5 Quick Tips to Control Your Career and Your Future!

It’s unlikely that anyone today will stay with one employer their whole working life. As you make choices regarding your career your identity comes from these choices and not your employer.

Who is making a lifetime commitment to your career? It’s surely not your employer, no matter how benevolent they might be. The person controlling your life is you, so if you take responsibility for your life and your future you’ll be far ahead of most people. It’s counterproductive to blame circumstances you cannot control or to blame your employer, your supervisor or co-workers.

If you feel powerless because of where you work, or the career you are in, wake-up and get started on your future. Everyone, with a bit of planning has the ability to quit their jobs and start with another employer, another career or start working for themselves.

The job market is relatively soft right now, but the economy will change and if you plan for a job or career change you future success starts now.

Five Ways to Quickly Get Control of Your Career and Your Future.

1. Research job opportunities all the time.

This doesn’t mean you need to send out five resumes every day. What is does mean is you are constantly looking for opportunities. Some may be internal-with your current employer-some may be external.

Some opportunities may be additional education, self-study, networking with outside organizations, and becoming a player in a career related organization. All will provide you with a constant stream of valuable career information.

If you get stuck and don’t see a way out, work hard at getting help. Career coaches are everywhere, how about a mentor or someone from your network.
Build up your support team and soon you’ll have a group of people working on your behalf.

2. Don’t use money issues as the reasons holding you back.

If you use this as an excuse for making a career or job decision you are shortchanging yourself. If you think you need a certain income to live well, there are many families living better but earning 10%, 20% and even 50% less than you do. How do they do it? Do some research.

After your research then make your plans and you’ll soon find that financial issues will drop off your worry/excuse list.

3. Honestly assess where you happiness comes from.

If it were money, millionaires would be the happiest people on the planet. And earning 25% more may or may not increase you level of happiness. Probably not as there is always 25% more, and 25% after that.

After you’ve built your career plan and you take action this is the fasted path to fulfillment and happiness, not ruminating about what you cannot control.

4. Blaming others or taking a routine negative approach to a situation is a lose-lose proposition.

How you view situations matters. If a problem becomes framed as an opportunity you’ll be well on your way to controlling the situation. Search for the best in every situation, taking the optimistic approach will put you more in control of your career and your future.

5. Do the best presenting in your “brand.”

Looking your best starts with physical conditioning. What is your ideal weight? Do you regularly exercise? Do you go out of your way to build in some physical activity into your daily routine?

Working in a three story building-how often do you use the stairs? Going shopping? How about parking at the edge of the parking lot and getting in some extra walking. You get the idea.

What you wear can make a difference. Recently I meet with a manager who was dressed in what looked like Goodwill castoffs. He didn’t impress any member of my team and he had to work extra hard to get his points across. This is not to suggest that he had to wear a $2000 designer suit, but freshly pressed khakis, with a shirt without a frayed collar and shined shoes would have made at least a neutral impression.

Need assistance with the rest of your appearance? Get help, get a regular haircut, etc.

Also, as part of your career planning work hard to improve your ability to communicate, both in writing and in making an oral presentation. Improvement in this area will also improve your “brand” and will pay big dividends.

Controlling your life, career and future is no easy task. Once you make the decision to start, work through one thing at a time. Keep it up and before you know it you will put together a record of personal achievements and career advancement. The time to start is now.

You knew that first impressions were important in your interview, and you obviously aced that, because now you’ve got the job. However, did you know that first impressions are equally as important when starting a new job?

During your first hours, days, and even weeks on the new job, your new boss and coworkers are going to form their opinions of you, and these will likely color the rest of your time with this employer. For instance, if you earn a reputation as a slacker early on, it will be difficult to shake that label for long enough to earn a promotion, even if you deserve it. Conversely, if you work hard during your first few weeks on the job, your boss and coworkers will be much more likely to overlook rough periods in your performance later on.

Here are ten tips for creating stellar first impressions when starting a new job.

Take Time Off Between Jobs

At a wine tasting, guests are served bland foods to cleanse their palates between wines. Likewise, taking time off between jobs helps you to shake off the old routine and prepare for the new.

Humans are creatures of habit. Any job, but especially one at which you have spent a considerable length of time, establishes a sense of routine in your life that you may unknowingly be reluctant to change. Even a few days off between jobs can help you to prepare for a new routine and a new work environment.

Do Your Homework

You probably did a certain amount of research on your new employer during the application and interview stages. Now is the time to finish your research and round out your understanding of your new employer. If you are taking time off between jobs, you can use that time for this purpose.

