Take a Chance on Transforming Your Career

I have enjoyed a wonderful 20+ year career as an Executive Coach and Career Transformation Coach. Eight years ago, I moved from corporate director roles to professional service and HR consulting companies. Specifically, I worked for one of the largest career transition companies. I felt it imperative that I not just focus on assisting my clients in successfully finding their next opportunity, but also help them uncover their passion and identify where they would like to be in their careers in 5 to 7 years.

Day after day of asking "What are your 5 - 7 year career goals" forced me to consider where I would like to be in my career in 5 years. So, I embarked on a journey to identify my career transformation strategy, implement it and evaluate my progress.

What are the steps to transforming your career?

First identify your education, background, roles, experiences, passion and competencies (skills). Then, purchase a spiral notebook or diary and begin to list your accomplishments. This list should include all of the accomplishments documented on your resume as well as those you add. Develop the habit of thinking about your accomplishments several times a day and recording them in your notebook or diary. At this point you don't need to write them in a grammatically correct format, you just need to begin to build a comprehensive list.

The best way to write accomplishment statements is to use the PAR, CAR or STAR method: state the Problem, Circumstance, Situation or Task, identify the Action you took and state the quantifiable (or qualitative) Result(s).

After you have identified at least fifty to one hundred accomplishments, you can put them in categories and analyze your list based on type and your level of satisfaction with each type of accomplishment. This analysis will lead you to uncover a pattern of the activities that afford you the most satisfaction.

Next, articulate your value proposition(s). What is unique about you? Then write your career goals for 5 to 7 years out and the steps you will need to take in order to achieve those goals.

Understanding your accomplishments, value proposition, career goals and making sure you know the steps to achieve your goals will put you on the path to career transformation.

By Christine M. Glasco