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Denise Brosseau - Building Well-Connected Leaders
Thinking About A Transition? 10 Steps to Get You Started (part I)
Now that the economy is starting to show signs of recovery, you might be thinking it’s time for a change – maybe you want a new job in your field or perhaps a new career all together. Here are ten things you can do now that will put you on the path to success.
1. Create or update your online profile on LinkedIn
LinkedIn has become the destination of choice for many hiring managers as well as the first stop for those interested in learning more about you following an introduction at a networking event. Not sure how to get started? I recommend JumpStart’s Social Media Guide for great step-by-step directions (only $9.95). Make sure that your profile is 100% complete, as complete profiles tend to come up higher in search results. Spend some time on your Professional Headline text – this is similar to your elevator speech – ~120 characters that allow you to summarize your skills, interests or background. Not sure yet what you want to do next? Don’t worry, you can always update your profile later. Just be sure that today the information you are providing highlights your expertise or what you are known for (or want to be known for). Don’t be shy! This is your chance to showcase your expertise. After your headline text, the next most important area is your keywords – think about what words or phrases people might use to find someone like you and be sure that you have included them here.
2. Identify your strengths
There are a lot of great career-oriented assessment tools out there – Myers Briggs, DISC, etc. But for a job transition, the Strengthsfinder 2.0 assessment tool is perhaps the best. You need to buy the book in order to access the unique login code included in the back. Then go online and spend 20 minutes or so completing your Strengths profile. After the age of 30, it is almost impossible to really make significant changes to correct your weaknesses, don’t you agree? It’s always easier if the role we take and the organization we join values us for the strengths we bring to the table. The Strengthsfinder assessment ranks your top five. Whenever you are evaluating an opportunity, be sure these are the key strengths needed to be successful.
3. Map your developmental network
Throughout your career, hopefully you’ve been developing a great many connections with people who you like and trust. Each of these people has some influence or credibility in your company, industry or interest area. Take the time to evaluate these relationships by completing a 2X2 matrix chart that ranks everyone you’ve worked with or interacted with over the last 2-3 years on the following characteristics – how much influence does this person have (low/medium/high) and how much do you like/trust this individual (not much, somewhat, a lot). You want to identify everyone who falls into the box of high influence with high trust. Those are the people that will be your strongest allies in your job transition. Some of these might be co-workers or even your boss and you may not be able to tell them right away that you are looking to leave, but later these individuals may be able to serve as a reference or will support you once you’ve made the leap. Keep them on the list, even if you can’t talk to them right away.
4. Identify your supporters
Many transitions are stressful – you need to keep doing what you’re doing now while also finding a way to identify the next big opportunity and create a path to a successful next step. You don’t want to go it alone. Look around you. Who can support your efforts? Your spouse? Best friend? A former colleague who recently went through their own transition? Another person you know going through a similar transition? Solicit one or more to help – to listen, share ideas with, offer encouragement.
5. Start a transitions journal
During a transition there are many good ideas that will ‘float by’ – either from your reading, someone you meet with, an event you attend or an article you read. These ideas will include possible new roles within your existing organization or industry, you will also hear about new jobs that use similar skills to what you’ve been doing before and others that seem completely out of reach. Rather than dismiss any of these ideas out of hand, jot them down in your journal (this can be handwritten in the old-fashioned way or on your computer). Try to write 1-3 pages a day, either when you wake up or before you go to bed, with the new ideas that you are excited by or the suggestions that someone made to you. Write down new directions you haven’t had time to explore as well as your concerns or trepidation about the possibilities ahead. Later, you’ll be able to look back at these pages for inspiration or to track your progress.
Check back later in the week for the remaining transition ideas!
Posted by Denise Brosseau on 5th November, 2009 | Comments
Tags: LinkedIn, Strengthsfinder, developmental network, career transition, journaling There are no comments for this post Post a CommentHTML is not allowed in comments, http://... will be automatically linked.
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