It’s Time to be the CEO of Your Career

By Alexis Stiebe

Have you evaluated your career goals lately? How far are you along your career path? Career change is the new normal so be sure that the moves you make get you closer to your main goal.  It is up to you to be the CEO of your career. Some recent trends show why taking charge of your future is more important than ever.

Job security isn’t what it used to be.

Company loyalty is a thing of the past and new technology has a lot to do with it. Employees know that they are expendable and replaceable. Automation and artificial intelligence are transforming the employment landscape and cutting out a lot of the busy work from the past. Without humans needing to do these routine tasks, employers are able to maintain the same productivity with a much-reduced workforce.

Career change is the new normal.

A study conducted by Linkedin demonstrates this change clearly. In the past 20 years, the number of companies people worked for in the first 5 years after graduating college has doubled. One reason could be that “job hopping” is the fastest way to move to a better position with a higher salary. Staying with the same company with a small annual raise, while trying to earn a promotion, takes far longer. Choosing to stay can cost an individual thousands of dollars in the long run with no real job security.

The corporate ladder is a thing of the past.

Many companies have also changed their organizational structure. Career progression is not clearly defined, and many organizations have “flat” corporate structures. This means it is up to you to take charge of your career progression. You must be proactive and able to jump on an opportunity when it presents itself. One way to do this is to chart your own career-path. We detail how to do this in a recent article, found here. One of the main points we shared is the importance of communicating with your manager about long-term goals. Once those goals are defined, you can take steps to build the skills needed to reach them.

You are in charge of your future.

Continue building your skills and taking on projects that will help you reach that next step. Work on building your network so that you hear about new job opportunities first. Most importantly, be confident in the decisions you make. When you recognize your value and can communicate that value to others your goals will be within reach. Being the CEO of your career means you won’t settle for less than you have earned.

Our career consultants are experts in finding the best opportunities for our candidates. You can always get in touch with us by visiting our contact us page here.