Strategic Career Management
A Strategy That Works for Successful Career/Life Management

Balance. We all want it. A healthy balance between our professional careers and personal lives. Time to pursue important goals in both areas of our lives. Balance. You can have it, but it requires effort and actions on your part. My comments today will focus on career management, but one key question to ask yourself in considering any job or career change is: How will this career move affect my ability to achieve my personal goals?

I can tell you that you can change horses in midstream without getting your feet wet — and without learning how to walk on water. But there are some things you should know to make the process easier and its outcome more successful — in order to avoid ending up confused and overwhelmed.

But first some straight talk. You have to decide whether you just want another job or whether you want to design a career. In "the good old days" (always about one generation back), they were mostly one and the same. All you had to do was get a job with a good company and your career often followed. The company designed it for you and you followed their design for the next 20 or 30 years, picked up your gold watch and retired in Arizona.

However, the era of the lifetime career with a single employer ended for most of us middle-aged "baby boomers" sometime in the late-70's or early-80's. Those of us under 30 (not me) only know of it from stories told by parents and grandparents about the "good old days."

Today, the average person entering the work force can be expected to make as many as five major career changes in a lifetime and works for up to 12 different employers. Learning how to make these changes work for you can make the difference between a successful career/life balance and a professional/personal life that is out of balance.

The U.S. economy, dominant through much of the post-World War II era, has been forced to adjust itself to growing worldwide competition and a shrinking world market. As a result, more people than ever have needed to weigh their career alternatives. Sometimes a change is contemplated out of choice and sometimes it is forced by economic necessity. Regardless, the change can either be a catastrophe or an opportunity, depending on how you deal with it. It's really your choice.

If you are evaluating your career because you have lost your employment, then everything that follows certainly applies to you. If you are currently employed, but still exploring your career options, two questions to ask yourself are:

- Is my present employment preventing me from achieving my goals in life?

- Am I unhappy with my present company or boss?

If your answer to the first question is yes and you answer no to the second question, then a real career change is in order. If you answer no to the first question and your answer to the second question is yes, then you probably just need to seek a better job doing pretty much what you're doing now.

If you answered both questions with a yes, then what are you waiting for? Will it take something like "the big one" to get you to overcome your inertia and make some positive changes in your life? (Note: For those of you new to this area, "the big one" refers to the much heralded and long awaited catastrophic earthquake that has been predicted ever since the last "big one" failed to flush California into the ocean and create ocean view lots in Colorado. Something the Chamber of Commerce or "Welcome Wagon" probably didn't mention.)

Whatever you do, don't act impulsively. If you haven't been thinking about changing your career for at least six months, and you are still employed, don't do it. At least not yet. But, if a career change is clearly indicated for your life's goals to be achieved and if you've been thinking about it long enough, don't wait any longer.

Don't let fear or inertia keep you in an unsatisfactory situation. Change is never easy, but it doesn't get any easier with time and the reasons you have been considering such a change aren't likely to go away. They seldom do.

The process I recommend using to achieve your career goals is something I call "Strategic Career Management." Using this approach, there are three phases to making a successful career or job change and they all take some time to accomplish. They are:

- Assessment

- Planning and Preparation

- Implementation

Let's look at each phase in some detail.

- Assessment — This phase requires the objective identification of the skills and experiences in your career history that you can credibly market to other fields of endeavor. The key word is "objective." Not what you think you are or what you'd like to be, but rather how you are likely to be perceived by a potential employer. Because it is almost impossible for people to be objective about themselves, you might benefit from the services of a career counselor or some other uninvolved party in this phase.

Self-help books like What Color is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles, a long-time favorite, are great for the "do-it-yourself" type. But even their authors will concede that there can be value in enlisting the aid of an objective and experienced third party with some expertise in such matters.

Next, you must decide which of your strengths also represent what you enjoy doing. Not just what you're good at doing, but what gives you a sense of satisfaction.

Once your strengths have been identified, it's time to identify any potential perceived liabilities. We all have some. Again, objectivity is critical.

Finally, these liabilities must be addressed. Can they be overcome? If so, by all means take the necessary steps to overcome them. This could involve additional training, education, or experience which will help you in attaining your ultimate career objective. Yes, you may have to make an interim change to eventually get to where you want to be in the end. Consider it an investment. I call this the "two-step approach."

