Career Advice

Most career pros will train you on how to revise your resume, steps to preparing for an interview, and other basic skills you need to compete in the workplace. But not too many of them will teach you what it really takes to create a sustained brand in your career that will take you all the way, and allow you to still keep your personal values intact.As a successful entrepreneur who simultaneously works a full-time corporate job, I have found that there are 7 critical success factors that business owners use that can easily translate into the corporate workplace:

Have a promotable mindset.Create a positive workplace brand.Connect with the right people and the right resources.Develop well-formed goals and visualize your outcome.Add value.Establish a set of personal policies.Take strategic risks.

Promotable mindsetSuccess factor number one is all in your mind. You are a product of your environment, but you are also a product of your own thinking. If you have not been able to stretch yourself to the next level career so far, there may be mental obstacles in your way. You can become a winner in everything you do when you learn how to program your thoughts with a winning, promotable attitude. Promotable people are set apart from the crowd. They believe in themselves and their abilities.Positive personal brand at workA second success factor is the personal brand you have created at work. How others perceive you can keep you in the same job, get you to the next job, or boot you out of a job. What is the skill you're known for at work? If you don't know what your brand is, it's time to do some honest examination of your reputation. This might be the toughest thing to do, but the most fruitful when you are getting ready to launch to the next level.Connect with the right people & resourcesMany people have heard the term, "networking", but not a lot of people are in love with the word. The reality is that it is important to connect with people who have knowledge of your target job/company & with people who have a relationship with decision makers. Who do you think promotes you? In addition, there may be tools and resources available that help you be the most competitive for the job. Your task is to get access to them.Develop well-formed goals and visualize your outcomeHave you ever heard a colleague at work say, "Wow, I could do that person's job" or "I would love to make that kind of money one day", but they never do anything about it? That is because some day is not anytime soon. And it will only become a reality when you plan for it. Thus, the idea that goals are important. I'm not talking about a some day goal, but a well-formed goal with clear dates and specific actions tied to it. And one that you can actually visualize happening because you have taken the time to consider what it can mean in every area of your life when you achieve it.Add value.This one is short and sweet, but it is clearly another critical success factor that can be overlooked. As much as you may rebrand and identify what you want, the employer also is asking, "what's in it for me?" to promote you. You have an opportunity to get results that change the company for the better in some way. Provide solutions that will generate a competitive advantage for your employer. What better way to be promoted than to have proof of what you can do.Establish a set of personal policies.Look at your values and decide what you can and cannot live with in the next level career. For example, if you have a family and you decide to be promoted, there may be changes in the available time you have for them. On the other hand, you have to look at the boundaries you are willing to set for yourself with the employer, with your direct supervisor, and even your co-workers. It will be better to examine these before you get into the role, so that you can train others up front on how you want to be treated.Take strategic action.All of the above success factors mean nothing if you don't back up your plan with action. Successful entrepreneurs and corporate professionals know that all the planning in the world gets no results until the strategy is executed. This may mean that you do something you have never tried before. Otherwise, you live the definition of insanity - doing the same thing over and over to get the same results. Being promotable means that you are getting the results you want by taking the intentional steps to get there.You are invited to study these critical success factors over and over again - burn them into your brai and incorporate them into your personal career development plan.