2006-The Ten Things Your Career Should Have!

You check your oil in your car every 3,000 miles. Do you check to make sure your career is also running as efficiently as it could be? With 2006 here, it might be time to run down this Central Florida career checklist:

1) In the last 12 months, have you grown professionally in your current position?
2) Do you enjoy your job and look forward to going to work?
3) Are you being paid like others who do your job at other companies?
4) Do you have a career goal and will your current position get you there?
5) Deep down inside, you know you have more to offer, but just can’t seem to find it, stagnating your career. Can you change this?
6) You want to change careers/jobs, but your current employer has been wonderful. You have reached your peak, but your loyalty keeps you going. Is this good?
7) Are you getting the extra education and training needed to be a top performer?
8) Do you have “visibility” in your company or are you just an employee?
9) If your job this year has the same responsibilities and directions it had the last year or two, you know what the results will be if you do the same thing this year. Are these results acceptable?
10) Are you having some fun at your current job?

Each of these items really requires a tremendous amount of thought. But to me, the common theme is simple. Are you in a job that supports your skill set so that you can be as productive as possible? Are you getting the training and education you need to enhance your career path? With the emergence of new technologies and constant change in business models, companies that embrace this will provide the best career paths. They need people who are trainable and want to excel. These companies will create user friendly working environments that make you feel like your part of something, not just a number. Over the next couple weeks, I will break this down even more specifically for you. But for now, take a good look at your current job. You may already have most of these things going in your favor, so you may just need to tweak it a bit. However, if you don’t have any of these things, a total career evaluation will be needed. That is the nice thing about Central Florida and America; you can do anything you want…as long as you commit to it and really want to achieve it!