Time for a career checkup

By Robin Ryan, Career Coach

Worried about your job security? Unhappy with your current position? Hoping to get a raise or promotion? Time to review your career management strategies to be sure you are in top form to move up or on.

In today’s changing workplace, the average worker will hold more than 11 jobs during their working lifetime. Since career management is now your responsibility, learn where you stand with this brief check-up.

Have you established your career identity?

Your professional reputation -- what bosses, co-workers, associates think about you -- is more important than your resume. It’s others who decide your fate when it comes to raises, promotions and determining who to hire. So this year work on your strengths -- the natural talents you excel in. Results from an exclusive CEO survey we conducted advise people to create a reputation of being very good at something (i.e. writing, sales, designing, client relations, etc.) to advance and insure lifetime success. Foster your growth by networking, the top executives advised, both inside your company and with peers in associations and professional groups. Networking is the best way to get noticed and insure a future with many career opportunities beginning sent your way.

What new skills will you pick up this year?

"Life-long learning is essential to keep yourself marketable", recommends CEO and How to Work Smart author Melinda Howard Erickson. If more education isn’t in your plans, it may need to be. Employers demand highly productive workers that bring a contemporary skill set. You need to continuously add to the skills you can sell to an employer. Too many workers let this extra effort slide, only to see promotions go to other, more better trained and adaptable workers. If you are job hunting, you need to be able to jump back into the workplace with marketable skills employers want. Important ones to perfect are technical and computer skills, good writing and public speaking, leadership, sales, negotiations and managing budgets, are particularly valued.

Did you advance your technical competence?

Employers want you to improve your job knowledge. To do so, take courses in your field offered by associations, colleges, and e-learning training programs. Read trade journals, stay up on trends, industry changes, and advances. Doing so makes you a more desirable employee to retain or hire. Join a professional organization. They provide needed education and resources to keep you current in your field. Through active participation you’ll develop an important network of contacts. These people can become mini-mentors, offering guidance when you face work problems, share new ideas and advice helping you to perform better on the job.

Are you ready when opportunity knocks?

Is your resume updated so you can send it on in a minute’s notice? HR Manager Melinda Combs, who’s hired hundreds of professionals, revealed HR offices sort resumes with a quick 15 seconds glance to determine if they should take a closer look, and eliminate 80 percent or more. Resumés get noticed when you describe specific results and accomplishments. Note what you have increased or decreased, how you saved money and contributed to productivity and the bottomline. By adding a "Summary of Qualifications" section with five to six sentences highlights your experience and top selling points to do the job, you will stand out.

Safeguard your future by planning out your professional goals for the next year - today.

Robin Ryan has appeared on the Dr. Phil Show, Oprah, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, CNN, CNBC and is considered America’s top career coach. She is the best-selling author of: "60 Seconds & You're Hired!;" "Winning Resumés;" "Winning Cover Letters" and "What to Do with the Rest of Your Life." She's the creator of the highly acclaimed audio training program Interview Advantage and The DreamMaker. To purchase her books and audio training programs go tohttp://www.robinryan.com. To contact Robin, e-mail RobinRyan@aol.com or call 425-226-0414.

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