take control of your career

How to Win the Superbowl of Your Career

Every team has them, whether they’re pro, college, little league or bush league, and although they don’t take the field and score the points, the team couldn’t win without them. Of course we’re talking about the coaches. They’re such an integral part of sports that a team without them would be almost unthinkable. These are the folks who stand behind the team 100%. They love them whether they’re up or down, and have their best interest always at heart. They’re ready and willing to give advice, constructive criticism, motivation and inspiration. When it comes to your career, do you have a “coach” standing at the sidelines cheering you on? Think of yourself as the star quarterback of your career. Every day on the job is like another Sunday on the field. Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone to call in the plays, scope out the competition, keep you from fumbling the ball, and then cheer on your successes? This could happen to you if you choose the right career coach.

Think of a career coach as a mentor – someone either inside or outside of your company that always keeps an eye on your career and helps you to keep gaining yardage without fumbling – at least not too much. This will be someone who is truly interested in your growth and success and will really make a difference in accelerating your ability to achieve your goals.

A mentor can be someone in your company that has “been there/done that” on the same career path that you’re following. They’ve fought the same corporate battles, seen the unsuccessful go away, and have survived and thrived in the organization. They have a wealth of knowledge about career paths and options that could be open to you. They challenge you to stretch your boundaries and consider career options that you might not have thought possible.

Alternatively, a mentor might be someone outside of your company. For example, it could be someone who is in the same professional field as you but in a similar company or industry. Or perhaps someone who used to work at the same company but has now gone on to another opportunity in the same field.

And here’s a really great idea – why not cultivate a relationship with a recruiting professional as a mentor or career coach? This would be someone that specializes in search in your profession or your industry. A really good search consultant will do a whole lot more than just be there when you need to change jobs. After all, who is better positioned to have a birds-eye-view of LOTS of professionals in your same shoes. And for sure they’ve seen LOTS of successes and failure in the industry. And better yet, they know the good companies from the bad, they follow the market trends and can give you great advice with historical perspective about the industry, your career path, your competition, or your compensation. They’re really available to CONSULT with you – virtually always free of charge to you!

Some people have several mentors concurrently for different parts of their lives or careers. Perhaps one for your financial planning, one for your career, one for your favorite hobby, or just about any facet of your life. Think about it as your very own “Board of Directors” - a whole staff of folks dedicated to making the “corporation” that is YOU, very profitable and successful.

Regardless of who you choose or how many, here are a few key criteria to remember:

1. You must choose someone with whom you can communicate completely and openly. Neither you or they should have “hidden agendas” - they really have to have your best interest at heart.
2. Typically a coach/mentor is someone “older and wiser”, or at least someone who has walked in your shoes enough times before that they can talk with some authority about your actions and the potential consequences.
3. Pick someone from whom you know you can not only hear the truth but take the truth. Sometimes the advice you get may not always be what you want to hear so the mentor needs to feel comfortable that you’re not going to “shoot the messenger” or negatively impact your relationship.
4. Choose someone that you admire for their career progression and/or their personal accomplishments and their integrity. After all you want to pattern yourself after someone who has grown and succeeded and not someone who lives in a world of “would have/could have/should have.”
   
5. And just as importantly, pick someone who has seen their share of failures and hard knocks. Someone who has been through rough patches and came through it not just as a survivor but as a “thriver.”

Well now you’re thinking: “Gee this is simple. I’ll find a great mentor and that person will help me pave my way to glory til I retire.” Unfortunately this is typically NOT the case. More often than not, as your career progresses or as you make career decisions that change your path, you may well outgrow your mentor. Most people find that it’s far more common to have several mentors through the course of their career. For example you may have one mentor that helps you early in your career to get established and figure out your career direction. But say you decide to move into management and that mentor has never been in management. Now you need to find a new mentor who has had that management experience to teach you how to get there and how to avoid the pitfalls that come with management. So you rock along for a while skyrocketing in your career, and then you decide you want to ditch the corporate world and go into consulting, or write a book or something. Now you need yet another mentor who has had THAT experience to take you to that next place. One of the key characteristics of a great mentor is someone who has the capacity to know when you need more than they can offer, and will “push you out of their next” and encourage you or even assist you in finding your next mentor.

So as you prepare to “take the field” each day of your career, don’t be the guy who ends up sitting on the sidelines while someone else marches down the field to career glory. Build a team of great career coaches and mentors, and prepare yourself to get inducted into your own career Hall of Fame.

Written by Carol Wenom, CPC, CTS