Are you at the helm or hemmed in?
Don’t be a victim of circumstance. Take over the reins of your career and blaze your own trail

Many people go about their working lives not thinking about their next job, either because their job is very satisfying or they do it for the money and perceived stability it offers.


Whatever the reason, jobs today have become more precarious. Gone are the days of life-time employment. The work environment now is more unpredictable where stability is a chimera and change, a stark reality.


Given such a scenario, would you rather wait for events to catch up with you or be in control of the events that will lead to the inevitable change down the road?


Here are some tips to help you chart your own career:

Assess what you are good at
There are two things to consider: Basic technical skills and the inner drivers which motivate and make you happy.


Basic technical skills are fairly easy to assess as they are largely based on your education and training. It is worthwhile to re-visit these from time to time to ensure they are up-to-date and, more importantly, will remain relevant in the future.


The inner drivers that motivate you and push you to outperform the competition may be less obvious. For example, some people are more creative than practical, patient rather than action-oriented, thoughtful rather than outgoing.


It is important to know these because human motivation will always be fuelled by its inner drivers which will in turn lead you to your career choice. If these are combined with relevant technical skills, you can enjoy more job satisfaction.

Stay marketable
While obvious, not many people take this point seriously once they have achieved a certain level of competency.


Staying marketable can mean many things, but you can boil it down to two things. First, there is the external perspective. Ask yourself:

What is the market telling me? Is there a trend of change in my area of expertise, and if so, what is it?

So, if you are in direct sales, what other distribution channels are emerging which may overtake your present skills and ways of doing things?


Paying attention to these trends will help you manage change rather than let change manage you. Second, ask how marketable you are. If you were to lose your job today, what is the probability of getting another one and how long would it take?


Simply put, how should you project your competencies and energy to the outside world at any given moment so as to maximise your chances of success?


Revisiting the answers to these questions could prove useful. When combined with external trends, they will be the basis of your constant renewal to ensure your marketability.

Remain connected
Never underestimate the power of networking. If you rely solely on job advertisments, you will be one among many applying for the same job.


While this approach is not wrong, consolidating and expanding your network of contacts will increase your chances of securing a job.


Securing a job or a promotion will depend on what you have to offer, but it also has a lot to do with human interaction. Networking is an art in itself. A person often needs to put aside quality time to engage in it. For instance, instead of going home after work, make the effort to meet new people, possibly in a different environment.


Nurturing contacts is a fundamental factor in controlling your career. The more you connect with other people, the higher your chances of creating opportunity and the more recognisable you will be in the market.

Be self-reliant
Too many people allow others to govern their careers. This is because they live in a comfort zone and believe that the next step forward will be proposed to them. These people are creating a dependency link.


On the other hand, if you are constantly in control of the factors which will create your own career, you are in charge of your own destiny. From time to time, do a reality check of how dependant you are on external factors or how much you are in control of your own career. If you know which way the balance is tipping, you will be in a better position to either redress it or give it extra weight in the right direction.

Be prepared
Pretend for a moment that you are about to miss out on a promotion or, worse, lose your job. How prepared are you to cope? Ask yourself what have you been doing? More importantly, what you have not been doing in the past to secure the future. Being always ready to spark the change you want or to cope with the change that befalls you is imperative at all times and will smooth out any transition in your career.

If you analyse what you are good at and its relevance, take action so that your skills and motivations are aligned with opportunity, and continue to nurture the relationships which will make a difference to your future, you will be at the helm of your own success. Even as the economy is improving and job prospects are looking brighter, don’t wait for the statistics to tell you where you stand. Take control, and make sure that you influence the statistics positively for yourself.

Article contributed by Bernard Bulens, chief executive officer of Ashmore International which specialises in executive coaching, leadership development, performance management and human resources. E-mail: bbulens@ashmore-i.com; Website: www.ashmore-i.com

This article first appeared in ST Recruit on December 22, 2004.