Five commandments of your career

Have you ever wondered if there's more to working life than the grind of your job? Do you sometimes worry about where you are going and what you should be doing in five or ten years time? Do you want to earn more money from your work?                

Only a few decades ago, people could join one organisation and stay with it until they retired. They could wait for parent-like company to send them on training, hand them promotions and eventually a happy retirement; but times have changed. Today's economic climate is more competitive hence you can't guarantee a satisfying job for life. The good news is you can determine the sort of career you end up with, and if you are the sort of person that is willing to invest in acquiring the right skills and attitude, then companies will reward you with constantly challenging work - as well as hard cash.

No one can tell you what you should be doing with your career. You can easily source ideas from friends, colleagues, and family. But the decision is still up to you. So here's the first commandment.

Understand your talents

1. Recall your accomplishments.
  What have you done in the past that you are proud of? Your personal triumph, hobbies and interest,academic achievements, community or group work.

2. Appraise yourself honestly
    Be really honest with yourself no one can be good at everything. Are you a good team player? How good are you at solving problems? To what extent do you understand the commercial market and issues that affect your work? What are your  areas of specialist knowledge?

3. Get a second opinion
  Its possible to have a blind spot about your own strengths and weaknesses. Personal insecurity may prevent you from recognizing some of your strengths but sometimes a bit of over confidence can mask your own weaknesses too. One of the most valuable activities you can do is to get some input from people who know you well. Choose a half-dozen people or respondents to give you some feedback. Take out time to evaluate this next week we would dwell on the second commandment. Remember knowing what you want will make you happy but knowing what you are good at will make you successful.

Have a productive week.