Career Success: Get Ahead of the Crowd

Regardless of where you open your briefcase or palm pilot each day - at a large corporation, a small business or the end of your dining room table ? the key to staying employable the rest of your life is your own creative action. The person who is going to be successful is not going to succeed just because of good work. That is a given. It is expected. Crafting your competitive advantage is what is going to get you ahead in these crazy, changing times. Pat attention to and practice the following three tactics to not only stay in the game but to get ahead of the crowd.

Think Of Your Career As A Business.
The business of career management is that---an independent business that you manage---even if you work for someone else. In this world of downsizing, restructuring, and mergers, you, not the company, must be in the driver's seat of your career. Always think of yourself as self-employed.

Ask yourself these tough but important questions: What business am I really in? What is my product line? What is the target market for my products? For example, if I am an accountant then, what is it that I really do that people will pay for? Can I list three features and three benefits of my talents? Do I know my current worth in the marketplace? It doesn't matter what your title is. What matters is, if what you do has value and is needed by someone or some company.

You must start looking at your workplace with new eyes---as a marketplace of buyers and sellers---and start thinking of your career as a business. Launch your business called "Me, Inc." by defining your a product line, targeting your customers, and having a well thought-out career strategy. Therefore, YOU, not the unpredictable winds of change, become the driving force for your career. Exit job security. Enter career security.

Have Skills, Will Travel.
What's your competitive advantage? What do you bring to the employment table? You carry with you, wherever you go, a large suitcase or portfolio that holds all of your skills, experiences, and accomplishments. What's in your portfolio? Is it heavy with many skills or light with only a few? Do you know if it would be valued in lots of different places or just a limited number?

To be competitive, you must periodically audit your portfolio and benchmark your skills. How do you compare with your peers in terms of education, experience, training, career progression? Are you new and improved? Or, are you just the same person you were three, five, ten years ago? Do you have the right mix of skills, knowledge and experiences to position yourself for the future? Or, do you need to repackage yourself in some way? Getting ahead tomorrow means getting better today and throughout your work life. Avoid becoming a professional dinosaur.

The key question is not where you stand on the corporate ladder. It is: "What do you know how to do; and where else can you do it." A well honed and portable portfolio will provide you with the greatest security in today's changing and competitive business environment.

Become Street Smart.
What will keep you in the race as the rules of the workplace road continue to change constantly? Initiative, visibility, and flexibility are the three cornerstones of success in the new career game.

Exercise leadership. You can't afford to crouch behind your desk, buried in your everyday work, and hope for the best. Go beyond your job description and direct your energy to the top priorities of your boss, your department, your team. Make yourself indispensable.

Stand up and be seen. Promote yourself, not be your title, but by the outcomes or results of what you're doing. Your reputation can either pave your way or get in the way of your success. You can start making a name for yourself by being involved in successful assignments that allow you to be visible to a wide range of people who could have an impact on your career. These assignments could include for example: Building a new team from scratch; or overseeing the introduction of new technology; or taking on projects that require liaison or communications between departments, functional areas and vendors?

Marcia Zidle, the 'people smarts' coach, works with business leaders to quickly solve their people management headaches so they can concentrate on their #1 job ­ to grow and increase profits. She offers free help through Leadership Briefing, a weekly e-newsletter with practical tips on leadership style, employee motivation, recruitment and retention and relationship management. Subscribe by going to http://leadershiphooks.com/ and get the bonus report "61 Leadership Time Savers and Life Savers". Marcia is the author of the What Really Works Handbooks ­ resources for managers on the front line and the Power-by-the-Hour programs ­ fast, convenient, real life, affordable courses for leadership and staff development. She is available for media interviews, conference presentations and panel discussions on the hottest issues affecting the workplace today. Contact Marcia at 800-971-7619.

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Google News Updated : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:50:53 GMT YouTube to play full TV episodes with ads - Afterdawn.com Vancouver Sun YouTube to play full TV episodes with ads Afterdawn.com - 2 hours ago Google has announced that it will begin offering full-length TV episodes through its YouTube platform beginning this week, thanks to a content deal with CBS. YouTube to Offer TV Shows With Ads Strewn Through New York Times YouTube beams up Star Trek for long-form video, prominent new ads CNET News Wall Street Journal - eFluxMedia - Silicon Alley Insider - Bizjournals.com all 109 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:13:12 GMT Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young - International Herald Tribune Times Online Nobel Peace Prize winner wants jobs for the young International Herald Tribune - 10 hours ago AP HELSINKI, Finland: Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari said Saturday that finding jobs for more than 1 billion young people in the Middle East and Asia will be a major challenge to peacebuilding in the next decade. Video: Ex-Finland President Wins Nobel Peace Prize AssociatedPress Nobel Finn Wall Street Journal Voice of America - Times Online - Burlington Hawk Eye all 1,453 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:12:07 GMT US space tourist set for blast-off - Reuters Canada.com US space tourist set for blast-off Reuters - 40 minutes ago By Maria Golovnina BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - US video game magnate Richard Garriott will blast off into space aboard a Russian spaceship on Sunday watched by his father, a NASA astronaut who went into space at the height of the Cold War. US space tourist set for launch BBC News Russian space chief reassures US partners The Associated Press Times Online - USA Today - Spaceflight Now - RedOrbit all 287 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:10:50 GMT Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut - New York Times Boston Globe Gay Marriage Is Ruled Legal in Connecticut New York Times - 5 hours ago In Hartford, Crystal Pretzman of Willimantic, Conn., celebrated the State Supreme Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Video: Connecticut Court Allows Gay Marriage AssociatedPress Marriage ruling not the end of debate in Conn. The Associated Press Newsday - Washington Post - Reuters - NECN all 1,711 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 18:13:08 GMT World is united to tackle financial crisis, IMF says - MarketWatch BBC News World is united to tackle financial crisis, IMF says MarketWatch - 2 hours ago By Rex Nutting WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Financial policymakers from 180 nations around the world are united in their resolve to tackle the financial crisis, Youssef Boutros-Ghali, head of the International Monetary Fund's policy committee, ... G7 nations face going cap in hand to China guardian.co.uk Finance officials comments at IMF meetings Reuters AFP - BBC News - Bloomberg - New York Times all 579 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 21:23:46 GMT Got $700 Billion? Sweat the Details - New York Times Telegraph.co.uk Got $700 Billion? Sweat the Details New York Times - 3 hours ago The bailout plan gives Henry M. Paulson Jr., the Treasury secretary, three broad choices in buying assets. By ALAN S. BLINDER THE House of Representatives was against the bailout bill before it was for it. US firms up plan to buy into banks to stem crisis Reuters Paulson Indicates Need to Purchase Bank Equity `Soon as We Can' Bloomberg Los Angeles Times - Washington Post - The Miami Herald - International Herald Tribune all 2,358 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 20:39:07 GMT GOP Officials Hope for Stability From McCain - New York Times Voice of America GOP Officials Hope for Stability From McCain New York Times - 1 hour ago By ADAM NAGOURNEY and ELISABETH BUMILLER Republican leaders across the country said Saturday that they were worried that Senator John McCain was heading for defeat unless he brought stability to his presidential candidacy and settled on a clear message ... Antiwar Protestor Disrupts McCain Iowa Rally Washington Post Obama needs 75 percent turnout in Philadelphia, says Rendell CNN Political Ticker The Weekly Standard - Summit Daily News - USA Today - WNCT all 1,087 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:23:47 GMT RSS feeds Increase Search Engine Traffic

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