Targeting Your Next Opportunity

It is good to be ambitious but in the world of business and fortune is that enough?

Well, it maybe partially true, but yes, what sets an employee off from her peers, colleagues and friends is when she can combine ambition with opportunity.

In today’s world of business, what drives staffs and management, is, in fact, a combination of technical knowledge and competence to do better at what you do? This has both, qualitative as well as quantitative sides to it. Quantitative in terms of more salary and qualitatively speaking, a new profile or a new industry with the more or less the same functional areas. In both the scenarios, what remains common is the fact that you are making a move towards career advancement.

So, it is important to know WHAT YOU HAVE and WHAT YOU NEED before you sit down to target companies and apply for a new job. It is best to first count what you have:

• Experience: It grows with you and the time spent with a company. It is reflective of your ability to absorb as much as you can in any and every profile. It is also indicative of your professional capacities: what are your strengths and weaknesses; your interpersonal skills with colleagues; how you are as a team player and what are your professional limitations.
• Talent: This comes to people more naturally. Some are passionate about their work because they enjoy what they do; while others learn it over a period of time as a matter of requirement. Both are essential in the business space.
• Skills: You have worked in a particular profile and understood the operations, financial and technical part of it. You are home then! In today’s times, even technical knowledge is available at your finger-tips. It is important to be technologically aware and familiar with certain basic skill sets.

Opportunities will come to you and you will be able to make the most of it when you have all the above with you. It is also equally important to understand what you need and intend to gain when you plan your next career move. Know what you need:

• Willingness: You must allow yourself to be assessed by the market on a regular basis and appear for interviews to get an insight of the current trends. Do not let yourself go in complacency.
• Location: Geographically, to identify a job nearby is an important point to look out for.
• Remuneration: It is obvious that a hike in the existing pay package can make the offer even more exciting.
• Choice of company/sector: To go up the ladder is the norm of the day. You would want to continue in the same sector or industry with some familiarity of faces and names unless you want to switch for a different career in some other industry.
• Reference/recommendation: A repository of endorsements coming from colleagues and senior management with who you have worked can do wonder to your resume. This is built only when you have proven yourself in your previous assignments.

Some get employment opportunities quickly around them because they have the required skill sets and some strive each day. Make sure that you are not in the latter category.