In this issue

Personal note from Annemarie

 Coach's Corner: Feature Article

The term “expert” can often put people off, however according to Wikipedia.org, an expert is “someone who is widely recognised as a reliable source of knowledge, technique or skill and whose judgement is accorded authority and status by the public or their peers.” For someone to have reached the so-called status of expert they would have accumulated extensive experience, skill and/or knowledge within a specific field or industry.

Another aspect of “expert” that can typically occur is the “perceived” expert – someone who has risen above their peers to stand out in a specialised area, being thought of as a leader in their field. How these people have risen to this status is not by accident, but rather through having contributed significant time and dedication in their fields while continually investing their energies into marketing their expertise.

Strive for expert status by discovering your motivated interests and natural abilities.

While you may demonstrate general abilities across a number of areas, to truly shine and gain expertise across diverse areas may be difficult. Initially, it may be wise to pinpoint your focus around where your interests and natural abilities lie and continue to build up your profile in this area. Once you have mastered this area you can continue to expand your profile in other areas as well. To uncover your motivated interests consider the following questions:

• What are you truly passionate about?

• What topics of conversation do you typically become involved in?

• What motivates you to action and whilst doing that activity, time just seems to fly by?

• What type of work would you do even if you weren’t getting paid for it?

• What areas have you contributed to that others necessarily are not able to do?

Another exercise would be to question those around you (including colleagues or friends) to see what characteristics and talents they believe you have and have seen you utilise. Quite often those around us can recognise things that we don’t necessarily identify ourselves as we can often take some of our skills for granted because they come naturally

Enhance your profile: become visible in the market and within your existing workplace.

One way to strengthen your credibility and recognition as an expert is to establish an online identity. This could include the following strategies:

• Developing an online Career Web Portfolio that can highlight your knowledge, achievements and contributions.

• Creating a personal/professional Blog. Each blog entry will have your signature (being the author) thus also elevating your search engine ranking if a recruiter were to search for you on the internet. [Web logs (otherwise known as ‘blogs’) have been around for some time, however, lately there seems to have been a sudden surge of people (young and not-so-young) setting up personal blogs.]

• Establishing a professional profile using tools such as Ziggs or LinkedIn.,

• Becoming active on other people’s blogs or forums of experts in your field.

• Writing articles or stories of interest in your corporate newsletter.

Branding specialists worldwide advocate the use of blogs as another medium and potential opportunity to communicate your personal brand and the overall value you offer. In fact, many recruiters and potential employers are opting to perform an internet search on suitable applicants to see what they can uncover, so you can see how a professional blog and/or career web portfolio could certainly support you in getting known and elevating your overall professionalism and credibility.

Be aware that this can have disadvantages, particularly if your blog posts or forum comments are less than professional. While it may be tempting to post about your ‘bad day in the office’ experience, or ‘what you really think about your boss’ or about ‘what really went on behind the scenes at your last Christmas office party’, you need to remember that this is an online medium that allows access to anyone and everyone on a global scale, and what you post-, may just come back to haunt you and dash any hopes of securing a new role.

Remember to keep your comments and topics on a professional level. Before you begin writing, ask yourself:

• Would I want my boss (or future boss) to read this?

• Does this post continue to support me on a professional level?

• How can this post continue to build upon my personal brand and unique promise of value?

Here are some strategies to enhance your visibility within the company:

• Become involved in cutting-edge projects.

• Put your hand up for more difficult assignments, particularly where colleagues can see your strengths in action.

• Become a mentor for less experienced colleagues.

• Gain a reputation as a problem solver and solution seeker rather than a problem maker.

Maintain your expert status.

Once you have achieved credibility and expert status it’s important to keep up with what’s happening in your field. Consider the following:

• Regularly read printed publications to keep at the forefront of the industry.

• Subscribe to newsletters on the internet.

• Subscribe to RSS feeds and industry blogs.

• Expand your knowledge by continuing your education.

Why you should continue being proactive in your career?

It has often been commented that people experience dissatisfaction in their jobs due to not feeling in control of their lives or careers. Becoming proactive in your career, continuing to position yourself as knowledgeable in your field, and offering strong skills and expertise will support you in regaining a sense of control of your destiny. Here are some other benefits:

• You retain control of your career.

• Become a valuable player with the organisation.

• Expert status can support you.

• Be headhunted by recruiters and organisations.

Avid achievers in the workplace have a high sense of self-awareness, understand their strengths and weaknesses while being able to pinpoint and strategically pursue opportunities that can support them and their career development.

So what can you do starting from today to take control of your career advancement enabling you to become known as an expert in your field, either in the job market or your workplace? Have a great fortnight.

All the very best!

Annemarie

About Annemarie Cross

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