It is very difficult for any of us to be totally realistic about ourselves.Yet the nearer we come to a state of realism concerning our strengths and weaknesses, as well as our problems and our opportunities, the better our chances of attaining our career goals.We never can hit the bull's eye so long as we overshoot or undershoot the target.There are many examples of the point:Tom Lincoln was a competent general counsel for...

If you are looking for a job, think of yourself as a product to be sold...for example, a box of cereal or a new service from a bank. Think of employers as buyers. You need a marketing plan to make the sale.Such a plan contains three elements: (1) what you have to sell; (2) where to sell it; and (3) how to communicate the selling message to prospective buyers.Your personal marketing plan for career success should include six...

There may be forces at work beyond your control that can disrupt your career path and put your job at risk, but there are at least 13 steps you can take to help secure your employment and advance you toward your career goals.1. Come to work early and stay late. This schedule demonstrates, like nothing else, that you are making the extra effort. The extra time enables you to plan your day and review your performance at the e...

Suppose you reach your career goals; your hopes and ambitions for success in your work have come true. Could you handle the stress of success?There's a myth that achieving your career goals - whether defined as money, prestige, power or more leisure time - provides peace of mind and happiness, fame and fortune.Truth is success is not an unalloyed panacea. Success almost always produces stress and pressure of one kind or ano...

"If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else."Few people would disagree with this wisdom offered by Yogi Berra, legendary baseball player and every man's philosopher.Why, then, do most people fail to set goals and lay out a plan of action to achieve career success?Four Reasons People Don't Plan Their CareersThere are at least four reasons, none of which meet the test of common sense.1. One is fear th...