Wednesday 4 February 2009

Expert career advice

I read some ‘expert’ career advice on the web today in an article called ‘Keep your job’.

Here are the 4 headlines this article said all of us need to be aware of in order to safeguard our jobs & careers:

1. Self-improve (acquire new, relevant skills)
2. Get noticed (businesses need innovation to pull through difficult times)
3. Don’t get noticed (don’t get caught looking for a new job)
4. Make a backup plan (be aware of alternatives in case your job comes under threat)

My problem with this article is that it makes some interesting points but doesn't go on to explain how we might progress them.

I liken it to my car breaking down at the roadside and a mechanic pulling over in a recovery truck. He offers to help but does so by making suggestions like, “Cars don’t tend to break down so often when they are regularly serviced” or “You could fix your car easily if you understood computerised engine management systems”. You get the idea.

[“Do you mean if I hadn’t parked under a tree this might not have happened!?]

When an expert offers their help you need it to get you somewhere not point out what you already know - or worse - offer ideas that suggest help but go no further.

The individual who wrote this career article is an expert and their expertise could help any number of us looking to safeguard our jobs & develop our careers in the challenging market we are working in today.

Maybe it is time for our experts to move beyond their ideas and get into practical areas (such as evidence, detail and testimony) and enable genuine career progress to be made.

Agree or disagree? Your comments are welcomed as always!

Best Regards

Paul

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Here are some links focusing on career management, decision-making & job search beyond just the suggestion of ideas:

Managing career opportunities

Judging career success

Managing career change

Failure: A label applied by mistake

Job satisfaction

Practical exercise I

Test, re-test and test again

How To Help A Job Seeker

3 comments:

  1. I may be a contrarian, but I disagree with the advice of the article. I think the best way to keep your job is to a) keep a positive attitude, b) do your work excellently well and then do what you can to help others, c) be steadfast in your optimism about the prospects of the business and of your colleagues, and d) be completely clear with yourself about your long-term plan and the steps you need to achieve it.

    Frankly, I think the "expert" who wrote the article missed the central point!

    Just one for the debate.....

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  2. Hi Evan,

    Thanks for reading and for your first time comment on work/life fusion.

    The site at the other end of your link is an excellent example!

    ReplyDelete