Keep it in a document on your desktop. As you successfully lead projects, win awards, and get promoted, add it all to the document. Don’t worry about keeping it short or making it pretty. This is not a document you will ever submit to a potential employer. Instead, it’s your comprehensive professional record. Then, when someone calls you about that dream job, you can quickly build a customized resume by cutting-and-pasting the information that is relevant to that particular position.
Create a folder in your email. When you get compliments or messages of praise for jobs well done, put them in the folder. They’ll be there for you at performance review time, when you’re feeling a little beat up or blue, or when you’re looking for a job. Plus, you’ll discover that people who compliment you today will remember you tomorrow, even after they move on.
Perhaps that’s all of them or maybe just one, but you need to do it. All it might take for someone to jump ship is one bad day or one unsolicited email with a new opportunity. Today’s great performers rarely stay with one company for their entire career. And social media makes it easy for them to be found. So pretend that your most valuable employees are really just blue-chip candidates with other good job offers, and think about how to sell them to choose you.
No one wants to review a laundry list of skills needed for the job. People want to know what makes a company and a team special enough to join. Sell your top candidates on how amazing your company is, how unique your culture is, and how rewarding the role can be. Think about why they should talk with you and how they can advance their career by joining your team.
Both employers and employees.
They should align with your team AND your values.
Think of this 80/20 rule: you learn 80 percent of your job in 20 percent of your time in role. Most successful professionals outpace their peers by knowing when to switch jobs.
Unless you’re in sales! But even then it’s still not everything. You must believe in your product, respect your leaders, and love what you do. If you do not, no amount of money will make you happy.
Enjoy the personal time you spend with the people on your team. But remember first and foremost, they are your co-workers. Knowing where to draw the line means setting and respecting boundaries, and leading by example in how you live your values. Do otherwise, and it could come back to haunt you.
You need to stay competitive to be valuable in your market. A good rule of thumb is to invest 10 percent of your time and salary in continuing education, seminars, workshops, career coaches, and so on. Do it even if your employer won’t pay for it (and if your employer doesn’t promote career development, that may be a reason to look for a new job!).
We are the ones who always know what’s going on in the market. Who’s hiring, what skills are hot, what is competitive compensation. We understand your competitors’ cultures and, most likely, we know someone inside those organizations.
Eric
VP Enterprise Client Services
"Partnership is the first word that comes to mind when I think of Kim! Kim is a fantastic partner who is transparent, timely, responsible but most importantly she cares about who she is working with. She is an excellent communicator and asks questions to fully understand what you want today, tomorrow and in the future. Call her a career counselor, mentor and a great listener! Thank you Kim for your hard work."