ABOUT THIS VIDEO
WEEK 17: I’m My Own Career Manager (And I’m Heady with power!)
When you think of “career” versus “job,” you are more likely to get serious! Career suggests long-term involvement and rewards. It’s up to you to create the career you want. Special Bonus in this week’s webinar: Joan will teach you how to create your career portfolio with pizzazz!
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to week 17, I’m my own career manager, and I’m heady with power! This is in important topic for today’s progressive administrative professional. We have a lot to cover today so let’s get down to business!
To start, when you think of a career versus a job, you’re more likely to get serious. What’s the difference? A job is kind of short term, but a career is something that you invest in. A career is something you see yourself going on and continuing for many years to come. A career is something you grow, and you grow in it, you develop and you blossom thru out your career.
The first step is, to KNOW YOURSELF. Have you heard of Maslow’s’ theory on hierarchy? You should go onto the internet to his web site, and look over his pyramid. (You can find it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow’s_hierarchy_of_needs in Wikipedia) Basically, what the philosophy is, we start at the bottom of the pyramid; the basics of life, breathing, food water, sleep, etc… Once that is obtained, we move on to our safeties in life; security in employment, morality, family, health etc… Then, we establish a sense of belonging; friendships, building a family etc… Next we move the esteem; self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, and respect by others. Finally, we step into self-actualization; morality, creativity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, and acceptance of the facts. Well, what does this have to do with being your career manager? We have to do work that feed our soul! We get to a level to where in this profession that if this is just a job, you probably feel empty, stressed, anxiety, and lack of fulfillment. Hopefully, you love this profession! As I do, that’s why I’m still in this 20 years later. I take the time to still coach and produce, why? Because I truly love what I do! I still believe in the group, and the value that they bring to their organizations. Time is precious, and you really have to make a decision on what you want to do. That ties back to owning your career, managing your career, and doing work that is going to feed you.
Up until now, I haven’t told any of you about why Underneath it All is different. Why this book is different is because I wrote this book while my husband of 32 years was battling with pancreatic cancer. In case you’re not familiar, this is the fourth deadliest cancer. So it’s not a pretty picture when you’ve been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He went thru many months of chemo therapy in California, he had a major operation, he pulled thru all of that, and today, he’s still fighting with this disease and will be for the rest of his life. However, the idea is, while I was writing this book, and as he was going thru his journey, I really realized that life truly is precious. Time is short! My husband only in his late 50’s, that’s not very old in today’s standard.
So what does this mean to you? You have to know what you want to do. You have to TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR CAREER; it’s not up to anyone else to manage your career. It’s not up to your family, spouses, friend etc… to tell you what you should be doing. Granted you can get advice from them and bounce ideas off of them. But do you understand that you will not reach self-actualization until you do what feeds your soul. The great part is, when you’re doing work to feed your soul, in a profession that is your career, you excel, you are going to shine, because it’s not going to seem like work. It’s FUN!
Now you ask, what you’re my options? To start, you can stay in your current position, where ever you are as an administrative professional, and make it more interesting. Grow your job! For an example, let’s just say you’re in a company where you like the staff, you’ve been there for a while, but the job is kind of stagnant, you can pretty much do it with you eyes closed. (But you shouldn’t, remember, be a cognitive being!) If you are, make it your job to make that job more interesting, and more exciting
Another idea or another option would be, to work towards a promotion. If you work in a large enough organization, you can work towards moving into a different position or moving up in the administrative profession. Part of that is, being visible to the right person/people, making your mark and being seen for the right reasons. You need people to see your talent and be involved and engaged and let people know this is what you want to do.
Have you ever thought, that maybe you would be happier in another department? I was never one, who enjoyed financial and accounting departments, and now I know why; I hate detail and I hate numbers. But I did what I had to do at the time; however, I do enjoy being in the marketing department! You have to find the department that fits your style. Don’t feel as if you’ve been in the profession too long or maybe it’s not the job for you, it might just be you need to get into a different department, find your style, and take control of your career.
Well, maybe for some of you who feel after 2 or 3 years you might feel like you want to get out of the profession. If that’s the case, you still have to have a plan. You have to take ownership of your profession, try to plan over 1 to 2 years what your next career move will be and then move towards that.
Activity for the week, build a job portfolio. Why would this be beneficial to you? Here’s why:
- It shows that you are proactive
- It shows that you take pride in your accomplishments
- It’s a permanent record
- It shows your creativity
If you don’t have Underneath it All write us at [email protected] and put in the subject line, portfolio information.
For those who start on page 37 and walk yourself through the process, and if you’re working as a group do the assignments individually and then come together and share your ideas.
And one last thing, I would like to make a request. My request is, that I am trying to help my husband and anyone else out there who is battling pancreatic cancer. The survival rate is low, 5% survive and the life expectancy is 5 years. How can you help? Purchase the book Underneath it All because 10% of the proceeds go for the research for the cure of pancreatic disease. I’m not asking for much, just $20.00 a book unless your organization would like to purchase them in bulk. I normally don’t make request like this, it’s a little strange, but it’s not; because underneath it all, we have different battles we are fighting. Have a great week!
Until Next Time…