Every week I do something to help build my business and career.  The things I do aren’t always easy or necessarily fun, but I do them anyway.   And after a while, I start seeing results.  Importantly, no one ever said it would be easy to create a career I love, and I was never told that building a business would be a walk in the park either.  So why do so many people expect instant results when it comes to being successful?

Get Great Results

After a lot of hard work and commitment the results I’m experiencing now are well worth the effort.  Frustratingly though I often meet people who expect their quest for the perfect job or career to be easy and don’t want to do the work that’s involved in reaching these milestones.  There’s an obvious disconnect here between expecting instant results and being willing to do what’s required.

Just like buying a fad diet plan and kidding yourself that it will solve your weight problems, career management involves a lot more than a quick search on an on-line job board or sending off sporadic job applications.

It’s not that any part of the process is rocket science, and creating a career you love doesn’t have to be hard, but your efforts needs to be consistent.

Importantly, decide on the activities you think will help you achieve your career goals and do them regularly.  Make sure you track your activity, and results, and be consistent with your efforts because they WILL pay off eventually.

Here are some examples of job-search activities I recommend you do every week:-

1. Review on-line job boards and submit applications
2. Meet new recruiters & stay in touch with the one’s you’ve already registered with
3. Update your LinkedIn profile and status
4. Review industry websites and publications for job advertisements
5. Read local and national newspapers – know what’s going on and apply for advertised roles
6. Attend local networking events
7. Review and improve your on-line presence
8. Contribute to LinkedIn group discussions
9. Send out targeted letters to companies you want to work for
10. Regularly meet with your current network of contacts

Does this sound hard?  It’s not.  Each of these points are easy to implement, and when applied consistently will help contribute to a healthy job-search and smart on-going career management.