Career Success Tip #1: Exploit Your Current Job!

Most people look ahead to their next job, not at their current job. Don't do it! You'll miss some great opportunities. During a recession like this one, if you have a job, it may be easier to look for opportunities in your current job than it would be to look for a new job. Recessions don't last forever! What will you be prepared to do when this on is over?

If you consider a series of jobs the same thing as a career, you are making a big mistake. Your career actually depends upon the growth of your skills and abilities. Some people think that only happens when you change jobs. Not so. One of my long-term friends in Organizational Development had the same job title for fifteen years. But it wasn't really the same job, because her company grew and changed, and the programs she developed grew and changed with it. What she was able to do - not her job title - is what mattered. From that "job", she did was to exploit every opportunity to expand her skills.

You can do that, too. OK, if you can't move up in terms of a job, how can you move up in terms of your skills? What can you learn? What can you volunteer to lead? What course can you take, either using tuition reimbursement or your own money? Who can you learn from? Take charge of your career. Exploit the opportunities of your current job, until there are more job opportunities out there.