February 2010

Career Success Through Managing Your Own Personal Brand

What matters most to you? What are the core values that matter most to you? What happens if your own personal values don't match the values of the organization or department you are working for, or the one you want to work for?

What matters most to you?

What are the core values that matter most to you? What happens if your own personal values don’t match the values of the organization or department you are working for, or the one you want to work for?

Let me give you an example. An in-house Facilities Manager, working for a large financial organisation in the City, became a father for the first time. This became one of the most important roles of his life, and he was determined to enjoy as much time with his newborn child as he could. He had built a professional FM team, which could easily function day to day without too much ‘management’. You may know that some financial companies are renowned for working hard and playing hard. In this case, this meant 7.30am starts, working through till 7pm and then off to the pub to ‘network’. Until the baby had come along, this worked fine but now things needed to change.

Back after 2 weeks paternity leave, at 5.30pm on day 1 he left work. There were a few raised eyebrows, but they gave him the benefit of the doubt. When I say ‘they’, I don’t mean his team, but other managers in the company. By the Friday, people were openly talking about the ‘lack of commitment’ shown by the FM team – yes, the whole team!

Much as he (like most of us I guess) wanted the company to change and accept his new lifestyle, he accepted that was unlikely, and within 6 months had moved to a company, nearer home, whose values were more about life-work balance.

It’s important to know what your own values are, as well as that of the organisation. If they don’t match, and if you’re not prepared to change your own values, then perhaps it’s time to look elsewhere. If you are particularly keen on health and fitness, but your current employer encourages long lunches and taking taxis, and won’t even consider a bike to work scheme, then maybe it’s not the place for you.

Once you have the right ‘fit’ everything will seem better!

Where next?

OK, so you know you want to move on in your career, but perhaps you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for?

Think about what you enjoy in your current role, and what you don’t. It can be useful to make lists of these areas. Consider the tasks you love; the challenges that stretch you; maybe you like managing people; writing reports; managing finances; presentations; being in a reactive role; being able to put forward innovative ideas and solutions; working under pressure – be honest with yourself, this is your chance to do more of what you love doing. We all work better when we’re slightly out of our ‘comfort zone’, where we are being stretched to perform. So, it’s not about going for a new role that’s easy, because you will quickly get bored.

Once you know what you enjoy, think about the sort of role that could give you that. Remember it might not be in the same field, or even the same industry.

Who do you know who already has a similar role? Talk to them – how did they get to where they are?

Some reasons that people don’t get promoted in their own companies is because they are ‘so good at their job’, ‘’the client loves them’ and so on! The best solution here is to have your own replacement ready to step into your current role.

Who will help you get there?

Now you have a clearer idea of the role you’d like and the type of company you want to work for – you might even have a named company in mind.

Who can help you? Who needs to know about you? Are these sort of roles advertised – in the press, trade journals, through recruitment agencies – or are they often filled by word of mouth? Does the company welcome unsolicited CVs and applications?

Who would make the decision about giving you a job? Where do they ‘hang out’? Do they go to industry events, networking sessions, conferences – could you go too? Who do you know that could introduce you? You may even be vaguely connected through an online network such as LinkedIn or Ecademy – ask for an introduction.

Great networkers are often spoken about at industry events – ‘you really should meet xyz, he sounds like exactly the type of Ops Director you’re looking for, and he has lots of experience in your area’. Aim to be one of these people, who others talk about (in a good way of course!)

Think carefully about your approach – if you were your new boss, what would impress you? Similarly, what would annoy you? Do as much research as you can, and be focused in your approach. If you fire off CVs to every agency and organisation in the area, you will be spending a huge amount of time and effort; more focus, with a tailored CV to one or two organisations will reap rewards more quickly.

What else do you need to do, to be ready for that next step?

Are you 100% ready for the next role? If not, what else do you need to do?

· Gain more experience

· Learn more skills

· Change your approach – attitudes, dress code, management style..?

Ask a trusted friend/colleague what they think might be holding you back. Then make a plan to tackle those areas. Never be afraid to ask for help – ask successful people in your industry what makes them successful, and act on this. Go to events they go to, read what they read, dress how they dress – they say ‘success leaves clues’ so don’t miss them.

Find a coach and a mentor, and work hard on yourself to ensure you are ready to take on that new role.

Liz Kentish The FM Coach is the expert in the field of people development in the FM sector – for a free no obligation assessment of your skills and career options, call Liz on 01778 561326 / 07717 787077.