New job? Consider this career development plan

Whether you have a new job, old job or are looking for a job, having a plan in mind for your career development is in your best interest.  If you have yet to discover my approach yet to my advice, I’m will dispense what I’ve learned over the past year into guidance that can be easily adopted to advance your career and bring about the success you want.

Climbing the career ladder

What happened to me this year

In January of this year, I was laid off due to the effects of the recession.  For me as it is for most, this was a blessing in disguise.  For me, this was because I knew I had no career development opportunities at my place of work. (Just so you know, I knew this four years ago and as I was awaiting the birth of my third child, I decided it wasn’t the right time to look for another job.)

What you want from your career

Success.  Growth.  Responsibility.  Things like that.  Entry level jobs don’t give you much of that, but with so many others in your position, who is going to get ahead?

Beside sleazy tactics that will often backfire, your options for quick career development are advancement in your place of work or advancement through getting hired elsewhere.

In this post, I am discussing how you get advancement through getting hired elsewhere.  For the other option, look at my other posts for inspiration.

Why looking elsewhere is very smart

Looking for advancement at your place of work is a good option, but think of it this way.  Your work is only one company.  If you look for work outside of your place of work, you can easily multiply your chances of growth by 100 (it is reasonable to send resumes to 100 companies, right?).

Dealing with your biggest challenge

Your biggest challenge is doing a worthy job search while working.  I know this is true because I put myself into that situation when the recession started.  I knew my days were numbered so I did my job search, found a job that I liked, created my resume, networked and failed to win an interview.

Why did I fail to win the interview?  Because I couldn’t put my heart into it; my drive to find work was minuscule in comparison to when I was laid off.  You will find this to be true for yourself as well.

So, how do you deal with this challenge?

1. Quit.  Yup.  Take the bull by the horns and quit.  Quitting is a flag you can carry with pride and will go a long way in winning your stepping stone dream job.  Think of it this way, if you were an employer and you had to choose between the person who quit a job to work for you or 100 people who are unemployed or working elsewhere, who would you pick?  Do the sole searching you need to feel confident in this decision before you quit, however.  Don’t start bashing me in my comments because you didn’t give it the consideration it needed before you quit.  That would be quite stupid and this isn’t you.
2. Use your vacation time to devote eight hours a day to create a killer resume and cover letters.  Before you take your vacation time, do your research (like my future posts on job searches) and plan what you will do during your vacation time.  This will allow you to make the most of this time.  Get head hunters and career councilors to give you advice on your resume and cover letter.  When you are back at work, that is the time you start submitting your resume and cover letters to companies.

Start your job search after about two years at a new employer

The minimum amount of time I think anyone needs to work before looking elsewhere is two years.  You need the second year under your belt to see annual patterns in the work place and to build your understanding of what you really want next in your career.

More motivation

The time is now.  As you get older, it gets harder to make the plunge.  I know this to be true because I’m older.  I used my three kids as a reason why I should wait before I do a good job search (thank god I was laid off).  Other reasons include your own wedding, illness in the family, who knows what else.  Do something about it now if it has been more than two years and you don’t see opportunity at your feet where you work today.

Related posts:

1. Obsessions: make them work for you
2. Have an entrepreneurial spirit, even when working for someone else
3. DRESS FOR SUCCESS: Be yourself, build integrity, be influential
4. Elevator pitches are your foot in the door
5. Goals and ambitions – how they are more than a statement