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The IT Career Builder's Toolkit, Chapter 16: On-the-Job Promotion

  • Jan 25, 2008
This chapter is from the book 

This chapter is from the book

IT Career Builder's Toolkit, TheIT Career Builder's Toolkit, The

Learn More Buy

This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book 

IT Career Builder's Toolkit, TheIT Career Builder's Toolkit, The

Learn More Buy

Chapter 16. On-the-Job Promotion

Where Career Building Really Begins

After you are hired, the true work of career building begins. Unfortunately, many people cease putting their toolkit to use after they have landed the job. The danger, of course, is that at some point they will either be out of work again, or they will have stagnated in their position and want to move on.

Promotions might occur based solely on your job performance and without your actively requesting or directing them, but why leave them to chance? When you are working at a job, the ideas of networking and communication become much more critical. These ideas govern much of your advancement and satisfaction.

You're hired! Now what?

For many, the job search is the sum total of their career planning experience. In many cases, an employee simply becomes bogged down in the day-to-day work and loses sight of long-term objectives. For others, the job was the objective, and career planning from a long-term perspective has never crossed their mind.

The first group of career builders becomes focused on training and skills that help them maintain their current position. They become process-driven, ensuring that their skills meet the current and short-term demands. Although it is important to ensure that you have the skills to meet your current job requirements, if that becomes the total focus of your training and development program, you will find yourself stagnant in your career growth.

Opportunity, the kind that can greatly enhance careers, is developed when you not only meet your job responsibilities, but when you acquire the skills you need to enhance and grow your responsibilities. This increases your sphere of influence and separates you from the rank and file.

In this chapter, you will learn some of the skills you need to keep your career moving forward while on the job. This is a critical juncture in career development. Fight the tendency to rest on your laurels after you have landed a job or experienced small successes.

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