4 Proactive Steps to Take Now for Your Career

I think most of us know that our career belongs to us and that to develop and progress we need to take active steps. However, sometimes we put our career on auto-pilot and let things go. Or we seem to expect that "magically" we'll get that promotion or the right opportunity will just fall in our laps.

Moving forward in your career happens just like that: by moving. It requires effort and it is requires one to be proactive and to take full responsibility.

Here are 4 steps you can take to be more proactive in your career (and life):

1. Find a mentor. We mention this often here and there is a reason: Success requires other people. To move forward in your career find someone who is successful in ways you desire to be a success. Meet at least monthly with that person and be honest about yourself, your struggles, and your hopes and goals.

2. Identify one area to develop. What is holding you back in your career? Do you need to learn to speak better in groups? Are you ineffective at closing the sale? Whatever the area is you identify for improvement make a plan to address it. This might mean signing up for a class at your local community college or attending a conference.

3. Be curious. Learn as much as you can and be open to new experiences and new people. Those who advance their careers and have new opportunities offered to them are the ones who've taken the time to explore new skills, have taken risks, and have met new people at conferences and networking events. This applies particularly to your current position. Get to know other people in your company and develop an understanding of what they do and how you can help them be more successful.

4. Be positive. No one wants to work with someone with a negative attitude or with someone always complaining about the job or the company. Work on your attitude and make an effort to proactively focus on the things you control and can make better. And be sure to smile and be a source of encouragement to those around you.

Your career development is in your hands.  

5 Ways to Be More Social at Work (and, yes, you should be)

For some people it can be difficult to be social at work. You just want to go in, get your work done, and get home to your life outside of work.

However, being social at your place of employment can provide important benefits to your current job, such as opportunities for advancement or taking on a new project. It can also benefit you in the future when former coworkers have moved on to new jobs and you are unemployed and looking for
work.

With all that in mind, here are 5 ways to be more social at work:

1. Don't eat lunch alone. Be sure to go to the company cafe (if one exists) or join groups of colleagues heading out for lunch or a quick coffee. A great resource is Keith Ferrazzi's book Never Eat Alone.

2. Join your companies social media network. Many companies now offer social media sites enabling colleagues to communicate more effectively. Even if your company does not have a platform like this it's likely they are on Facebook or Twitter. You can join the conversation online and stay engaged with colleagues outside of work hours.

3. Join a committee. If your place of employment uses volunteer committees to get things done, such as organizing recycling or planning the holiday party (see below) consider joining one and getting to know colleagues you might not otherwise interact with on a regular basis.

4. Attend company events, holiday party, retirement party, etc. In December be sure to attend the holiday party and go to the company picnic in the summer. You'll often find higher level managers or executives feeling more relaxed and getting to know team members they haven't engaged yet. Use this as an opportunity to get to know others in your company.

5. Be proactive. Don't wait for others. Invite colleagues to grab a coffee or go to a concert on the weekend. It is through frequent and regular interactions with your coworkers that you will develop healthy and beneficial working relationships and, yes, even friendships.

You do need others to succeed in your career and in life. Take some of the steps noted above to develop effective relationships with those you work with.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 5 Things to Stop Doing at Work

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• 5 Things to Immediately Stop Doing at Work: "You may be so used to trying to knock three things off of your to-do list at once that focusing on a single task seems like a luxury. But ... research from Stanford University has shown that your productivity seriously suffers when you attempt to accomplish too much at the same time."


• 10 Career Lessons You Should Learn by Your 30s: "It’s not always easy to spot the "good eggs" from those who are insincere or who have a bad reputation that could tarnish yours. And if you’ve made professional enemies, their impressions could come back to haunt you later in your career."


• Stop Trying to Please Everyone: "While saying yes to every assignment may initially please senior execs, it usually leaves people over-stressed and inundated with work — a lot of which ends up half-finished or forgotten. In the long run, no one is happy."


• 6 Ways Women Sabotage Their Professional Success: "What message do you want to send? Pay attention to your language, choose your words carefully and for goodness’ sake, do not use minimizing language that takes away the power of your message."


• If You're Not Happy Make a Change: "Simply taking action doesn’t guarantee results ... But if you don’t take action there is only one guarantee, and that is your situation will never improve and you will remain unhappy."

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: Planning and Preparation

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share these every weekend so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

© Bellemedia | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos

• How to Tell People What You Do--And Be Remembered: "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

• How One Day Can Make or Break Your Career: "One day really can make or break a career, but if you are ready to take full advantage then the outcome is more likely to be positive rather than negative."                                                      
• Are You Suffering from Sitting Disease?: "Given the number of workers who perform their tasks on a computer or otherwise seated at a desk, medical experts are starting to become concerned about the health effects of sitting."


• Stop Planning. Start Doing: "The most important part of actually getting things done is trusting your own abilities. Once you let go of your fears, you’re actually going to be able to accomplish the big things on your to-do list."


• Top 10 Tips for Planning Your Career: "If you don’t take any other advice from this list, take heed of this one: to get where you want to be, you’ll get there faster with a mentor."

7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey, the author of the best-selling book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, died a few days ago at the age of 79 and his 7 habits remain just as applicable today as when they were first published in 1989, particularly in a difficult economy when many are looking for jobs or seeking to build their careers.


The 7 habits that Covey described in his book are:


1. Be proactive
2. Begin with the end in mind
3. Put first things first
4. Think win-win
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood
6. Synergize
7. Sharpen the saw


A number of people wrote about Covey and the 7 habits following news of his death. Here are a few articles we found interesting:


An homage to the "7 Habits of Highly Effective People"


Remembering Stephen R. Covey and his 7 Habits


RIP Stephen Covey: Here Are His Famous "7 Habits Of Highly Effective People"