Careers are personal. Careers are individually determined and the professional is fully accountable for success or failure. Sounds scary!

In the new world of job hopping and turnover, people are no longer feeling loyal towards a company, rather towards themselves and their own success. You can certainly find success by sticking around and moving up – but it is not guaranteed and it’s certainly not a given. Opportunities can pop up at anytime and the more prepared you are the easier the transition will be. A couple tips:

1. Update your resume. Even if you aren’t looking, having an up to date resume at the ready will save you time when you become an active seeker. If you are doing a more general update, don’t worry about formatting or editing it to a certain job – having a unedited version can serve as a “menu” of experience for you, to pick and choose when you are applying for positions.

2. Register for LinkedIn.  LinkedIn is becoming a cliched answer these days, but for good reason. It is the best database of companies, employers and connections for researching and job search. Teaser – an entire LinkedIn post coming soon!

3. Research, research, research. What other jobs are currently open in your industry? What are the salary trends? Who are the major players? Keeping informed with what’s happening not only at your organization but in your industry as a whole will help jump start your search whenever you enter in to the pool.

Happy Preparation!

-gj