Enhance in advance.
Imagine. You’re a fly on the wall of your next employer-to-be’s office, witnessing their reaction to your resume in the year 2020. There’s no doubt about it, they are impressed. Your resume is an enviable record of your burgeoning skill set and experiences. As you take the scene in, you reflect (with pride) on the small but powerful steps you took in 2017 to help you reach this happy juncture in your career.
Back in 2017, you hadn’t even decided to change jobs yet. Nor had you given thought to any specific career development. You simply knew that career development was not just about securing a promotion. It was about growth – building your skills and experiences; building your resume.
So, what savvy choices did your younger (but enlightened) self make?
#1. You adopted a Growth Mindset.
And you let go of the Fixed Mindset. The Growth Mindset is a powerful concept that was brought to life by Stanford Psychologist Carol Dweck. It focuses on potential, embracing the idea that through experience and application we can develop our brain’s capacity to learn and solve problems. Accordingly, with each role, you welcomed challenges and feedback, engaged in persistent effort, and drew inspiration from others’ achievements. (Brain Pickings has a great article on Growth Mindsets versus Fixed Mindsets, if you want to learn more: https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset/).
#2. You didn’t wait to be asked.
Driven to learn, you actively sought out opportunities to find and flex new muscles in each role you held. Early on, you realised that almost any experience in and of itself was valuable for your resume (and career development). Beyond doing your job well (important, of course!), you looked for ways to grow your contribution and make things better for your team. Not only did your skills deepen and expand, but you signalled, in a very tangible way, that you were a self-starter. Music to any employer’s ears. Including the employer of 2020.
#3. You moved up before moving on.
Thanks to your initiative and sustained effort, you built a strong reputation at work. Your network grew and you came to know many parts of your organisation. So, before you moved on, you made sure to make the most of these home advantages. Promotion within your current organisation was made easier because of your track record as a self-starter. And by moving up, you put yourself in a stronger position for when the time came to move on!
What choices will you make today to enhance in advance?