Strengthening Your Employability Status: 6 Crucial Steps

The turbulent economy has certainly had an impact on many industries, with many companies implementing large-scale staff layoffs and downsizing. Never before has it been more important for people to begin implementing some crucial career management initiatives to reinforce their overall employability status.

Here are six key career management initiatives you should begin implementing:

1. Be relevant

Gone are the days where you attain your degree or diploma and never have to undergo any further professional development throughout the rest of your career.

Companies are continuing to develop and advance so they can maintain their competitiveness in constantly evolving marketplaces, and so should you. Adopting a lifetime learning approach to ensure your knowledge and skills don’t become stagnant is imperative. Undertake ongoing professional development, particularly around latest technologies and methodologies relevant to your industry. n

2. Be significant

Avoid being a complainer and bearer of bad news whenever a problem, obstacle or issue arises within the workplace. Be proactive and identify suggestions on how you believe the problem can be overcome. This way you become known as a problem solver, an initiator and a can-do person that can face a challenge head on, rather than someone who is negative and constantly complaining about arising challenges.

3. Be know

Develop a reputation throughout the organisation as a valuable team player that continuously adds value to whatever task or project you are working on. To connect with people outside of your immediate team, get involved in special projects that include staff from other divisions that you generally would not work with. This allows people in other departments to become aware of your strengths, enthusiasm and valuable contributions, thus enhancing your overall value to the company.

4. Be curious

In today’s workplace the ‘career ladder’ can now thought of as a ‘career lattice’ enabling a move (either horizontally and/or vertically) to a new role in another department within your current organisation. Keep your eyes and ears open and maintain an approach of curiosity – you never know what opportunities may arise in your current place of work or even exte
ally with another company.

5. Be prepared

If a career change is on the horizon for you, the most important tool that you will need during your transition is your personal marketing document – your résumé. Make sure your résumé is up-to-date and identifies your strengths and achievements, so that you can begin marketing yourself as a valuable addition, should an opportunity arise.

6. Be positive

This is probably the most crucial of all six steps, with your entire persona (either in the workplace or job market) strengthened or weakened, depending on the level of your positivity and ability to bounce back should you be faced with having to make a change. Every situation can be viewed from a positive and negative viewpoint – how you choose to look at it is entirely up to you.

Remember: what you concentrate on expands, so continuing to buy into the fear and panic continuously being portrayed will make it more difficult for you to survive and thrive. n