Career Help Book!!

[agentundercover]

I am putting myself up to be shot at here I know. I sound like the kind of person I used to hate. But the mortgage weighs heavily and all…

I think I need help. And I think there are a few bright sparks hiding behind the names on here.

I am at a point where I am moving from junior into more senior management. I’m quite young (29) but not young enough to use youth as an excuse. But I am particularly in-experienced within my organisation having only been in my current job for a couple of years & the industry for about 5.

I need to impose myself more & set the agenda in terms of what happens & when. Influence people more & create the results want. I first need to think more strategically regards myself & my career rather than appraisal to appraisal at best, hour to hour at worst.

I know I am good & I don’t have any problems now, I will just need to realise my abilities more as I move up. In fact being ‘good’ is often only part of it I guess.

NOW. I know there are books on this kind of thing, and I was wondering if anyone had read one & if they had any recommendations.

Pls don’t take the pi$$ (and I know, less web forums is probably a good start!)!!

 

[puppylover]

I am putting myself up to be shot at here I know. I sound like the kind of person I used to hate. But the mortgage weighs heavily and all…

I think I need help. And I think there are a few bright sparks hiding behind the names on here.

I am at a point where I am moving from junior into more senior management. I’m quite young (29) but not young enough to use youth as an excuse. But I am particularly in-experienced within my organisation having only been in my current job for a couple of years & the industry for about 5.

I need to impose myself more & set the agenda in terms of what happens & when. Influence people more & create the results want. I first need to think more strategically regards myself & my career rather than appraisal to appraisal at best, hour to hour at worst.

I know I am good & I don’t have any problems now, I will just need to realise my abilities more as I move up. In fact being ‘good’ is often only part of it I guess.

NOW. I know there are books on this kind of thing, and I was wondering if anyone had read one & if they had any recommendations.

Pls don’t take the pi$$ (and I know, less web forums is probably a good start!)!!

I went through this trauma last year (although not so young ) I decided I needed to apply myself more and move on up in the company (they had been pushing me to do this for ages) but to be honest I was more than happy to mess about, have a laugh, and do what was needed. I started to seriously act on it at the start of the year - got promoted in June into the role I was earmarked for anyway, but I have to say extra work and extra money isnt the be all and end all - I am knackered, stressed and starting to wonder if it was all worth it.

I think in the end it will be - its a learning curve at the moment and due to destroying most of my braincells over the past 20 years - its a bit of a struggle but I am coping....

Anyway what I am trying to say is that I didnt need to read books to tell me what to do with my life or how to do it - I just needed to stop arsing about and apply myself more....

Also having a psychologist for a husband was brilliant - who helped me massively in the thought process......

 

[WeLuvIbiza]

I have read no books on this specific subject, but a book I have read and found to be insightful; “The 7 habits of highly effective people” – Steven R. Covey. Also another I can see on my shelf is “The Power of Focus” – Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Les Hewitt, a bit gimmicky but worth reading. “Millionaire Upgrade” – Richard Parkes Cordock, geared towards starting a business but decent motivational stuff, excellent listening for commuting.

This is an interesting topic, one I used to ponder regularly until going self employed four years ago. I left school with no qualifications and went into IT 20 odds years back and was usually competing with graduates for promotion. As a result I always felt obliged to go the extra mile to get where I wanted to be and used goal setting as a key feature of my career development.

My personal view would be that it depends very much on the organization and the promotion process therein. Is it a very formal and rigid promotion process or does the company love bright sparks with boundless energy?

If you have a decent boss and you enjoy a good rapport, I would not be afraid to do the following:

Set out a fairly detailed map of where you want to be within the company with timescales. Ask for an hour with you boss either in or out of work and go through your plan and let him / her know you would like their help to achieve the goals. Let it be known that in return you are up for bundles more work and responsibility. Also it is worth looking at training courses that fit in with where you want to go, and letting the boss know what is available for you (either internally or external training). If there are any projects upcoming that would not normally come your way, put yourself up for leading the project and stepping well outside your comfort zone. This is obviously the sort of topics discussed at appraisal time but doing it spontaneously will demonstrate your enthusiasm.

