The Key to Overcoming Obstacles that Get in Your Way

I recently had the pleasure of working with a resume client named Holly. I say pleasure because I believe that every one of my clients teaches me something of value. Holly is a Sales and Business Development Director working in the IT software/solution management industry.

I encouraged her (as I do all of my resume clients) to take a no-holds-barred attitude about letting me know what her greatest accomplishments have been in her career thus far. Most people have difficulty “bragging” about their accomplishments. Part of my job is to find out what is truly unique about each client – what sets them apart from other applicants who have similar qualifications, experience, attributes, etc. so that I can bring these unique qualities to the forefront when writing their resume. She explained to me that one of the greatest things that she has been able to do throughout her career is to find key accounts all from the comfort of her desk. She has amazed her supervisors and co-workers by generating business, even during a long-term illness when she had to work from home. She has been extremely successful in acquiring new business while others who use similar approaches, struggle to gain accounts.

When I asked her what was the secret to her success, she told me it is the ability to reach others through her networks and to contact them directly to tell them about what her company has to offer.  As a former recruiter who has had to make countless cold calls, I was fascinated by her high success rate. “Didn’t you have difficulty getting through gatekeepers and reaching executives at such high levels?” I asked her. “Of course,” she replied, “but instead of letting it defeat me, it made me more firmly resolved to get through to some key player in the company. If I couldn’t reach the person I was trying to contact, I found another way into the company; either to eventually get through to them or to find and reach someone else within the company.”

It’s easy to see why Holly is so successful at her job. Instead of allowing potential mountains to get in her way, she finds an alternate route; either by getting around the mountain or through it, but inevitably she successfully reaches the other side.  Her success can be an example for all of us – and especially for those who are going through the job search. When faced with challenges in work and in life, don’t give up or give in, instead follow Holly’s example and find another way around the problem.

The #1 Mistake People Make When Choosing a Career

If it were possible, I would grab every person reading this article (in fact, every person who works for a living) by the shoulders while shaking them and looking them in the eye and say “Don’t make this mistake! Don’t make this mistake!”  The majority of people who work are just working for a living.  Statistics indicate that 85% of all people in the workforce are unhappy with their careers. Most people approach their career selection with the best intentions.  Many people will spend countless hours trying to get into the best colleges and obtaining their degrees, give a certain amount of consideration to the field they will go into, make a good effort at finding a job, but when they finally get started, that’s it!  The daily grind sets in.

The mistake that most people make is they never plan out their career.  It has been said that if you fail to plan you plan to fail.  This I believe is the reason why so many people are unhappy in their chosen careers.  They are like a boat without a pilot – drifting out at sea wandering in the ocean without a navigator to guide it.   They are going nowhere because they have no idea where they want to go.

If you want to be truly fulfilled in your career you must have a plan.  Treat your career as if you were a business owner.  What is your mission statement?  Set up a business (career) plan.  Do you feel passionate about your career path?  If not, then find something that you DO feel passionate about. 

Here are the key questions for you to ask yourself:

What is my long-range strategic plan? 

Where do I want to be in my career 5, 10, 20 years from now? 

Where do I ultimately want to end up?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you can begin to formulate your plan and then implement it.