s) will too. The key to doing work you love is to have “mindful career management.” Whether you want to reinvent your career or reinvigorate it, you have to start with the right mindset, then manage and steer your career in the direction you want with mindful marketing.
Career management and personal branding/marketing is a journey, not a destination. Sometimes we choose to reinvent ourselves to grow, make more money or enter a new job arena that we want to be in. How we market ourselves is what guides us. Career management is all about educating people about who you are. Look at this time and effort as an investment. Small steps compound to make a big impact professionally!
The biggest obstacle to getting what you want is knowing what you want.
Own what you want. The first thing you need to do as you look at reinvention or career invigoration is to get crystal clear on what you want. What is it that you want? Why? How will this change your life for the better? What does this look like to you? See it. Believe it. Then you can work to Achieve It. It is an easy question to ask “what you want,” but harder to answer. Spend time here and get clear.
Put some awesome extract into the process.
Do you know what your “Awesome” is? Extract what you are really good at and are passionate about. Answering this question will help guide you – this is not about being egotistical, it’s about being honest.
Write this down – you will apply this awesome extract to your career marketing work.
This is your Career Marketing Rx 3-Step System:
1. Positioning – Intention
How you want to be positioned professionally (your intention) is something to write down as well as have visuals for. Start collecting pictures of the things that you want. Take notice of the types of people you admire, the environments you like to be in, etc. This will help to identify what you want. Don’t over-think the photos – just pull pictures that speak to you.
When you have clear statements that define what you want, write it down. Put it on a sticky note and add it to your vision board where you can see it and focus on it. This will become your story …and story telling is story selling that gets you where you want to go.
2. Personality – Identity
Take a good hard look in the mirror to see if your personality/identity is aligned with your intention. This can be your appearance online AND offline. Google yourself to see how you appear on the web. Look at the way you talk and dress. Does your appearance communicate what you want to convey? In today’s web-based work world, it’s a given that people look at your web presence. Does your story tell how your past has brought you to where you are today? It’s those past experiences that make you who you are. Make a list of things that need to be improved so your personality conveys the identity you want. Assess your social media footprint and make sure it reflects what you want. Take a good look at your profile pictures on social media too.
3.) Presence – Invention
Your presence is how you invent the intention you seek. Changing or optimizing appearance, how are you communicating and connecting with those that inspire you are all examples of this.
Own your VALUE and uniqueness (this is where you add your awesome extract!) and include your VALUES. Your value and values communicated clearly in things like your LinkedIn summary, Twitter bio and more create your VOICE – this is your digital identity. Focus on your physical appearance as well to make sure you are walking the talk!
Showcase your contributions every chance you get. In your resume and in online content, make sure you use keywords that reflect the industry you want to be in.
Your career is in your hands! Be positive, have fun and be ready for the unimaginable!