New Year, New Career: The Six-Step Power Plan to Achieve Career Success in 2015

By Ford R. Myers
President, Career Potential, LLC

Americans make all kinds of New Year’s resolutions – to lose weight, to stop smoking, or to spend more time with family. However, you rarely hear anyone say, “I’m committed to improving my career situation this year.”

With this in mind, I developed a simple, six-step “Power Plan” to help individuals make the most of their current career – or find a new and more satisfying one in 2015.

STEP 1: PERFORM AN INTERNAL AUDIT: A comprehensive internal audit includes an assessment of the individual’s personal values, specific goals, challenges to be overcome – as well as a list of adjectives outlining the “ideal employer,” and a “perfect job description” written by the candidate.

STEP 2: UPDATE YOUR “JOB SEEKER’S TOOL KIT:” Every job seeker needs written accomplishments, positioning and departure statements, professional biography, list of references, target company list, letters of recommendation and other “self-marketing tools,” along with the resume.

STEP 3: NETWORKING – THE CORE OF YOUR SEARCH: Develop a networking contact list, phone script for outreach calls, and networking meeting agenda. Using these tools plus the target company list, follow a proven protocol for generating many one-on-one networking meetings. This is the most important and effective strategy in job search, and it should represent more than 75% of any candidate’s job search efforts.

STEP 4: INTERVIEWING FOR SUCCESS: BETTER INTERVIEWS GET BETTER OFFERS: Job seekers need to provide the interviewer with accurate, relevant, and value-centered stories about job performance. The interviewer needs to share the story of their company, describe the position in question, and explain specifically how they want you to fit into this picture. This is how alignment can be determined (or not).

STEP 5: SALARY NEGOTIATION – THE RULES OF THE GAME: Salaries are fully negotiable, even in the current economy. Perform extensive salary research and defer salary discussions until an offer seems imminent. Discuss salary only with the person who has the authority to negotiate compensation and hire you. Always negotiate, no matter how good the salary offer seems initially.

STEP 6: COMMIT TO PERPETUAL CAREER MANAGEMENT: Always keep all your success documents up to date, put time aside every week for active networking, research and be aware of the competition, offer to help people in your network, stay actively involved in professional associations, build visibility and credibility on social media, and consistently improve your skills in interviewing and negotiating – even if you currently have a good job.

After a long slump, the US economy and job market are improving noticeably. Many people are moving up the corporate ladder or finding excellent new jobs. Those who are achieving success know how to “play the game” and are fully-prepared for every step of the career development process. Anyone can find career success in 2015 by properly executing these critical strategies!