Know
thyself .
SOCRATES
Career planning is about improving your current job or seeking the
Stay informed about new and current trends.
Become a member of professional associations.
Read books and journals in your area of expertise.
Attend
Promote new ideas, so you won't be seen as someone who is afraid of change.
Be
Update your resume frequently, highlighting your successes and major achievements. Be sure to include projects that added measurable value to your department or organization. Don't be afraid to blow your own horn.
Take every training course you can manage — they all have something new to offer. Include them on your resume, and make sure your boss is aware of your professional-development activities and their worth to the company.
Add to your network of business
Make contact with people who know where the employment opportunities are, both inside and outside your organization. Add professional recruiters to your network.
Determine your
the need for your work;
your ability to do the job;
the difficulty of replacing you.
Evaluate your strengths. What are you
Focus on skills you have, or might acquire, that are unique in the organization. Fluency in foreign languages or knowledge of particular computer applications are possible examples.
It does not matter how small you are if you have faith and a plan of action.
FIDEL CASTRO
We all know how hard change is, but adapting to change can be challenging and fun. Here's how you can make the transition easier, and benefit from opportunities that may be presented.
Look to the future. Anticipate change and its potential impact on your work area.
Be optimistic about change. Look at it as an opportunity and a challenge rather than a threat. Think about how you could benefit rather than what you stand to lose. Focus on the opportunities that might come your way. For example, people tend to move to jobs with more stability during turbulent times. This will give you an opportunity to expand your job or, better still, apply for a better job that has been vacated.
Keep your ear close to the ground, so you are aware of pending change. Find out how significant it will be. Determine the following:
Who will be affected?
How significant is the change?
Is the change organizational, legal, technological, or procedural?
Is the change urgent?
Try to understand change in the context of the "big picture." Review the company's mission and vision on your own or with your boss. This will give you a context within which the changes make sense.
Ask your boss if you can go to a workshop on change. You will learn some new coping skills to make the transition easier.
Show people how they can benefit from change. If the task requires more effort, skill, or responsibility, provide rewards such as higher pay, more time off, or specialized training.
Listen to your colleagues' ideas on how to make change as smooth as possible. Their advice could
Some of your plans for change will fail. Treat failure as a learning experience. Analyze what you did wrong, so you don't make the same mistake again.
Be
denial;
anger;
acceptance;
action.
Work quickly through the first three phases to get yourself into an action mode.