Get The Job You Want, Even When No One's Hiring: Take Charge of Your Career, Find a Job You Love, and Earn What You Deserve

Chapter 75. Perpetual Career Management Is Your Insurance Policy

Beware of a common trap: putting all your time and energy into just doing your job, as compared to managing your career. As we said earlier, your focus should not just be on the job, but on managing your career effectively over the long term. That means forever, for as long as you have a career. Let's face it, this sort of downturn in the economy has happened before, and it will certainly happen again. So you'll want to be prepared and positioned for success, no matter what outside circumstances may be.

By turning your attention now to Perpetual Career Management, you'll be maintaining your momentum, ensuring that your career success will endure, and opening a pathway to much higher levels of recognition and achievement. Sure, you'll want to work extra hard to hold onto your job when jobs are scarce, but never forget to also focus on the larger context of your overall career.

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Beware of a common trap: putting all your time and energy into just doing your job, as compared to managing your career.

It's no surprise that people who are in career transition focus a lot of their time and energy on updating their resumes, networking, brushing up their interviewing skills, collecting accomplishment stories, and so forth. They know they need to be prepared, to be at the top of their game, if they hope to land another good position.

But what about those of us who are currently working, in jobs that may seem stable even in a bad ...