Career Success by Ashraf Chaudhry, Pakistan’s Number 1 Sales Trainer and Author of “The Craft of Selling Yourself”
In order to blossom into a productive body of the society, one needs to treat his career like a baby- with careful handling, nurturing, ownership, grooming, acquiring& application of skills and a freedom to make experiments and meaningful socialization. Career Management consists of: Taking initiatives, staying valuable to the company, cultivating relationships and continuously learning.
Taking Initiatives: Every great achievement is the result of taking initiatives. A Chinese proverb says that a journey of thousand miles starts with taking the first step. People who marshal courage and take steps and dare to fall and bear the consequences and jeopardize their finances and risk becoming laughing stocks go into history as winners, victors, saviors and celebrities. World will always remember Neil Armstrong as the first person to have landed on moon because he took the initiative to come out of Apollo, although Colonel Edwin was also traveling in the same shuttle. Since Colonel did not take the initiative, he will always be remembered as No 2.To move on to the next level in organizations, one needs to take initiatives, start new tasks, take risks, plan new activities and go beyond the usual call of duty.
Staying valuable to the company: When you are working for an organization, treat yourself like an entrepreneur. Your time, talent and skill-set are your products and your organization is the client. If the product does not add value to the life of the buyer, repeat purchases will not occur. In order to be considered as an asset for upcoming organizational moves, you have to ensure that you invest all the time and effort you can to create value for your employer.
Cultivating Relationships: Networking is the key to progress in life. You have got to have high NQ (Networking Quotient) to move ahead in your career. You need to cultivate and nurture your relationships horizontally, vertically and laterally. Make yourself available to help others. That is the secret ingredient of potent networking.
Continuous Learning: Continuously sharpening the knowledge sword is critical for long-term win in life. If you have passion to create your mark in your field, you need to upgrade your skills constantly. You have got to stay updated about developments taking place in your organization, your industry and the economy. Your knowledge about what laws and environmental factors are impacting your organization and industry and how you can leverage the external factors to your advantage will determine your success in your professional life.
Ashraf Chaudhry can be reached at ashraf@ashrafchaudhry.com
