What Excuses Do You Have For Lack of Progress In Your Career?
If you are an accountant or indeed any professional you have a lot of potential.
The question is are you achieving what you want?
If you are like most there are probably times when you feel like you are making a lot of progress.
There are also likely to be times when you are not making as much progress as you would like.
When you are not making progress do you tend to look for excuses or look for solutions?
I’ve been fortunate enough to work with thousands of people over the last 12 years either one to one or in small or large groups.
During that time I’ve heard a lot of excuses for people failing to make the progress in their career.
Here’s a selection of them. Do you recognise any of them?
I don’t have the professional qualification I need to beyond a certain level
Yes it’s tough to get professionally qualified. Of course the return on your investment when you get professionally qualified is huge.
That return on investment is huge.
The solution is simple- do everything you can to get professionally qualified. Invest in the best tutoring you can get.
My company doesn’t invest in my continuing professional development
In the ideal world companies and organisations would make sure they heavily invest in their talent.
Of course we don’t live in the ideal world. When resources are tight professional development is usually one of the first things to be cut.
On the other hand what’s stopping you taking a proportion of your income and investing it in your own professional development?
For example, the average salary for a qualified accountant in the UK is around £70,000. Let’s say you are on significantly less than average at £40-£50,000. Setting aside even 2% of what you earn for your continued professional development would give you a pot of £800-£1,000.
And of course if you are a member of a professional body you can generally access a lot of continuing professional development for free or minimal cost.
I get nervous in job interviews and can’t sell myself
Yes job interviews can be challenging.
What I’ve found when I’ve worked with clients and done some mock interviews their success changes dramatically.
Why? Quite simply because they are well prepared. They know how to handle questions. They don’t get fazed by tough questions.
The majority under prepare or do preparation that is not effective.
I don’t have the right connections
Your connections can open doors without a doubt.
Yet most don’t work on building a relationship with their connections.
Equally while a connection can open doors that’s all they can do.
You still have to convince the employer or recruiter that you are the best person for the role.
So next time you find yourself looking for excuses, re-focus your attention on finding solutions rather than staying in the unproductive zone of excuses.
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.