How to actually measure career success

How to actually measure career successWhen you measure career success in the normal sense of the word, you are always reaching up. Unfortunately, many people don’t find happiness in that upward climb.

On Sunday mornings, my friend, Joe Jacobi, writes Sunday Morning Joe. His articles always inspire me but today’s post, When Butts are All You See really caught my attention. He begins:

Like it or not, corporate ladder climbing is a sport. The sport is crowded and the ladders are unstable. But it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t climb. Your ladder might be a fine piece of equipment in your field, depending upon who is on it and who holds it.

Joe shared much wisdom on his blog. I credited him in the past with my desire to blog since it was his “Gold Medal” blog years ago and wisdom he shared that motivated me to blog. In retrospect, I think I chose the path I am on now because of reading his early content. Joe may not know that (until now).

You’ll have to go read Joe’s post to learn more but once again he inspired me today.

When you measure career success, you may be disappointed

I work with many people who come from the corporate world where the ladder climbing sport consumed their life.

Sometimes people hire me to help them figure out how to reach the next rung or to change ladders.

Others slipped off the ladder and find themselves disillusioned and frightened. They wonder if they can find a new ladder or reach success at all. How you measure career success may be ingrained in a world’s vision and that can be pretty brutal.

This ladder climbing isn’t necessarily healthy either as my Gold Medal-winning friend, Joe, talks about in his article today. People who work with me may need redirection or motivation to find the best place for their work.

Topics I discuss with my clients is where path they want to take, what goals they have for the future, and what makes them happiest. When they don’t know the answer to the last point, I am concerned that they will struggle to find the right career fit.

Writing resumes is one part of what I do. Helping people find new ways to measure career success and look at life differently is what drives me to keep working in the career industry.

What about you? How do you measure career success?

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Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Julie Walraven, Design Resumes

Julie Walraven

Professional Resume Writer

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