Career Builders Managing your Reputation
Managing Your Career Reputation
In this challenging business climate, we must all master certain skills to manage our career reputation and this is an important partof any career development plan.
Being proactive in this gives us increased job stability as well as an internal sense of security.
In an era when communications is key, first impressions are critical and personal presentation is at as important as having the corporate vision. All business is people business and if you are in a leadership role your greatest asset is your ability to communicate by sparking emotion and action in others.
Before we start some common delusions that ignore how people behave and make decisions in organizations .
Firstly people will take me as I am I don’t need to manage my reputation
Secondly I just like to be judged by results and they speak for themselves.
Managing my reputation is like being in politics and I am not interested in that.
Yes there is a pinch of truth in all of the above but in my experience much decision making concerning people is emotional and sometimes based upon very few limited interactions. If they know you Senior Managers will already have attached some labels to you.( for example: hard working, has potential, needs to grow up more, question on resilience etc…) based upon their interactions with you and the conversations that occur within the organization.
So you can cast your reputation to the winds and see what happens or you take some sensible steps to positively influence how others see you and be confident your reputation is a career builder for you. It is about having the right balance.
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Here are some tips to assist you in managing your career reputation:
• We are judged by how we look and act, how others see us. Maximize your positive impact by taking steps to improve the visual, verbal and non-verbal messages you send out. Get honest feedback from others and suggestions to improve. Need more advice then take a free career aptitude test and get some more food for thought.
• Develop clarity of vision of how you want to be perceived. Keep focused on this vision a little and often . It will be a useful guide as you are confronted with challenges along your career path.
• Check your web reputation, don’t know what I mean try and google yourself and see what comes up. You may be surprised. Got something embarrassing on the web? There are software solutions available on line that can help. One of the most popular is Reputation Defender click on their ad for more information.
• Be a tight rope walker and concentrate on being adaptable to different audiences while still maintaining consistency in your image.
• Don’t spend all your time on detail and problems. Get known for being up beat and positive and focus on developing solutions that fit the big picture and the implementation of them.
• Accept others as they are, while encouraging them to be their best. Have a good sense of humor and be interested in people. Try and be an enthusiastic, friendly, supportive person and take the initiative to build positive work relationships with those around you.
• Manage your Boss by finding out what he or she wants and getting it for them. Build a network of successful people in your organization and maintain ongoing contact with them. Learn to work with the unwritten rules of advancement.
• Be a organizational scanner and be ready for new opportunities to apply your skills and strengths within your organization. Understand and align yourself with the company’s goals and vision so that you can have an effect on them.. Focus on adding value.
• Don’t be afraid to communicate your contributions and achievements. Nurture your relationship with your boss and superiors, soft-selling your accomplishments.
• Don’t accept the status quo but be careful how you criticize your organization. If you or the organization have a problem, suggest a constructive solution.
• Build a reputation for reliability by honoring your commitments; this includes returning phone calls and e-mails and be on time for meetings and appointments.
• Continually upgrade your skills and knowledge, and you will have a greater value to your organization as it faces the constant pressure of change and perhaps more choices for you down the track .
• Do at least a little more than is required or expected, and do it cheerfully.
• Be just different enough to stand out but still look like you belong on the team. Demonstrate your individuality take initiative and focus on the positive thoughts and actions..
• Polish up your business etiquette and be seen to be mixing confidently with senior managers . Be sure you are courteous and act appropriately in any situation.
In conclusion, if you want to make it in the competitive business field your reputation is an important asset to develop and manage. If you don’t know what your reputation is, maybe there is a reason you missed that promotion or that great project?
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