At the end of the year, most people tend to turn attention to Holidays, travel, and family gatherings. IT Career management and job search are set aside with the thinking that employers aren’t hiring anyway.
Don’t let these feelings over the last couple months of the year influence how you treat your greatest asset in life – your career, job, and ability to generate future income that supports the lifestyle of you and your family.
Are you taking the following steps to protect your IT career, job search, and family lifestyle?
Regardless of your current career or job situation, now is a key time for determining how your ability to maintain or find IT work at the right salary will affect your life over the coming year. How are you going to manage the greatest asset you have – your career and the ability it offers to create substantial future income?
Two choices – be prepared for the planned and/or unexpected, or do nothing at all and react to situations as they happen. The lack of planning can set you on your backside, both emotionally and financially. It can cause stress, family arguments, and even divorce. After all, the IT industry is a bit volatile.
So, have a reality check with your career or job search plan now before the reality of an unexpected disaster visits you. On the positive side of the situation, your systematic career planning and focus will pay dividends and better position you to handle financial worries if job trouble hits.
Career and Income Reality Checklist (in systematic order):
- Give serious thought to what you would do if your job was eliminated.
- Fully know your soft and hard skills. Could you change careers or industries?
- Does your resume solve employers’ problems? Make sure it is unique.
- Does your resume show strong results? Make sure they are quantified.
- Have your network of contacts active. Stay in touch with this group.
- Identify potential employers in your area. Make a list now – don’t wait.
- Practice rolling your resume topics forward to the interview process.
If you follow these basic steps, you will be ready for either the unforeseen or an event that you systematically planned. Let’s face it – a time for truth – who really wants to be reactive to the risk of jeopardizing your income flow and family’s lifestyle? I can’t think of anyone.
So before more time passes and the job transition or “emergency” arrives, promise yourself to sit down now and complete your IT career reality check. If you’ve already done this, give yourself a pat on the back!
No Comments
Please register
here to comment.