I have given this a lot of thought over the last 2 weeks. It boils down to the amount of effort one puts in their given occupation. That being the case, I have acertained that a JOB is not a Career. The reason is that a job is something you do without much concern for the long-term. You get a job to buy your first car, to have extra spending money, to learn about work, or to pay the bills. Most of us either had our first Job in high school, College, or right out of College. While one can work very hard at a job and even be paid well to work a job, a career takes much more motivation and forward-thinking effort than a job.

With this said, I think now is as good a time as any for you the reader (and last time I checked my readership ranked in the 10’s ;) ) To think, “do I have a job or do I have a career”. But please don’t stop there with this introspective thought. Go deeper and ask yourself, “if I do have a career, do I treat it like a career or like a job?”

I talk a lot about this to my clients. From their current interviewing cycle, my clients constantly state that they see candidates for their positions that are “order takers”, “a steady Eddie”, or “A guy (or woman) who just hasn’t done anything that sets themselves apart from the pack”…..

During my trip over the weekend I had a couple of moments of sobriety during which my mind kept coming back to these discussions with my clients and how I could help my friends in the job community to get over this hurdle.

Being that I staff for the top 5% of the financial world, I will direct my comments and examples to these roles (however my thoughts and strategy can be used by for any forward thinking person regardless of field). My candidate pool consists of pretty much any information technology resource (as well as Business Analysts & Project Managers) that contributes to the process of trading for financial shops on Wall St.

Let me first present more questions you the reader should ask yourself:

1. Why am I in my current position?
2. How does my current position contribute to my Career-Path growth?
3. What is my next step from this position career-wise?
4. What am I doing today to improve my chances of migrating to my next Career-Path goal?
5. What is my current Career-Path end goal?

From reading these questions you might think I am presenting parochial questions. But take time to let them simmer in the background of your thoughts.  .  .  .  . and revisit them over the weekend. This can be one of those aspects of your life you don’t want to think about, but it is a necessary evil.

Why are you in your current position? If it isn’t a destination on your Career-Path, but circumstances have directed you here, how do you better align yourself to a position back on the path? What tasks and initiatives in your current place of work can you proactively take on to better align your skill set with your desired position (either within your firm, or in another). If there is no chance of taking on said actions, it is best to move on to another firm and possibly taking a step back in your career so that you can re-align yourself. How does that saying go… ”One step back, two steps forward”

What is my next step from this position career-wise? Most of us only think about our next move career-wise once we have “Seen the writing on the wall about our longevity at a position”. But is that the right time to plan? (Does a surgeon make the first incision then refer to the next step in a text about surgery? Or does the surgeon plan the whole procedure out prior to surgery and even put thought into what could go wrong and possible workarounds for this occurence?) This is how you should view your career and its destinations to your desired Career-Goal. When a recruiter, friend, colleague, or former boss reaches out to you about a new position, do you consider the opportunity for;

1. More money,
2. Shorter commute,
3. Better work/life balance

or

1. A Leadership role
2. More Senior Level visibility
3. Adding much needed skillsets
4. Touching more. (be it technologies, interacting with diferrent business’s, etc)

The first 3 options are to be considered if you have and want to keep a JOB. The later 4 options are to be considered if you want to progress your career.

Finally, what is your Career-Goal? Do you want to lead a huge organization, drive corporate direction, be “Da Man” so to speak? Do you want to be a high priced consultant who can dictate the amount of time you work as well as the type of projects one works on? Do you want to aquire exprience until it is time to start your own firm. The Goal can change along the way, but one must have benchmarks along the way to measure progress as well as to dictate if more drive is needed to get to your desired target. During this journey through your career, you will see more opportunities. So it is perfectly acceptable to change course and target to a new Career-Goal.

Lastly, I would like to impart an Ancient Truth that has led many a Professional to their Career Promise land.

‘If you enjoy what you do, you will never work another day in your life’ - Confucius

Remember we work to live, not live to work. Make sure that your Career-Path is one that is enjoyable.

Thank you for your Time and Efforts,

Tracey Greene

TechExec Inc.

Senior Vice President, Financial Technical Division

O: (914)-235-5901

E:  Tracey.Greene@TechExeconline.com

Blog:      http://tracey-greene.tumblr.com/

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/WallStRecruiter/

Often I receive resumes of stellar candidates who are in the market searching for the next step in their career progression. However, they tend to “think outside the box” without thought to what they can contribute day one to the firm’s they are interested in.

Say I am speaking with a SVP of Global Equities Technical Infrastructure for a Financial firm, (a much accomplished position, no doubt) whom is interested in opportunities in the market. We speak for a bit in which my open opportunities come up. After hearing of a Senior Management opportunity with Equity Development, said SVP expresses interest and states he wants to be considered for the role.

The issue, I explain, is that he had no experience in development, or sound detailed knowledge within the Equities world (which is required for this type of role), even though he supported the business from a systems point of view… This position required strong detailed business product and development knowledge. To which his response was, I can learn that on the job.

I get this type of response often, to which I reply. “If you were the hiring manager for this position in this economy, would you hire someone that is not a perfect fit for the role day one, or would you hire a guy that says he can make up for where he is not deep in knowledge” I hear varying responses, but ultimately I have to let them know that position openings are hard to come by. Hiring managers are viewed not only on their work, but also on whom they hiring currently in this market….

So to this end, I say, Know what you bring to a company day one! The mantra’s that gained you access to the job market when you were fresh from college don’t apply when you are mid-career. Terms such as “quick learner, eager, go getter” are no longer valid. Hiring managers want to know right off the bat, “What are you a SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT in?” Responses like “Managing large groups” “Strategic Decisions”  “Getting group buy-in” are not considered to mean much.

If your a Developmental Manager, understand development for your arena and how it directly impacts the business you support as well as other arenas of technology with a given firm.

If you are a Project Manager or Business Analyst, understand the business you support almost to the level of a subject matter expert. (Equities, FX, Fixed Income, etc). More and more development is intertwined into this arena so basic developmental skills are being pegged as requirements for these types of roles more and more.

If you are currently content in your firm. Do a 360 review of where you are. Talk to a recruiter, ask for roles that are similiar to what you do currently…. Could you apply for these positions and get an offer? Or have you let the duties of middle management, or the routine of day to day action items keep you from continuing to be a top talent within your field? The time to realize this is prior to when you want to change positions.

Remember, This is your Career, not a Job! Technology’s core value add is to consolidate resources. This being said, one needs to constantly evolve with the market or eventually be replaced within the market.

Thank you for your Time and Efforts,

Tracey Greene
TechExec Inc.

Senior Vice President, Financial Technical Division

O: (914)-235-5901

F:  (914)-355 -2160

E: Tracey.Greene@TechExeconline.com

(Testing)