To research or brush up on your new employer, read any materials about the company you can get your hands on, including the employee handbook. Your goal is two-fold: to understand what the company does and how you fit in, and to know what to expect in the workplace. If you or someone in your professional network knows someone at the company, plan to meet them for lunch or coffee before your first day – a little inside information can go a long way toward a smooth transition.

Dress Professionally

Presenting a neat appearance reflects positively on your work ethic and habits. Therefore, when beginning a new job you should always dress a notch or two above what is expected. Once those critical early days or weeks are over, you can relax a little without worrying about being perceived as slovenly or a poor worker.

If you have done your homework as suggest above, you should have a feel for your new employer’s dress code. However, if you are unsure it is always better to err on the side of too professional rather than not professional enough.

Arrive Early, Leave Late

Always being the last one in the door and the first one out will make it seem like you don’t actually want to be there – a dangerous impression to make, particularly during your first few weeks on the job.

Instead, always plan to be a little early, and don’t be in a rush to leave at the end of the day. Besides giving the impression that you are enthusiastic and ambitious about your work, you will also gain a reputation of never being late unless there is a real emergency – a valuable reputation to hold.

Get to Know Your Coworkers

Part of settling into a new job is integrating yourself into the workplace’s social network. Like it or not, you spend more waking hours with your coworkers than with almost any other people in your life. Moreover, these people’s opinions of you can directly impact your success with the company, not to mention your day-to-day happiness with your job.

Whatever you, don’t distance yourself from your new coworkers. While it may be tempting to frequently have lunch with your old coworkers, you may be inadvertently signaling to the new group that you are not “one of them.” Instead, socialize with your new coworkers over lunch and coffee as much as possible. Lunch dates with old coworkers can help you to maintain a strong network, but should not be overdone.

Ask for Help

Asking for help is an important part of settling into a new job, yet many people worry about seeming incompetent. In actuality, the opposite is true. By not asking for or accepting help from your coworkers, you risk ostracizing yourself from them, not to mention wasting time and energy on avoidable mistakes.

However, you also don’t want to ask the same questions over and over. If you know you may have a hard time remembering a complicated procedure, or that you have a bad memory in general, take notes whenever you get help. By only asking each question once, you will come across as a quick learner to your boss and coworkers.

Take Initiative

The first few weeks on the job, your new employer will most likely give you a more relaxed workload than your coworkers are expected to carry. Although the expectation is that you won’t be up to speed right off the bat, your employer also expects that you will let them know when you are ready for more work.

Use your light workload to focus on mastering and completing the work you have been assigned, and let your supervisor know if you will need another assignment soon. The sooner you can handle a full workload, the better the impression you will make. You may also opt to volunteer for special projects in order to really get noticed – but only do this if you are sure you can handle the extra work.

Make a Plan

Having a plan can help you monitor and achieve your goals during your first few weeks on the job. Your plan should include all of the things you are expected to learn, as well as a few goals you set for yourself to keep you motivated. Prioritize your goals to help you remember which skills are more important to master. Remember, the point is to keep yourself challenged so that you stay motivated, but not so challenged that you get discouraged.

A nice touch is to share your goals – and your progress – with your boss. To you, this may seem awkward and anal-retentive. To your boss, it will make you appear organized and ambitious.

Communicate with Your Boss

Just as sharing your goals with your boss can help promote a positive impression, communicating other aspects of your settling-in can encourage trust and confidence in your abilities. Your boss has hired you because you seemed like the best person for the job; in other words, he or she has taken a chance on you, and will appreciate updates on your progress.

Maintain a Positive Outlook

Optimists almost always make better first impressions than more negative people. Those who maintain a positive attitude in the face of a new or challenging situation tend to be looked on more favorably. Smile when you meet people for the first time or pass coworkers in the hall. Avoid complaining about anything, and stay out of the workplace gossip during these critical early weeks.

The Importance of Good Impressions

Because Americans only stay in each job for an average of about four years, it is safe to say that this job probably won’t be your last. So why put so much effort into making a good first impression?

While it’s true that this job is most likely a short-term solution, it still has the power to impact your career. Making a good impression might benefit you at this job by helping you to get promotions and special projects that look good on your resume and supercharge your career. In addition, starting a new job off on the right foot improves your chances of creating long-term networking contacts.

By following these ten tips and starting every job on the right foot, you can create solid stepping-stones from which to eventually reach even your loftiest career goals.