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May 7, 2011
So now you landed and from my previous blogs recognize the importance of maintaining your foundation. That is you will not forget the network that you worked so hard at building during your job search, maintain & build that resume that you have been constantly tweaking plus you are going to ensure that you at minimum keep yourself relevant in this fast changing world by maintaining and building your skills. Maintaining your foundation is an on-going process.
What additional steps are there? Presumably, you want to ensure you do what it takes to keep the job that you worked so hard to land. One suggestion in making sure that you keep the job is to ensure you know why you were hired. What skills, attributes and image did you portray? Let's examine each of these in detail. What can you do to ensure that you know the skills they wanted plus the skills that perhaps they did not know they needed to effectively do the job? Do you know what were the "must have skills" and the optional or ideal skills your new employer was wanting when they were conducting the search? Do you still have a copy of the advertisement? Is it possible to obtain a copy of a job posting? Perhaps, there is a job description. What research did you do or could you still do to determine the skills necessary to do this job. If you were to do a self-assessment, how effectively are you utilizing these skills? What other feedback can you obtain? Once you determine this feedback, is there any action plan that you want to put in place to perhaps improve on a skill that you are not demonstrating as effectively as you feel is required.
For the purposes of this blog, I am referring to skills as being technical skills. Additionally, I am defining attributes as being the same thing as behavioural skills. Behavioural skills or attributes are often referred to as the soft skills. Examples would include: interpersonal skills, communication skills, organizational skills, teamwork, assertiveness, detail oriented, problem solving, etc. Similarly to the technical skills exercise, how you can you determine what attributes are required for the position and how can you assess how you are doing as compared with job requirements.
Finally, the image you portrayed. One could argue that this is much the same as attributes but what I am really expressing is the real reason you were selected. You demonstrated that you were the best fit for the job. Those making the decision decided that for whatever reason they felt you would be the perfect fit for there company. What made them feel you were the "perfect fit" for the job. Perhaps, you indicated you were willing to do "whatever it takes" to get the job done but then after you were hired you indicated that work-life balance is critical for you. You are who you are but if you want to keep the job, you may need to be consistent with who you said you were or who you represented during the interviewing process. If this is not the real you, you may want to do considerable self reflection to determine what it is that you are wanting from the job and develop your plan for moving forward.
In my next blog, I will continue offering suggestions that may assist you in keeping that job you worked so hard to obtain!
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