When was the last time you had a career check-up? With client concerns, professional development and a pandemic to contend with, STEP members might quite reasonably believe that career development comes low on the priority list.

Actually, the turbulence of the times is exactly why you should be investing in your career health. Digitisation combined with new work patterns and changing client expectations are just some of the characteristics of the 21^st century career landscape. Rapid and continuous change is the new reality and having the agility to cope is the best way to meet not just your own needs, but also those of your stakeholders. You won’t be doing anyone any favours if you’re feeling unfulfilled and your skills are not being fully deployed. Stop paying attention to your career and you may find that obsolescence comes all too quickly.

Prevention, as they say, is better than cure and deciding that you want to take control rather than ploughing on, head down, is a key first step. So, how to get started on a new regime? Here are some thoughts from Rosemary McLean, Valerie Rowles and Mark Anderson, course guides for the Be Bold in Your Career course:

Rosemary: ‘If thinking about your career is something you haven’t done for a while, it’s a good idea to take a temperature reading on where your career is now, where it’s heading and whether that seems like a good direction for you.’

Valerie: ‘We don’t all want the same thing from work and often this changes at different stages in life anyway. What are your personal criteria for job satisfaction? Why not generate a list right now? It’s useful to think about what’s essential for you to thrive rather than just survive.’

Mark: ‘Maybe you feel you don’t have time for this? Actually, just like taking care of your general well-being, it’s about getting into good habits and making them part of normal working life.’

Perhaps you’re broadly content with what you’re doing and just want to continue developing. Or maybe you want to change something … or even transform everything!

Career Innovation are currently offering the ‘Be Bold in Your Career’ course (usually GBP225) free to STEP members. The course will trigger ideas and galvanise you to be more proactive in your career.

• You’ll feel confident to tell the story of your career in a way that opens up new possibilities for you.
• You’ll map your network of contacts, tapping into their knowledge about trends on the horizon so that you can start to future-proof.
• You can work out the kind of stretch that will shake you off a career plateau: building courage in stages is a wonderful liberation from the paralysis of inertia.
• Or determine how to actively influence how others see you, communicating your career brand and having career conversations that lead to tangible, positive outcomes.

Be Bold in Your Career September 2020 is open for enrolment until 22 Sep. Log in to the STEP site to find out more and to book.

Rosemary McLean is a Director, and Valerie Rowles and Mark Anderson are Consultants at Career Innovation.