A Crème series on how to become your own career coach. Part 2/6 — avoiding own-goals:
As you start to manage your career, watch out for career-limiting actions (CLAs). This is not only about being sick on the MD at the office party. It’s also about thinking twice before pressing “send” on any e-mail that you would not want read aloud at your next appraisal.
Real CLAs are more subtle barriers that you may inadvertently put in the way. Examples include working too hard on projects that are not important, or aligning yourself with out-of-date systems or methods. PAs or secretaries who no longer appear to be making a strong contribution to the business are often the ones who are seen as brick walls rather than doorways.
Other CLAs: Avoid doing things that really irritate your boss: if he or she has a clean-desk policy, follow it. And it’s not only your immediate chief who makes decisions about your future. Success is often not about what you do or how hard you work, but about doing things that are noticed by those senior staff who will influence your future.
Sticking doggedly to your job description is the surest CLA of all. Go to your manager with solutions rather than problems. Learn how much, or how little, to put in writing.
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JOHN LEES
Author of How To Get A Job You’ll Love (McGraw-Hill, £12.99). www.jobyoulove.co.uk