Taking Charge of Your Career....It's Your Responsiblity.
Posted by (Chief Financial Officer), Jan 21, 2010, 22:34 PM
It seems like my career has taken so many different twists over the last 20-years that sometimes I wonder if I’ve been a victim to the constant upheaval cast in my direction or if, more often than not, I have just been prepared to deal with the change as it comes. In my most recent round of interviews we discussed my career path and I discussed how I felt as though I’ve had to fight tooth and nail to bring my career to the point it’s at. Very simply, I’ve gone through multiple acquisitions, multiple recessions, the death of a company founder, and more. Through it all, I’ve managed to secure some great opportunities, all of which, in some way, contributed to my most recent position.
For me, all along the way, it has always been about how one takes charge of their career and avoids going stale in an uninspiring and complacent company. It has never been about working for a sexy company or brand name, although Quiksilver/DC Shoes does fit that bill. Take MGE UPS Systems as an example. It doesn’t get much duller than steel boxes with transformers and batteries. Whoa….hold onto your hat! But what was so interesting is that they had three distinct elements of the business (custom project, flow goods, and Service), all of which required a different level of reporting, and ultimately, a consolidation into our French parent company. They were constantly innovating, open to change, driven by performance, and we had a team that worked great together…at least until the merger. Great stuff. But what happens when you work for what would be perceived as a “sexy” company, but you have complacent staff or management, an uninspiring product line, no long-term vision, and a general lack of support for your functional area? It’s time to take charge of your career.
I can’t say that I have always taken charge of my career, at least entirely. When my North American CFO position was eliminated in the merger at MGE, I was left without a cell phone, personal email account, and even a laptop. I had placed the trust of my career in a company that I was completely dedicated to. I was not networking, I was not attending professional events, nor was I even signed up on LinkedIn. Digital footprint….what is that? Yes, I was pretty much kicked to the curb without any resources. Fortunately, with the guidance of some very supportive people, I started networking pretty darn quick. The problem was, the elimination of my position happened in Oct-07. This was right when the recession started kicking into gear and everything came to a screeching halt. So what you do….?
· Networking became priority number one. As many events as I could.
· Made contact with as many recruiters as possible. Although only a handful have shown the test of time and integrity.
· Established my profile on LinkedIn.
· Developed the strategy for my blog, which was intended to be a resume complement.
· Started working consulting projects, some free, to stay sharp on the skills.
· Volunteered to mentor those younger and starting their careers.
Although I finally dug out from what was a pretty tough period, it’s hard to say exactly what it might have been specifically attributed to. What I can say is that many of these initiatives, which started out as survival tactics, have now turned into habits after 2-years of constant commitment. While I am fully committed to my current company, love what I do, and can’t wait to get into the office, I am a much more balanced professional than I was 2-years ago. I feel that the path I have been walked down in my career, while difficult, has provided me with the competitiveness to not be complacent in any aspect of my work. You can never blame your company or industry for a lack of inspiration or growth….you can only blame yourself.
Thanks for reading . . . .
Jeffrey Ishmael
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Comments
Great post Jeffrey, and right
Great post Jeffrey, and right on target. Thank you for continuing to contribute.