Regardless of what the workplace will look like in the new millennium, you will be well prepared for the future if you take the following steps to manage your career.
Steps to Manage Your Career
Be sure that you understand your natural strengths, not just your learned strengths. God created you. He “knit [you] together in [your] mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13 NIV). He has given you natural strengths to use for His purposes in this life on earth.
Using your natural strengths is a matter of good stewardship. Many people confuse their learned strengths (based on education and work experience) with their natural (God-given) strengths. Career Direct® assessment from Crown Financial Ministries is an excellent way to clarify your natural God-given strengths.
Even if you have been working for a number of years, you will benefit from this assessment. It is a helpful tool that will give you detailed information about your interests, skills, values, and personality so that you can be a better steward of your God-given talents. With this knowledge of your natural strengths, you can make wise choices about the best career options.
Write a career focus summary statement. Once you understand your natural strengths, write a career focus summary statement that clearly communicates your top three to five natural strengths and career interests in light of your experience. This will enable you to tell others what you do best. It also will help you make better career decisions when considering job opportunities.
Always keep your résumé current. You never know when you may need to share your résumé with someone. You may want to apply for a new job opportunity or you may be forced to look for a new job.
Keeping an excellent résumé ready at all times is always preferable to throwing a résumé together at the last minute. Besides, how many job opportunities have you decided not to pursue because you didn’t have your résumé ready?
Commit to lifelong learning and skills development. Recognize the need to always be open to learning. Training, education, and reading related to your area of expertise will help keep your skills sharp and marketable. Embrace technology and computers as necessary in today’s workplace. Make sure that you have computer skills needed by most companies. To the extent possible, master skills that companies value, like problem-solving, verbal and written communication, initiative, and creative thinking. Make developing strong people skills a high priority.
Write out a career management plan. Seek God’s leading and direction. Write out specific career and learning goals. Revise your plan as God leads and directs you. The Career Direct assessment report contains much valuable information to help you keep your plan in line with God’s plan.
Set up and live by a financial budget. Try to save and keep liquid a minimum of three to six months of living expenses to help with unexpected emergencies or transitions. Minimize and, better yet, eliminate your debt.
Set up and live by a personal time budget. How much time do you believe that God would have you spend working? Most people cannot work more than 50 hours a week and still have enough time and energy for God, family, and friends. Set up categories for budgeting your time (168 hours per week) according to your priorities.
Go Back to Page 1 - Your Career in the New Millennium
Since 1990, Alan McTier & Associates has provided career coaching, telecoaching, outplacement, and human resource consulting to diverse individual and corporate clients in Atlanta and across the U.S. Alan has used Crown Financial Ministries career assessment, now called Career Direct, with his individual clients since 1991.
