Successful people intuitively know how to steer themselves into the fast lane of career success. The good news is that you can learn some of the tricks of their trade--and use them to get ahead at work. Consider these six surefire career secrets.
1. Don't wear out your welcome. Consider the "five-year rule." If you have not advanced in job title, responsibilities, or salary within a five years, you are probably locked into a career coffin. Get out!
Marta Driesslein, career coach and founder of Cambridge Career Services (careerhope.com) warns her clients about this. "The longer you stay the 'older' you will be perceived," she says. "Your ability to be up to date in latest technologies, business know-how, and trends--as well as your professional adaptability--will be doubted the longer you remain at a company without progressing."
3. Learn how to network. Shannon Seek, executive coach and founder of Seek Solutions (seeksolutions.com), shares the following tip. "Keep your contacts alive, meet new people regularly and stay abreast of current trends," she says. "Being 'in the know' creates added value for your current employer. It also puts you in a position to negotiate pay raises and increased benefits--especially when a competitor wants to recruit you. Then you have leverage." Seek notes that whenever one of her clients starts to hate their job or their boss, she encourages them to "get out" in the market. "It is almost inevitable," she adds, "when they start interviewing for other positions, their sense of self-worth goes up and they get a promotion in their own company!"
4. Protect your professional image. Be sure to keep your image businesslike if you want to be taken seriously at work. Not to sound stereotypical, but women should pay particular attention to this advice.
Laurie Rozakis, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Office Politics, explains. "Home matters remain at home," according to Rozakis. "Never try to forge bonds with colleagues, superiors, or even customers based on children, cooking, carpools, any of the traditional 'women's concerns.' Such matters brand female professionals as distracted--and even less competent. Always project a professional image of competence, even if your child has the chicken pox and the baby-sitter has taken off for parts unknown."
5. Don't let stress get the best of you. Not keeping your stress level in check can thwart your ability to shine at work. It could also make you physically ill. It has been estimated that at least half of the 360 million working days lost annually to sickness is related to problem stress. Employees who suffer job-related stress are more likely to "give up" and simply go through the motions at work. Imagine how difficult it would be to achieve your career goals under these circumstances. Even if you think you are exceptional in your ability to handle it all, a steady stream of unmanaged stress will surely push you out of the career fast lane--and into a ditch!
6. Go with your gut. Don't make the mistake of failing to heed that little voice inside of you called "instinct." Diana Robinson, a personal development and success coach (choicecoach.com), recommends that employees find their authentic self and listen to it. Robinson says, "When that 'gut' self says that something is wrong, something doesn't fit, listen to it. Almost certainly if you do not, you will sooner or later regret it. The trick is to recognize the difference between the wisdom of your authentic self and all the fears, judges, and comfort-zone boundaries that try to hold you back by masquerading as your authentic self, when they are actually neither authentic nor a true part of the self."
Putting these six career tips into practice on a regular basis will help you keep your career moving quickly in the right direction. And you should make no secret about that.
Kathy Simmons, assistant vice president at a major U.S. insurance company, has written many career articles for The Wall Street Journal, Working Woman, Executive Update, Succeed, Career Magazine, and other publications. As Kathy reminds her readers: "We are all capable of change and growth; we just need to know where to begin." (Blaine Lee)