This approach worked really well in my last job as I was starting virtually from scratch having been contracting (whoring for the highest payer) for many years and as such had surrendered all career aspirations. I reached a senior position within three years, very attractive salary with all the bells.

If things start to happen, be prepared for plenty of sh*t from colleagues as they realize you are leapfrogging right over them!

Apologies if I am teaching you how to suck eggs, I have basically summarized in a few words what worked for me within top 5 bank in the world. You have obviously taken the first step to realizing your worth by being proactive, something most employees never do!!

I have The 7 Habits & Millionaire Upgrade as audio books and would be more than happy to send them to you.

 

[agentundercover]

puppylover/weluvibiza, v v much indeed for taking the time to reply in such detail. When I'm on the board i'll look after ya!

The business is fairly non rigid. Its a private practice, but the largest of its kind in Europe. Its of a reasonably creative nature & is certainly not afraid to promote people quickly & in quick steps. Its a weak matrix organisation if that means anything. My dept had 8 project managers, all in their 50's apart from me. So the field is wide open as they head towards retirement.

I have a very good relationship with my boss to be honest, who is a good guy - it's interesting what you say about sitting down - i've made a date already at the end of the month to have a word of the 'I need stretching, stretch me' variety, & it would appear this worked for you as a starter.

What has made the alarm bells ring are two fold - firstly this is the first year when people in my peer group have been made associate (step below director). Now, I am not ready for that quite yet - I need to deliver more projects pure and simple, and the couple that have been made up are international award winning super cabable, on the board by 40 kind of people, but I need to aim myself in that direction. And secondly as I move further into the business, as I am, I am starting to come up against very focused, experienced & capable people & I feel like I need more in my armoury.

I would defo be interested in a lend of the seven habits audio book, presume its a cd?

 

[WeLuvIbiza]

It sounds like you have some exciting times ahead. I have always found it a massive advantage to be on a good footing with bosses who can make things happen. Don't be afraid to court any of the older guys who are gearing up for retirement, their years of knowledge can be worth more than a case full of books

The audio book is in MP3 170 meg in total, should be less when zipped.

 

[MARKB]

You already have the most important attributes by the sound of things.

You are ambitious and hungry, but you also have a realistic self awareness of your strengths and the areas you need to improve. That in itself is rare in my experience.

I'd agree with the points made above. Let them know how hungry you are and don't be hesitant in stating what you want and what you're prepared to do to get there.

But also don't be phased by peers who appear more experienced and competent. Be prepared to stick your neck out and make mistakes. Then learn from them. That's the best experience to gain. As when you will have a great frame of reference in the future when managing others.

You'll never be penalised for trying.

Go on son!

 

[agentundercover]

It sounds like you have some exciting times ahead. I have always found it a massive advantage to be on a good footing with bosses who can make things happen. Don't be afraid to court any of the older guys who are gearing up for retirement, their years of knowledge can be worth more than a case full of books

The audio book is in MP3 170 meg in total, should be less when zipped.

Cracking, cheers mate will pm you re the best way to get it to me!

 

[agentundercover]

You already have the most important attributes by the sound of things.

You are ambitious and hungry, but you also have a realistic self awareness of your strengths and the areas you need to improve. That in itself is rare in my experience.

I'd agree with the points made above. Let them know how hungry you are and don't be hesitant in stating what you want and what you're prepared to do to get there.

But also don't be phased by peers who appear more experienced and competent. Be prepared to stick your neck out and make mistakes. Then learn from them. That's the best experience to gain. As when you will have a great frame of reference in the future when managing others.

You'll never be penalised for trying.

Go on son!

Cheers mate, muchos appreciated. Felt a bit daft, and I would be mortified if anyone from work read this, but fuk it, sometimes the web can be a cracking counsellor!