
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
“Is it time to leave my current position? Is this even the right career for me?” Sharon wondered. “There’s no opportunity for work-life balance within this culture and my mental and emotional health are suffering. After 15 years with this organization, it may be time for me to resign, but I’ve never even done that before. What do I need to consider if I make a move?”
Proactivity and preparation will allow you to make a successful transition, says Samantha Nolan of Nolan Branding, author of the weekly “Dear Sam” column in publications across the country. She notes five steps to start with.
Identify
What do you want next, such as a different environment of an entirely new career? It’s important to make sure you will be viewed as a qualified candidate in a career transition. “Often, candidates leaving a bad environment behind don’t need to change careers; they just need a new setting. Consider where you are on this spectrum and define what you want to do next and what environment you wish to engage in,” she said in a recent column.
Start Networking
Explore the viability of your choices through networking with friends and past professional peers who can provide insight about your competencies for your chosen career objective. “Start engaging in conversations with trusted individuals, asking their advice on your proposed career choices, soliciting mentorship from those you admire professionally, and opening lines of communication with potential influencers and decision-makers,” she continues. However, she cautions to take what you hear as expertise versus opinions; it’s important to have counsel from several individuals with different perspectives.
Develop Your Brand
Personal branding is an intentional, strategic practice to define and express your personal value proposition. And you may not be completely in control of it, regardless of how carefully you craft it; Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, has said, “Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” People collectively hold expectations, associations, beliefs and attitudes about you, and your goal is to make sure your narrative is accurate, compelling and differentiated, the answer to the question “Why should we hire you?”
The process of building your brand can lead you to realize and share the unique abilities you bring to your chosen profession. Jill Avery and Rachel Greenwald, respectively a branding thought leader and a professional matchmaker and dating coach, write, “Think about your significance to others, which is embedded in your past experiences, decisions and actions. Ask yourself how and why you have lived the life you have, and look for any consistent interests, competencies or character traits that could also lead you into the future.” Then explore how they connect to your mission and goals by writing a personal value proposition, a statement with four components: the group you will target, what you hope to provide, your competitive cohort and your distinctive capabilities.
Avery and Greenwald continue, “You need to identify and analyze the brand you are today so that you can fruitfully build on or shift it to stay true to your personal proposition. Think about the raw material you have to work with, including what people know about you, their thoughts, feelings and attitudes about you, and the stories they know and tell about you.” They also suggest that you do market research to learn if your understanding of your image rings true for others. Identify key audiences and select several “truth tellers,” or people you trust to give you objective feedback. Enlist those who know you well and some who barely know you and take a chance to include someone who has rejected you.
Distribution
Today, it’s most advantageous to use a multi-pronged approach in a job search. Your personal and professional networks can help you source opportunities; remember that this process is social in many ways. Gatekeepers, influencers, promoters and communities, in person and online, can all be allies when selected carefully. And remember that when you apply for jobs online, be careful to identify which opportunities are real and not scams.
According to Eva Velasquez, president and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit that helps consumers when their identities are compromised, “We’ve really seen tremendous growth in job scams. I think that’s just due to the fact that we fundamentally changed the way we recruit and hire people.” Job scams are a type of impersonation scam in which scammers use the name of an employee from a large company and craft a job posting that matches similar positions. Look for a future article in HERLIFE Magazine on this topic.
Develop Yourself
Continue to refine your target and develop your skills. Volunteerism and participation in professional affinity organizations will keep you social and visible. Good luck with your search!
Sources: hbr.org, idtheftcenter.org, forbes.com and nolanbranding.com.