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 So
you want to have a successful career, one that lets you make the
most of your abilities and gives you a sense of achievement. Well,
there are a few skills you will need to make it big in the workplace
of the future.
No matter what your industry or occupation, you will find that there
is an increasing demand for people who are adept at some or all of
the following 5 skills, which I believe are essential for success at
work today and into the future.
Mastering change
Change is all around us and yet learning to master change is a skill
that very few people are taught. The ability to analyse the changes
happening around you and adapt quickly is vital in the new
workplace. Understanding how you react and also how others react to
situations can make the journey of change far less painful.
Thinking self-employed
Even if you have a permanent job with an organisation you need to
think of yourself as self employed. Managers are asking people to
take ownership of their job and act as if it was their money they
are making or spending. Becoming a person who thinks like an
entrepreneur can open up a whole range of new possibilities and
greatly improve your self-confidence.
Managing your own career
The new workplace demands that you design your own career path. It
may be made up of a number of different experiences that eventually
bring you to a unique position or it could resemble a more
traditional route. Either way, it will be your responsibility to
make it happen. This means you need to carefully consider your
options each time you take a step, whilst keeping your eye on new
developments in the marketplace.
Promoting yourself
In the past it was only sales representatives and marketing people
who needed to know how to promote. Now it is a vital part of
everyone's portfolio of skills to be able to make themselves known
in a less structured, more competitive workplace. But there is more
to self-promotion than a good résumé and the right clothes. You also
need to learn how to network and recognise opportunities to help
others, which in the long run will help you.
Lifelong learning
It has taken us a while but we have finally realised that learning
doesn't end when we leave school. Innovations in technology and the
information super highway make it essential for us to spend more
time just keeping up to date. Learning is no longer restricted to
the classroom. Everyday we learn in everything we do. The key is to
recognise what you learn in these situations and how to apply it to
other areas of your life.
How would you rate yourself in each of these skill areas? If the
answer is less than excellent you have some work to do. So where do
you start? What order of priority should you place on these skills.
Whilst they are all important, I think you should tackle them in the
order they are listed and here’s why. To start with, mastering
change will help you with all the other skills because they all
require an ability to change. Next, the idea of thinking self
employed will impact on your job searching strategies, which in turn
affects how you manage your career, and so on.
Being successful in the new style workplace is easy . . . when you
have the right skills.
About the Author: Karen Schmidt is an award winning professional
speaker, workshop leader and author who is on a mission to create
fresh workplace attitudes that help people and organisations grow!
Karen believes you can increase productivity and bottom line results
if your people have the right attitude in 5 key areas of: work,
change, customers, people and managing. To find out more visit
www.letsgrow.com.au
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