Ten ways to improve your career

Ajilon Finance, a leading staffing and recruiting services firm, offers the following tips for getting ahead in your career.

1. Make a list of your priorities and outline your tasks for the day. Write down your short- and long-term goals, evaluate your progress fre­quently and stay focused.

2. Are you really present? You may physically be at work, but are youthere mentally?

3. Learn how to work through others. Delegating tasks is an important skill to master at any level.

4. Always look for opportuni­ties to broaden your skills. For example, you can attend professional development seminars.

5. Socialise with colleagues. This will help you learn about what's happening in other departments.

6. Create your own goals. Determine where you want to be professionally and what skills you need to reach that goal.

7. Be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Accept chal­lenges that force you to try something new.

“You’re in line for a promotion. Unfortunately, the line is six miles long.”

8. Be clear about what you want. If you believe you deserve a promotion, ask for one.

9. Take time off and relax. Attending to your personal life and doing things that make you happy will help your performance at work.

10. Seek satisfaction. If you're disappointed by your current career, look for ways to transform your job into more of what you want. If this does not solve the problem, maybe it's time to look for a new position.

“If you follow this advice, you will significantly increase your opportunities to earn more money, get promoted sooner and move ahead faster,” says Mr Lebovits, President and Chief Operating Officer of Ajilon Finance.

[Intelligent Business]

Practice vocabulary What interests, conditions or rewards do you think will be the most important to you in a career?

Status Flexibility

Income Each day is the same / different

Power Live to work?

Geographic location Work to live?

Working inside / outside Prestige

Working with people / alone Ability to be creative

Helping people / animals Other

Complete the sentences with these phrases.

Keynotes: career plan, long (short)-term goal, career management, decision making skill, objective, ability, career opportunities, challenge.

1. _________short-term goals, making career choices and decisions, long-term goals, taking control of one's personal development, managing the organizational career.

2. _________ (one or two years) are usually specific and limited in scope. Short-term goals are easier to formulate. Make sure they are achievable and relate to your longer term career goals.

3. _________are the most fluid of all. Lack of life experience and knowledge about potential opportunities and pitfalls make the formulation of long-term goals/objectives very difficult.

4. __________the traditional focus of careers interventions. The changed nature of work means that individuals may now have to revisit this process more frequently now and in the future, more than in the past.

5. _____________ concerns the career management tasks of individuals within the workplace, such as decision-making, life-stage transitions, dealing with stress etc.

6. ___________as employers take less responsibility, employees need to take control of their own development in order to maintain and enhance their employability.

Listening Listen to the interview 1 and answer the questions.

1. What country is the job in?

2. What department is the job in?

3. What is the job title?

4. Has Ben prepared for the interview?

Listen to the interview 2 and match the questions above with the candidate’s responses below.

1. __ Yes, I was in Thailand for six months.

2. __ Yes, I have studied marketing at university and I worked for an advertising company for a year.

3. __ I work in sale and I’ve managed teams and projects.

4. __ Oh, yes it’s what I enjoy most about my job.

5. __ I’ve worked in sales for three years.

6. __ I play golf and tennis.

7. __ I really want to work in marketing.

8. __ This is a great opportunity for my career and I think I have the right skills for the job.

How do you give yourself a competitive edge?

Have you decided what sort of job you really want? Yes / No

Have you spoken to anyone who does the sort of job you Yes / No

would like to do?

Have you found out about the companies you would like Yes / No

to work for?

Have you spoken to anyone who works for these companies? Yes / No

Do you know what skill you have gained and the skill you have Yes / No

lost in recent years?

Have you done anything in the last year which has developed Yes /No

your skills?

Do you regularly read the business pages of newspapers or Yes /No

professional journals?

Have you talked to a recruitment agency that specializes in Yes /No

your area of work?

Have you written or updated your Curriculum Vitae in the Yes /No

last six months?

Score

Yes = 1 point No = 0 points

0 – 3 You need to spend more time on preparing yourself for a new job.

4 – 6 You have made a good start, but you still need to do more to stand out from the competition.

7 – 9 You are in a strong position to get a new job.

Listening Listen to two people, Debbie and Nikola, discussing Ten Ways to Improve Your Career.

Discuss these questions.

1. What do you think is the relationship between Debbie and Nikola? Why?

2. In your opinion, where are they from, and how old are they?

Choose the title to each chapter.

Evaluating Myself, Making Decisions, Exploring Options, Setting Goals, Implementing My Plan.