How to manage your career

Buying and selling

Think of yourself as a company with a product or service to sell. Analyze your market and devise a carefully targeted marketing campaign, keeping in mind that companies recruit employees who offer them the best results and the best value for money.

• Begin by identifying your skills, qualifications and accomplishments. Adopt a customer-focused approach. What benefits and results can you offer employers? Are your skills marketable and up-to-date?
• Determine what additional skills you need to develop to make yourself more marketable. Seek out and take advantage of all opportunities for continuous learning and professional development.
• Employers place a high value on team players and problem-solvers. They want to see evidence in your CV or resume of specific, quantifiable accomplishments.

What are others offering?

In the business world, successful companies win customers by developing a unique selling proposition. To give yourself a competitive advantage, analyze what other employees in your field are offering. It is not enough emulate your competitors; you must strive to differentiate yourself by offering something extra, something unique.

• Try to assess yourself as objectively as possible to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Analyze your performance appraisals and, if appropriate, enlist the help of a trusted friend or colleague to help you evaluate yourself.
• Define and prioritize your short-term and long-term career goals. Make sure they are challenging but achievable.
• Study recruitment web sites and the appointments pages of newspapers to familiarize yourself with the current requirements of employers.
• Your CV/resume should be fine-tuned regularly and kept up-to-date to enable you to make a swift and targeted response to any suitable job opportunity that arises.

Learn strategies

Learn all you can about job search strategies, job-specific resumes, and professional interview techniques.

By adopting a planned, proactive and carefully targeted approach, you will maximize your chances of landing the job that best matches your skills and personality.

More career tips for women

• Risky career moves for the gutsy career woman
• A good resume versus a great resume
• Thinking about making a career move?