Being Strategic When It Comes To Your Career
You may well have worked with someone who just seemed to do all the right things and got on pretty quickly in their career.
Maybe you thought that they had some sort of advantage over others.
The thing is while there is a small cohort of people who actually achieve success in their career pretty early on, for the majority it is about taking am longer term strategic view when it comes to your career.
Now you might well be wondering why you need to be strategic when it comes to your career.
For me there are a number of reasons.
If you don’t know where you are heading it’s difficult to achieve anything
Now let’s be clear. Things don’t always run as smoothly as you would like.
On the other hand if you have clarity about what you are heading, it will help keep you focused on the end game.
Career decisions can be challenging
A common situation I noticed during my 25 years in accounting was this.
Someone gets an offer early on in their career which seems out of this world.
Unfortunately it’s a great short term move but disastrous over the long term.
Being strategic about your career will help you make better decisions on your career and career direction.
You start to see it as a journey
Like all journeys there will be struggles, there will be high spots and low spots.
Rather than letting these random events make you lose track, you just see it as a natural progression towards what you are seeking to achieve long term.
You start to be personally responsible for your success
In the past the organisation might looked out for you. Made sure you had the right training, support and role models.
These days this is a lot less common. Achieving success often comes down to you talking personal responsibility for your career success.
So are you just drifting along in your accounting career or are you taking the strategic approach to success?
About the Author Duncan Brodie
Since 2006 I’ve worked with in excess of 8,000 accountants and professionals in workshops, seminars and one to one helping them land their next jobs and become better leaders, presenters and business partners. Before that I spent 25 years in accountancy climbing the career ladder from Payments Clerk to FD. I’m a CIMA Fellow, Certified Professional Coach and Team Coach Facilitator.