Leadership
If people knew how hard I have had to work to gain my mastery, it wouldn't seem so wonderful.
- Michelangelo
Organizing your career is no different from organizing your closet or painting the Sistine Chapel, for that matter. If you expect an organized closet with a system in place for keeping it organized, you cannot just open your closet doors and start cleaning. If you want to create something magnificent like the Sistine Chapel, you cannot just open the paint cans and start painting. Likewise, you cannot just decide to change your career and expect to attain your goals without a vision, proper research, and planning.
What do you want your career to look like? Do you have the tools your chosen career will require? Will you need more education or a geographic re-location to further your ideal career? Are you willing to take the time necessary to organize your career? You might rather be fishing or finishing that new book, but your organized closet will be well-worth the effort and save you time later. So, too, will you delight in your new career if you take the time to envision, plan, and sacrifice for it now.
There are 5 keys essential to organizing your career (or your closet or a painting project):
1) Have a vision of the finished product.
2) Know your strengths and limitations.
3) Know what tools you will need to complete the job.
4) Set aside the necessary time for the project.
5) Work one step at a time toward your goals.
An in-depth understanding of these keys will put you on the right track for organizing your career.
Key 1: Have a vision of the finished product
Envision your ideal career. If an ideal does not easily come to mind, ask yourself the following questions. What do you like to do with your free time? How did you like to play as a child? At what time of day do you like to awaken? In what type of clothing are you most comfortable? Do you like a lot of structure to your day or do you like unfettered freedom to plan your time?
Would you like to live in the city, in a suburb, or in a rural area? How well do you cope with long commutes? In what geographic area of your country would you like to reside? What type of work do you enjoy? What type of work do you hate? What level of income do you need to live comfortably? What sacrifices are you willing to make to attain your career goals?
These are not the questions typically asked by career counselors, but they are very important. If I wanted to make a living as an actress or an opera singer, I would probably not be able to live in the Missouri Ozarks and be able to support myself.
I would need to be willing to relocate closer to a major metropolitan area to pursue these careers. A rural location works well for my profession as a writer and editor, but it would not be suitable for many other professions that I would enjoy.
Knowing yourself and knowing where and how you would like to live is very important in determining what type of career you want to pursue. It might take some research to determine in what career you would be successful and enjoy yourself. A well-trained coach can help you in all stages of organizing your career. Once you have an ideal career in mind, the real fun begins!
Key 2: Know your strengths and limitations
Whether you have a vision of your ideal career or not, it is important to understand your particular strengths and limitations when embarking on a career plan. For example, I know that I am intellectually able to become a surgeon, but I am a little queasy watching surgery on television, and I cannot stand wearing latex gloves. I also have no desire to be around sick or hurting people all day. I have a great deal of sympathy for them, but I know myself well enough to know that I would be emotionally exhausted each day.
When you are considering a career, visit with people who are already in that profession and ask them about the skills they feel are most important to doing their jobs well. Then, look at your own skill set and see if you already have the required abilities or have the ability and desire to learn the missing skill.
Another good question: what are the most important personality traits needed to be successful in the career you are envisioning for yourself? There are many behavior and personality assessments available that can help you pinpoint your own natural abilities and inherent personality traits. I have had great success using the www.LiveCareer.com profile. Assessments are useful tools to help you understand who you are and how you work best.
If you are trying to get a 3’ by 4’ closet to be organized like an 8’ by 12’ walk-in closet, you will be disappointed. If God created you to be an artist and you try to become an accountant, you will not be fulfilling your life’s purpose.
Key 3: Know what tools you will need to complete the job
As with any organizing project, when planning your career you will need to know what tools you need and how to get them. For a closet re-organization, you might need hangers, storage bins, garment bags, and a shoe rack. For a career re-organization, you might need a personal computer, more specialized education, a college degree, professional contacts in the field, a re-location, or simply a new wardrobe.
Once again, a visit with people who are already pursuing your career of interest will help you determine what tools you already have and what tools you will need to acquire. Do you need certification in a particular area? Do you need a completed degree program? Do you need to know people to get your foot in the door for interviews? Do you need to dress a certain way to be accepted in the field? Knowing these details in advance will help prepare you for the career building process.
Key 4: Set aside the necessary time for the project
This key is the most difficult one for my coaching clients to accept. It will be for you, too, if you want your ideal career and you want it now! Realistically, it will take you 2 to 5 years to organize your career if you are pursuing something completely new. Re-organizing a career within your chosen field will take time, too. I am sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you will definitely thank me later!
When starting a career from scratch, you will need to allow time for re-education or initial education. You may need to go back to college or complete a certification program in order to realistically change or advance your career. You will need time to save for these educational expenditures if you do not have the money already saved. You will need time to prepare your résumé and make contacts. You may need time to volunteer or work in internships if you do not have the required experience. If you are starting a new business, you will need time to research the market, prepare your business plan, and get financing. Building a customer base will take time, too. If you need to make a geographic re-location, planning and moving will also take time.
Getting established in your field will take time, but a sacrifice toward a greater good is a lot more rewarding than struggling with unhappiness or un-fulfillment. With the vision of your ideal career always in mind, the day to day goal-setting and goal-attainment will be worthwhile sacrifices.
Key 5: Work one step at a time toward your goals
Without having seen the Sistine Chapel one can form no appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving.
-- Johann Wolfgang Goethe in 1787 in Rome
Now that you have created a vision of the finished product, you know your strengths and limitations, you know what tools you will need to complete the job, and you have set aside the necessary time for the project, it is time to begin the work one step at a time toward your goals.
One step at a time may feel agonizingly slow, but it is one of the most important factors in successful career organization. Remember, the Sistine Chapel was painted one brush stroke at a time after a lot of preparatory steps were taken by Michelangelo.
Nothing can break a dream faster than jumping from the vision to the dream and getting overwhelmed by uttering those fatal words: How am I ever going to get there?! One step at a time. It is the only way to successfully organize a closet, the only way to paint a masterpiece, and it is the only way to successfully organize a career.
One step at a time will take you closer and closer to your goals. Never starting or looking ahead and panicking will not. If Michelangelo can paint the Sistine Chapel, you can organize your career. A well-trained coach can help support and encourage you along the way.
© Copyright 2005, Sharina Smith.
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