If your liabilities truly can't be overcome, then you must devise some strategies to minimize their perception in the marketplace. This does not mean you should be dishonest in your efforts to change careers. But it does mean you should do what you can to heighten the perception of your strengths and diminish the perception of your liabilities by those who will be evaluating you for future employment.

Please notice that I've used the term "perception" frequently in the preceding section. That's not because I've run out of words to use, but rather because perception (unfortunately) is everything. You may be the absolute best at what you do or have highly valued and transferable skills, but if the marketplace doesn't see it that way you won't get very far in your efforts to market yourself. Remember, after all, this really is a marketing campaign we're talking about — though few of us choose to look at it that way. More about this in the section which follows on "implementation."

- Planning and Preparation — Now that you know where you want to go, you need a plan to get there. Be realistic, but don't limit yourself. Clearly define your ultimate career goal and then work backwards. Identify each step you can take along the way to achieve it.

Establish a timeline. Don't be overly optimistic. It generally takes longer to accomplish these steps than you think it will.

Evaluate your financial and emotional resources. Do you have the wherewithal to stay on course? Who will support you when doubt and frustration creep in?

- Implementation — Many people skip the first two phases and begin here. That is a big mistake. It takes more than a good résumé to achieve a significant career change. If you've done your homework up to this point, a carefully implemented strategic career change plan is bound to succeed. But again, you may need some help. Don't hesitate to get it.

Packaging and presentation are critical to your success. If you seek a management or executive position, be sure the materials you will use in your career campaign properly represent you as such. Don't forget about that old bugaboo — perception!

Do your market research. Where are the opportunities you seek and how can you find them? Prepare to use all available resources to surface the right career opportunity.

These include:

- Advertised Openings — While only 15% to 20% of all jobs are filled this way (or as few as 3% if you're a senior manager or executive), it is still an important source you cannot afford to overlook.

- Recruiters and Search Firms — Select those that work in fields and industries consistent with your goals.

- Direct Contacts with Potential Employers — Whether they're actively recruiting or not.

- Networking — Tap those people you know who may be able to help you identify potential opportunities.

- Special Opportunities — Those created by any change occurring within a company or industry.

Assessment — Planning and Preparation — Implementation. These are the keys to success in your career change efforts — and, for that matter, in life. Others have succeeded in achieving their desired career/life balance — so can you!

O.K., I can hear you skeptics out there. You're probably asking yourself, "Sure this all looks good on paper, but does it really work?" The answer is unequivocally, "YES!" In fact, if you follow these steps diligently, you can't fail. A timely and successful career development move is inevitable. Here are just a few examples:

Mark, a recent college graduate who decided to quit the first job he took after just one year, said, "This strategic personal marketing approach made a process that I dreaded actually fun. If more people followed these strategies, I think we'd have less job turnover and more satisfaction on the job."

Barbara, employed unhappily in a family-owned business for over 20 years, followed this plan and told me, "I've literally never had to look for a job — until now. I didn't know where to begin. What otherwise would have been an intimidating experience proved to be exciting and uplifting. My eyes were opened to career options I didn't even know existed."

John, an industrial engineer who was forced to relocate 3,000 miles due to his wife's promotion and transfer just as he was completing his MBA in Management Information Systems, described his experiences as follows, "This strategic personal marketing approach was especially helpful to me when I was trying to define my career goals and identify specific opportunities to target. My résumé and the job search skills I developed helped me to obtain a salary offer 10% higher than I would have otherwise received. This has given my career a real boost!"

Carol, having already made one major career change seven years ago, tried this approach and this is what she had to say, "I needed to find a new job before I was totally burned out. This simple process put some horsepower behind my campaign and I've achieved results I know I never could have achieved following my own methods."

Bill, a highly successful executive who suddenly and unexpectedly found himself on the market, felt this way about it, "After 19 years with the same company, I didn't know where to begin when my position was eliminated. This marketing strategy helped me to make a professional presentation to the marketplace. It gave me a real sense of my worth and the confidence to pursue ambitious goals. As a result, I landed a better position, earning significantly more money, in a lot less time than I thought it would take."

These are real people, folks. If they could do it, so can you. What are you waiting for?