Build Career Assets

Assets are critical to the success of anything, your career included. Assets position you well and help pursue your goals from a strong foundation. We all know the worth of qualifications in career development. Here are a few other typical career assets you can start to acquire or grow.

SKILLS AND EXPERTISE: Be known for some area of expertise; knowledge, skills or something that others look to you for because you do it excellently; and keep honing that expertise because knowledge grows old quickly these days.

PASSION AND INTEREST: Knowledge and skills without passion often never reach their peak. Bring your value to life by being excited and spirited about what you do well and where you are headed. Feeling energized about what you can offer and contributing it makes it easy for others to support you .

ORGANIZATIONS WORKED FOR: People have reputations and so do organizations. If you’ve had the good fortune of working for respected organizations that’s an ‘asset’ you must draw on. I believe people make organizations so you have every right to benefit from the credibility of reputable institutions you have been part of.

THIRD PARTY ENDORSEMENT: References aren’t only for when you are looking for a job. As you progress in your career you interact with people in and outside your organization whose positive assessment of you can come in handy. So do your best not only for your boss but at every turn. You never know whose favorable impression will give you the push you need when you least expect it.

OTHER SIGNIFICANT ROLES: Many make the mistake of looking at their career only in terms of formal paying jobs. Career is not synonymous with just what you make for a living. It is the whole sphere of professional activity. This includes for example one off assignments membership on high profile committees and even professional planning of social events.

YOUR VITAL STATISTICS: These are what have you achieved in your career to date, with clear evidence including people who can vouch for these. Think in terms of results, the benefits you have achieved for your organization, with colleagues, your teams and your impact in your wider industry.

JOB PERFORMANCE: Being able to give recent evidence of your capabilities is worth its weight in gold. And your job performance is the best way to demonstrate this. Superior performance often lead to higher success. As you move up the career ladder see yourself grow and exceed your own expectations.

CLEAR ASPIRATIONS: Crafting a vision for your career is an asset because it guides you. If you live day to day in your career and see where it takes you, you could stagnate, go round in circles and end up nowhere. Programme your mind for a greater career by aspiring to something clear and focussed.

Now take action: Develop a career asset portfolio along the areas indicated above