It’s time to expand your job description

May 4, 2009
Add Comment

 strategies“In a bad economy, the best work environments are those where you control of your own destiny.”  That’s a reminder I received from a friend the other day.   Her point was that people with stable jobs and predictable incomes might feel more secure.  But they might not have the job security they think they do.  It got me thinking…

Can’t everyone take more control?  Try this quick test:  Take a look at your ‘to do’ list for this week. How many items on it are ‘other driven’?  How many are ‘self driven’? If your to do’s are activities that only benefit others, you might not be doing anything to benefit your own career development.  Some ideas for changing the balance…

1.       Build a personal brand – where do you really shine and what is best left to others?  What is your personal philosophy about the work you do?   This takes a bit of reflective time, but is well worth the effort.  Half the battle of figuring out what you do well is recognising it (and ‘not it’).  Whatever ‘IT’ is, it is worth celebrating.  Take time to figure ‘it’ out.

2.       Spend more time out of the office – my favourite quote from my friends at Pragmatic (pragmaticmarketing.com) is “the answers to your questions are not in the building”.  Companies make mistakes and miss opportunities because they spend all of their time talking to each other.  Pretty soon, the truth becomes self-created and is not valuable to the rest of the world.  Get out of the office and talk to others.  Get some perspective on yourself and your organisation.

3.       Take advantage of every development opportunity.  When I think of all of the corporate training I skipped because of some urgent deadline (and what I now pay for out of my own pocket), I feel a little sick.  You know those programs that you don’t think count as ‘real work’?  Well if you would go along with an open mind, you just might learn something useful.  Better yet, how about those continuing education credits where your company puts money towards a degree?  There are tons of resources and interesting programs out there to support your growth.  What are you waiting for? 

4.       Change jobs more often.  Job and role loyalty is great to a point, but you aren’t doing yourself or your employer any favours staying in a job too long.  Movement is good for both of you.  The temporary discomfort it creates leads to perspective and new ideas. 

5.       Network.  Your network is part of your resume.  It’s an asset you carry with you.  Care for it.

It’s time to expand your job description.  Instead of just adding to your employers’ business value, spend some time developing your own.   The 2 activities don’t need to be mutually exclusive.  Done right, you can both win.

Filed under: Business, Personal Development, Uncategorized
Tagged:

Comments

Feel free to leave a comment...