Proactive career management 101

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Management guru Peter F. Drucker.

            Although Drucker’s words are over a decade old, they still ring true in many ways.  For instance, preventive health care aims to foster healthy eating and stress reduction habits to decrease the likelihood of future illness.  Financial literacy workshops look to arm adults with tools to make sound, long-term financial decisions that will generate wealth and economic security.  Through these efforts,  we attempt to create a healthier and more secure financial future for ourselves.

            Why, then, can’t we do the same for our professional future?

            You may be saying, ‘I’m already doing that. I am looking for internships and visiting the Career Center often.’ If you are taking steps towards your career, congratulations!  Every step taken in the right direction is a victory.  However, what I am proposing to you is to lay a foundation that will allow you to start building and managing your career during--not after-- your college years.  The goal is to become deliberate and conscious about shaping the future of your professional life.  Here are four initial steps to proactively start managing your career:

• Have strategic and tactical goals.  Strategic goals are those that have long term impact and create significant change.  Tactical goals are those that are generally short term and aim to solve a specific issue.  A strategic career goal could be to choose a major.  A tactical goal is to learn how to write effective cover letters.
• Understand and accept that YOU are in charge of your career.  Yes, your family may be helping you pay for college and the career counselor may be guiding through the process.  Ultimately, the decision of what path to pursue rests with you.  You are the chief executive officer (CEO) of your professional life.
• Start to narrow down your career options.  Choose two to four career paths, industries or companies that are attractive to you.  Having only a few will allow you to focus all your energy and time on learning all you can about them.  You can then decide if they are the right fit for you.  By the way, this step is a strategic goal.
• Be clear about your skills, traits and abilities.  The more you know about yourself, the better equipped you will be to build on what you have and improve and develop what you want to change.  There are tests you can take to identify specific traits.  Your career center office can guide you with this step.

            As the CEO of your career, are you ready to make an executive decision and take charge of your professional life?

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