The “job for life” is no longer the norm. Today, the average person will have between 7 and 10 different jobs in the course of their careers as they explore different routes and opportunities around them.
Dragon’s Den’s James Caan wrote this week that to succeed professionally you should review your career at 6 month intervals; taking stock of what you’ve achieved, where you’re going and if you like it. Whether you move around a company you love or look elsewhere, the truly ambitious, he says, should be “looking to improve your position at least once every 2-3 years”.
But how do you make the move?
The trick, according to Caan, is to learn how to sell yourself and your skills. Every client you do business with does business with you as much as the firm, and each give you an important opportunity to sell yourself.
He promotes networking saying that your contact book, has got to be well stocked and your profile well-crafted and promoted. According to this dragon, your personality and profile is the key to your professional progression.
He also encourages us to work out our strengths and weaknesses and continually work at bettering our skill set. Developing a new skill each year, he says, demonstrates to bosses that you are ready to grow and move up.
Similarly, the Dragon promotes Thought Leadership, explaining that those who give themselves coverage as a thought leader demonstrate that they have the drive and ideas for progression that companies want and value. From blogs to seminars and think tanks, there are so many ways to build a reputation for yourself and show off your ideas.
He concludes by saying that we should all keep a constant eye on the opportunities around you if you want to truly progress. Don’t miss your perfect job because you are working comfortably where you are. Similarly, use the opportunities you see to help establish which skill you should master next, where the best networking opportunities are and how your industry is progressing.
Do all that it seems, and you’re in.
Build your own HR career by joining myHRcareers on Linkedin; a networking group for London based HR professionals between 20 and 35 who want to build their HR careers and professional networks.
