Tips for fast-tracking your career

Thursday 15 February 2018

Massey University career development consultant Grant Verhoeven and Massey Business School lecturer Dr Luk Swiatek suggest some quick tips toward fast tracking your career in 2018. Their suggestions about how to get your career firing on all cylinders, are based on thousands of hours of running career coaching, leadership development programmes and research. Here are three:

Tips for fast-tracking your career - image1
Last updated: Tuesday 5 July 2022

Massey University career development consultant Grant Verhoeven and Massey Business School lecturer Dr Luk Swiatek suggest some quick tips toward fast tracking your career in 2018.  Their suggestions about how to get your career firing on all cylinders, are based on thousands of hours of running career coaching, leadership development programmes and research. Here are three:

Write down your goals 

Pour yourself a coffee and brain storm what you want to happen this year in your career. One international study found that people that wrote down their goals and referred to them were 42% more likely to achieve them.

Develop powerful examples 

Thinking of examples of where you have been successful, what you achieved and what you did to get there will boost your confidence and help you articulate what you can do to a prospective employer. Don’t be afraid to ask previous clients and referees for publishable testimonials.

Connect 

Polish up your CV and LinkedIn profile s you are ready to connect. In today’s digital world advancing a career depends more on promoting your own skills, even when you are not looking for a job. In most cases, people will have Googled you before meet you in person so what comes up?

Have your promotional material sorted – develop your brand

When someone asks for your CV you have around 24 hours to get it to them. Make sure you have it updated and ready to go. Once you have the basics of your CV done you can tweak the 10 to 20 per cent and tailor it to the role. Have a cover letter template you can use but make sure you tailor every cover letter by about 60-70 per cent based on the job description, including outlining why you want to work for that employer.

Tidy your desk

Clean up your desk, your email and get organised. A tidy desk (and inbox) is a tidy mind. A starting point is to shift all your unnecessary emails to an archive folder. Simple but it will make you feel so much better and on top of things.

Plus: Don’t forget face to face. 60-70 per cent of roles are never advertised. Set up some coffee meetings with prospective work contacts or colleagues. Pick their brains and ask for their perspective NOT A JOB. Thank them afterward and also ask them if they know anyone else you should speak to.

This is an edited version of articles that first appeared in the Dominion Post