Step 1

Your passport to the job you want is writing down—in specific language—the answers to three questions:
1) What business metrics demonstrate your desirability and how did you achieve them?
2) Where have you built your track record and where are you comfortable, i.e., what industries or functions do you find the most satisfying?
3) What personal skills do you now have as a result of your previous experiences? Based on these answers, develop an “A list” of two jobs you most want and are qualified for. The “B list” comprises up to four jobs that would also represent growth but about which you have questions.

Step 2

You have your lists. Now you need to find out more. You know your “A list” job . . . where you’d be immediately effective. “B list” jobs are of interest to you . . . but you need more information. So, get out and get answers. Hold informal, exploratory conversations with your mentors, former managers or peers. You’re not interviewing, you’re learning. As a result, you may eliminate some “B list” jobs, change the priorities on both lists, or maybe even merge the lists. Of course, don’t forget: today you have a job to do, so don’t confuse your future aspirations with your current responsibilities.

Step 3

Stay active—career management is a chore. You may find your “A list” buyer, or more than one “buyer” for a “B list” position. Stay in touch with managers and mentors, but be aware: this process usually takes time. In fact, timing is most important in finding a buyer because many events are beyond your control (e.g., someone is overdue for a move and transfers to a position you want). But, you may also get a surprise . . . an offer of a good job that wasn’t in your plan.

Step 4

The final step encompasses all of the previous three. It’s about understanding your company, how it works and the dynamics of personal relationships. Your talent manager is a vital partner in your plans. They help build your visibility. They help senior managers put the right people into the right jobs at the right time. If you’re a known entity you can facilitate that decision. 

TRAIN YOUR MANAGERS AND MENTORS

. . . so they understand your skills and are able to support your goals.

Deliberate Career Development: The Top 10 Guiding Principles

1. Career development is a task, not seasonal work.The calendar isn’t a prompt. It’s not a year-end project. Career development is something you do all the time. It’s hard work . . . but worth the effort. It’s your career.

2. Don’t mix current performance and career potential.
Don’t mix discussion of performance in your current job with career potential. Not in the same meeting. Ever.

3. Build a team around yourself.
Your team is composed of current and past managers and mentors and your company’s human relations professionals.

4. Managers and mentors are of equal weight.
Too many people think their current manager is a gatekeeper. Not so! He or she may not be aware of opportunities that are a good fit for you, and speaking with mentors from other parts of the business provides a different perspective.

5. Document your plan. Don’t dialog about it. Enumerate!
What do we mean by enumerate? Do you have the three elements in Step 1 of the Corgel Method written down on a piece of paper ... in a form that you can show someone? Doing this says you are serious, you worked on it, you gave it a lot of thought. Document who you are and what you want. Just don’t talk about it!

6. Your A-list generates one of three reactions: support, surprise or debate.
You share your A-list jobs with your manager and/or mentor and you will get one of three responses: affirmation that your targets are reasonable based on your experience (support) . . . you’ve underestimated your potential (surprise) . . . or the door will close and you’ll find out that there’s just no way (debate).

7. Distribute your plan—face to face.
Dialogue alone is worthless ... you need something written—a piece of paper dedicated to your previous jobs, enumerating what you achieved, where you’re comfortable and how you’ve grown. And you need separate lists of your “A” and “B” jobs.

8. The parent/child relationship is over.
In the past, management suggested what career moves were best for you. And when. Your job was to work hard . . . and wait. Today, career development is up to you. What best fits your professional and personal goals. And when.

9. You are in charge. Own it.
Careers don’t come with autopilot to steer you to your career destination. Others can help you . . . but only once you have helped yourself. It’s your career. So, it’s your responsibility.

10. Understand your corporate organization.
Know the businesses and industry your company participates in. Know its leaders and its organizational structure. Understand its history, strategy, culture, values and rules, both written and unwritten.

Personal Qualities and Leadership Capabilities

Your parents gave you energy, intelligence and a work ethic ... they made you a quick study, a problem solver, a good communicator and instilled a sense of caring in you. You have all these in your DNA. Now, forget about them, their worth is greatly diminished once you’ve launched your career. The attributes that will get you ahead are driven by your experience, what you’ve accomplished and what you’ve done for others. That’s how your managers and mentors will describe you. Here’s a checklist. No one is great at all of these, but in an objective, unemotional look you should see yourself in some of them.

Embracing challenge
Easier said than done . . . some people are handed goals that seem impossible. But they don’t always give it their best. Take it on!

Earning trust
“Walk the talk” . . . find someone who doubts you and over-deliver; they’ll come back to you in the future

Informed judgment
Do your research, don’t “wing it,” have a rationale for why you do what you do

Strategic risk-taking
Embrace challenge, experiment to overcome obstacles

Enabling performance
Your willingness to teach others

Developing people and communities
Collaboration is like a symphony, everyone working together ... step outside your org chart to help others.

Client partnering
Help people, solve their problem, build sustainable relationships . . . don’t just sell them something

Think horizontally
Look to the left and right to include colleagues in solutions

Collaborative influence
Teaching horizontal thinking is a sign of leadership

Passion for the business
You should be excited by future possibilities, interested in what the company is doing and want to help make it happen