4 Jewels To Develop Confidence in Advocating For Your Professional Development
Advocating for yourself is something that I have had to learn (and still learning) as I navigate Corporate America. There was a time where I entered into a meeting with my manager and that meeting ended early due to my lack of ability to keep my composure. I share more about that story in my Intentional Living Book. This lesson taught me not to put my development in the hands of others, my development is my responsibility.
That one lesson crowned me with 4 jewels that I want to share with you.
Identify Your Skills Gap- Recognizing the skills that I have and the skills that I do not have. In me recognizing this, I did not know how to effectively communicate this on my resume or even in interviews so I hired a career coach (Coach Kimberly Christopher) who coached me through ways of communicating and highlighting the skills that I have and how to highlight the skills that are transferable to those developmental skills.
Identify The People To Assist You In Closing The Talent Gap Inside and Outside of Your Organization- It is important to have people within your organization to assist you in closing the gap- these can provide insight to resources internally that can assist you in developing and enhancing skills. People outside of your organization can assist in providing resources and insight that may or may not available to you internally.
Be Consistent In Communicating Your Development and Career Needs and Desires- Opportunities will come however, it is your job to communicate what you are seeking to do. It's your job not to settle for what you deserve. It's also your job to do the research and soul searching to know what is the best career move for you. Don't leave your career in the hands of someone else, take initiative and communicate what your development needs are.
Network Beyond Your Office- There is life beyond your office, discover it, use it and maximize it. Your office is not the end all be all, take the initiative to participate in Meet-Up Groups, Facebook Groups that are specific to your interest.
BONUS- I recently had the opportunity to read the a book titled: The Office Game, authored by my friend Kossen Scott , he definitely dropped some jewels in this book. He broke down so many strategies in regards to navigating the office(Corporate America) though actions, communications,the book is truly a page-turner !!! This book is a professional guide to protecting your professional brand while thriving in the workplace, which is needed. There are so many things that the office won’t tell you. Take sometime to purchase his book, invest in your professional development. You will thank yourself (and him)for it!
Advocating for yourself goes beyond stating what you want, it takes you being specific, prayerful and spreading your wings. Advocating for yourself is no easy feat, however, it is something that is and must be accomplished.
Cheers to creating crowning moments in Corporate America.