Strategies for Career Development in the Construction Industry
November has been chosen as the month every year not just for a focus on thankfulness but to give special thought to your career development. According to the website Awareness Days,
National Career Development Month is a month-long campaign that emphasizes the significance of career development and planning. It aims to educate and inspire individuals to explore career options, set goals, and make strategic decisions about their professional futures. This month-long campaign seeks to empower individuals of all ages to take charge of their career journeys, make informed decisions, and pursue fulfilling and meaningful work. National Career Development Month provides a platform for career professionals, educators, and organizations to offer resources, guidance, and support for individuals seeking to enhance their career prospects and achieve their professional goals.
What are three simple ways you can invest in your career each year?
1. Front-Face with Professionalism and Confidence
In today’s social media environment, even if you don’t choose to scroll and comment on LinkedIn, having an up-to-date profile is recommended. Not only does your profile represent you at your current employer, but it also demonstrates your ability to confidently front-face with others in our collaborative industry. If you already have a LinkedIn profile or are building one, how did you do on these things?
You have a recent photograph that looks professional and shows your face. LinkedIn is not a place to upload a picture of you and your significant other, you doing your favorite activity outside of work or dressed to go to a wedding. Save that for Facebook, Instagram, or other leisure or event-time social media sites. LinkedIn is designed to show you as your associates would meet you in the workplace. Leaving your profile picture blank can lead others to think you can’t take a selfie and upload it to a profile, you rush through things just to get it done, or you are not confident with your self-image. Perception may not be reality, although perception can hinder opportunities. Whether you agree or not, LinkedIn is currently the tool used to see if they recognize you or if you have mutual acquaintances when your name is brought up and they do not know you. LinkedIn provides recommendations here.
Sample Superintendent Photo Don’ts:
Blank
Your Initial
Wild Background
With others
Cut off
Side facing/ sunglasses
At a Social event
A Project
Sample Superintendent Photo Dos:
The Genuine you
is who they
want to see
Hardhat, no glasses okay
Upgrade Your Professional Presence with Headshot and Networking Tools & Tips
Another LinkedIn tip is to search for your employer’s page and connect with it. You can follow these instructions from LinkedIn. Connecting to your employer page allows you to see anything they post or others from your company connected there too.
2. Develop the Interest and Ability for Business Networking
Networking is the process of making connections and building relationships. These connections can provide you with advice and contacts, which can help you make informed business and career decisions. Networking can help you find unadvertised or unposted information that being aware of can boost your confidence and career. Networking can be as little or as much as you plan to do, and it can be with internal team members or external business associates and mentors. The whole point is to expand your set of connections.
Meeting for breakfast, lunch, or dinner with a coworker outside of work can help you gain perspective into their beliefs and behaviors in the workplace and align with them.
Inviting a consultant, subcontractor, or vendor to meet you in person, especially if you have never done so before, can help you build rapport and learn about the person behind the business you are negotiating with and possibly the business itself, which you may not be able to do if others are around or you are short on time.
Staying in touch with your colleagues from school or past employers who may have taken a different career trajectory than you helps you to encourage one another and maintain a relationship for when you may work together again. After all, it is six degrees of separation.
Our industry offers all sorts of events to participate in as a guest or a member. You can, for most events, sign up at the last minute to attend when your schedule allows or when you realize the value of making time to expand beyond those you see every day at work to forge new business contacts.
3. Maintain an Up-to-Date Resume and Project List
Although you never know when you might need it for an interview, your resume and project list are not just for job hunting. Maintaining the roles you have held, projects you have worked on, and the corresponding timelines and dates keeps you ready at a moment’s notice to demonstrate to a client, executive, or coworker your expertise and how you developed it over time. Resumes and project lists also aid others if they need to do a business introduction. So, keep that resume ready to honor you and your work throughout the years. You also deserve to take it out yourself annually and celebrate you!
Taking Control of Your Construction Career with Career Matchmaking
At FLCC, Inc., our business processes are designed to guide you to know your industry choices, prepare for your future, define and conquer roadblocks, and take control of your career. We offer a trademarked career matchmaking process, career assessment tools, and career coaching specifically for professionals working in Construction Management and Real Estate Development. Most often, individuals do not understand the career options they may have right where they are without changing employers.
If you want to go from passenger to pilot of your career, call or text 305-361-0094 to make it happen. After all, nobody deserves to feel out of control or unfulfilled in their career. That includes you.
To Making Time for Your Career,
Suzanne Breistol
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