A 10-Step Professional Self Audit
“Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.” – Carol Burnett
Over the past few weeks I’ve had the pleasure to speak with several career transitioners. These educated and employed women are all looking to shift their professional paths. Some don’t know where they want to head to next and most have no idea on how to even begin the process. It feels daunting and while there’s a lot of information out there, it’s so easy to freeze in analysis paralysis.
I’ve worked with many clients who wanted to make a change — from stay-at-home moms returning to work to corporate pros who were ready to make a greater social impact. My favorite career transitioners are our nation’s military. They offer top-notch talent to the right org and simply need some guidance on how to frame their tremendous accomplishments into something marketable for today’s workforce.
Regardless of background, the desire to shift gears is always the first step. This usually stems from either a disgruntled place of a presently dysfunctional situation or an inner calling that there’s something more out there. More often than not, there are major life changes driving the push for what’s next. And to get to what’s next, there’s a process.
During my time as a manager in corporate America, one particular executive taught me the planning process of Now, Next, Later. It sounds simple enough, but it’s not so easy to executive when you don’t know what you’re measuring yourself against. And when you’re trying out for something new, the variables can be even more daunting.
The good news is that approaching any kind of plan through this lens can help with clarity. It’ll keep you both focused and flexible. In this column we’ll tackle the first one: Complete a Self Audit.
Now: 0 – 3 Months — Where Do You Stand?
Get a paper journal and pen (it’s more effective than typing on a screen) and write down the answers to these questions:
1. How are you feeling about things?
2. Are you making enough money?
3. Are you signalling the right things about yourself internally (in your job)?
4. How is the world perceiving you externally (social media, community — google yourself and see what comes up)?
5. Have you completed any career assessment tools or tests that help you focus on what may be right for you?
6. What kinds of jobs and industries that are of interest to you?
7. What are you really good at?
8. What’s the market rewarding?
9. Once you have a sense of desired position or industry, look it up on one of the career sites or company job boards and print out at least six related job openings.
10. Look for common patterns. Do you have the right skills, training and experience? This will help you determine your gaps.
Once you have a sense of things, you’ll feel more grounded and can navigate what’s Next.
We’ll cover that in Career ToolBox #57.
Alexsandra (Alex) Sukhoy. I’m a writer, marketer and career coach at Creative Cadence LLC, and teach business students at CSU. You can find my first business book, Date Your Career: The Longest Relationship of Your Life, on Amazon. I’m currently writing a film noir screenplay called Cleveland City.
Twitter: @creativecadence. #letstalk